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Chapter 6 The Drought of the 1870s In the days following the devastation at Reservoir No. 1, many hundreds of people visited the site of the Trout Brook dam to see the mess for themselves. On Sunday following the breach, there was a steady stream of curiosity seekers straggling west along the Farmington road. People “. . . in buggies, on horseback and on foot formed a continual procession along the West Hartford road.” The Times, the only newspaper to support the Trout Brook plan, felt in an exposed position. They calculated that if the dam were not rebuilt immediately, the whole following year would be consumed with “plans, red tape and fuss,” and that it would most likely be ten months before the project was completed. The paper expressed further annoyance when Bissell announced that the dam would not be rebuilt straight away even though the city was again pumping from the Connecticut River—at an annual cost of more than $15,000. Trying to goad him into action, the paper retorted— In some cities, they would whistle such a job as this into completion in a jiffy. Look at Chicago, where [boring] a hole under the lake for two miles to get pure water is [a] pastime for them. The work was about done when we heard it was commenced. And what [is] our puny Trout Brook dam when compared to that work? Newspaper editorials aside, Bissell’s first move was to make restitution with mill owners and farmers downstream of the dam, and to compensate West Hartford for the bridges and roads that were either washed away completely or severely damaged by the roiling, devastating cataract. Topping that list was the new stone bridge at Gilbert’s Corner, which had to “removed entirely and replaced with a more substantial structure.” Toward this end, Bissell hired two men to handle the claims. One of the men was Nathan Starkweather, the first engineer of the water works. As a surveyor, Starkweather had a good understanding of property and its worth. Teamed with him was a Hartford farmer and former selectman, Jonathan Goodwin, who could accurately judge the value of the crops lost. The losses to the farmers, mill owners and West Hartford came to $18,000. This was paid as soon as the council released the funds. As Starkweather and Goodwin set to work assessing the damages, Bissell began the search for a talented engineer to help with the rebuilding. He did not have the luxury of “whistling” the work to a rapid conclusion, as the Times had suggested, and left unsaid was the obvious caveat that the new structures had to be able to withstand the wrath of God. Bissell’s choice to help with the reconstruction of the dam at Reservoir No. 1 was the well-respected civil engineer, William McAlpine, from Stockbridge, Massachusetts. However, no 120 sooner had McAlpine set to work than the weather soured and the project had to be shut down for the winter. During October, November and December, no water at all flowed through the aqueduct from Trout Brook. Instead, the Connecticut River Pumping Station was placed back in service until January, when the waters of Trout Brook were allowed to flow directly into the aqueduct—and thus to Hartford—solving part of the supply problem and taking some of the pressure off the tired pumps at the river. Bissell was able to keep the Lord’s Hill Reservoir full, even though it now only represented a four-day supply for the city. In the professional opinion of McAlpine, the wisest course of action was to complete the new reservoir on the upper reaches of Mine Brook as soon as possible and then concentrate on the mess of rubble that lay by the side of the Farmington road. Since Reservoir No. 1 would require much more work than Reservoir No. 2—and held 60 percent less water—the new reservoir on Mine Brook represented the water board’s best chance to bring the Trout Brook system back on line in the shortest amount of time. The original contractor of the upper reservoir, Lobdell & Co., was not responsible for the collapse and, since their work was not seen as shoddy or deficient, they were allowed to resume construction on Reservoir No. 2. Meanwhile, Bissell, with the guidance of McAlpine, tackled the ugly job of stripping down the rubble at Reservoir No. 1 and beginning the dam building process from scratch. In discussing the pumps at the Connecticut...

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