The extension of the City of Erie’s Water Intake into Lake Erie. – – Would it eliminate the Typhoid Fever problem? – GoErie.com

The city fathers tried many times to extend the water intakes in the bay to stop the Typhoid Fever. None seemed to work. In 1902 they finally decided to take water out of Lake Erie which meant that they would need to run a 60 inch or more pipeline under Presque Isle out into the lake. The State gave the Erie Water Commission 175 acres of land.

This article tells the history of this undertaking and how it almost solved the problem. There was on last step that finally did solve the Typhoid problem.

The city tried many options such as floating flumes, various length intake pipelines in shallow water to try to eliminate the contamination coming into the citys water supply. One of the flumes was just 100 Yards from a sewage clogged creek outlet into the bay. None of these even slowed the typhoid problem in the city.

Next, they planned a 60-inch cast-iron pipeline and put it in a trench on the floor of Presque Isle Bay. This would extend the pipeline to within 2,500 feet of the Presque Isle shoreline and was a total of 1.6 miles in length. This installation took place in 1896 and 1897. The work was done by two huge barges equipped with dredges to dig the trench for the iron pipeline. Water began to flow in the fall of 1897.

Regrettably, by 1902 it was evident to the Water Commission that there was still a high level of typhoid as over 180 deaths were happening annually. The Commission's first action again demanded that the city cease dumping raw sewage into the bay. Yet again, the City fathers ignored their request.

That is when the Water Commission, as I mentioned in my earlier article, decided to lay a pipeline under Presque Isle and out 5,000 feet into Lake Erie. That location is 3.5 miles from the Chestnut Street pumping station. The Commission budgeted $ 104,000 to do the extension. In July of 1904, T.A. Gillespie of Pittsburgh was hired to extend the pipe into the lake from the end of the existing pipeline in the bay.

As this was happening and work was being planned, the Water Commissioners found they were having a difficult time raising funds to pay for the task. At this point, the three commissioners, Mr. Clark Olds, Mr. William Hamilton, and Mr. Willis B. Durlin, advanced the necessary funds personally.

The work on the extension was to be done in three stages. The first was to be from the bay to the shore of Presque Isle, or about 2,500 feet. This portion was to begin in late 1904 and early 1905. The next section was the lake portion, which was to be done in 1906 and 1907. The final section was to be started in 1907 and finished in 1908.

Regrettably, in early 1907 strong storms disrupted the lake work, and the pipe barge was heavily damaged, and some pipe was lost delaying that work until 1908. On December 7, 1907, the work on inland Presque Isle began on the twin settling ponds that still exist today. A map of this area from 1900 shows this whole area was originally covered with many small ponds and numerous swamps.

When work began, two ponds already existed near where the settlings ponds would be placed. The new ponds, when completed, would be used to let the silt settle out of the water before pumping it over to the city side.

A huge floating dredge called Centrif worked on moving the massive amounts of sand and water necessary to create a channel 25 to 40 feet wide from the bay to the lake. As planned, along the way it would also create the two settling ponds we see today. Old records also indicate the dredge also enlarged the area where the Ferry Slip is today on the bayside. Its first job was to create the East Pond. When done, it moved to the West Pond area and enlarged an existing pond to form the new West Pond. When completed, it moved to the trench bisecting the peninsula. Finally, when this was done, it moved into the lake portion of the job.

On September 16, 1908, the new line to Lake Erie was completed and turned on. Today, the only visible reminders of this 1904 to 1908 extension project are the massive blue iron valves that are still located in the area. These, by design, moved water between the two ponds.

The other only remainder was the lighthouse looking structure located at the end of the Ferry Slip. While many people believed this was a lighthouse, it was not. It never had any power and was never used. Thank Heaven for that. It was an emergency valve house designed to draw water from the bay again if problems developed with the lake intake system.

While the intake line into the lake was somewhat successful, it did not fully solve the typhoid problem. It seems that in the winter of 1910-1911, another epidemic broke out, and records show reported cases of 1,060 with 135 deaths recorded. The hospitals were so crowded that Hamot Hospital built a temporary addition which contained eighteen beds. There was a shortage of trained nurses which was relieved when a group came to Erie from Philadelphia.

In 1910, Big Bertha, a 20 million gallon per day MGD Bethlehem Triple Expansion High Duty Pumping Engine, was installed in the building that is now located on the southern side of the bayfront highway. By 1912, the Water Commission began treating the water using a hypo-chlorination process that included adding hypochlorite of lime to the water supply. At the same time, they decided to install a water filtration and treatment plant at the Chestnut Street plant with a complete chemical and bacteriological laboratory. This ended most of Erie's water problems. (By the way, Big Bertha is still in the plant, but not in use. Occasionally tours are held to view this huge Pumping Engine.)

In one more article about the Water Works in Erie and on Presque Isle, I will cover the positive events and construction that has occurred since the water improvements in this area. Until then, stay well and,

See you on the park!! (A wonderful place to get outside during this time)

Gene Ware is a published author of 9 books and is on the board of the Presque Isle Light Station, and past Chairman of the board of the Tom Ridge Center Foundation, and the Presque Isle Partnership. He is also a goerie.com contributing writer. If you have questions or comments, send them to ware906@gmail.com.

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The extension of the City of Erie's Water Intake into Lake Erie. - - Would it eliminate the Typhoid Fever problem? - GoErie.com