Page:History of West Hoboken NJ.djvu/55

 CHAPTER VIII.

Municipal Water.

The town in its infancy, like all country places, depended entirely on the various wells and cisterns for its drinking water, and, as stated in another part of this history. there were public pumps and cisterns in various parts of the town.

In the spring of 1883, the Hackensack Water Company (having first entered into an agreement with the town council), began laying mains through Palisade avenue, Clinton avenue, Spring street and the Weavtertown road.

The water was turned on for domestic and fire service on September 14, 1883, and this was an occasion of great rejoicing by the citizens, a feature of which was a grand parade, in which nearly every fire company in North Hudson took part.

The supply of water was furnished from the water tower in Weehawken until the year 1901, but, as the consumption of water increased so rapidly, it became necessary to furnish a large storage, which resulted in the building of a reservoir at Edgewater Heights, with a capacity of 18,000,000 gallons, from which our town is at present supplied.

This reservoir is located at an elevation of 319 feet above the Hudson River, which is 18 feet higher than the top of the tower at Weehawken.

Since the water supply was first introduced many extensions of the system have been made in the new streets that have been opendopened [sic], in order to provide for the rapidly growing population, until, at the present time, there are 21 miles of mains laid out, and 190 fire hydrants connected with the system.