McMillan Reservoir
Encyclopedia
The McMillan Reservoir is a reservoir
in Washington, D.C.
that supplies the majority of the city's municipal water. It was originally called the Howard University Reservoir or the Washington City Reservoir, and was completed in 1902 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir was built on the site of Smith Spring, one of the springs previously used for drinking water. Washington's earliest residents relied on natural springs but this came to be inadequate as the city's population grew. In 1850, Congress
determined that the Potomac
River should be the city's principal source of water.
supplying water to the city. Work and study conducted under the leadership of Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs
culminated into the development of the Washington Aqueduct
which began operations on January 3, 1859. (Initially the system provided water to the city from the Little Falls Branch in Maryland
, until the aqueduct construction was completed.) Regular water service from the Potomac River source through the aqueduct commenced in 1864.
and Georgetown
, which were designed to settle sediment
out of the water. In 1873 the Army began construction of a new water supply tunnel, known as the Washington City Tunnel, to provide more storage, sedimentation and distribution capacity for the system. Construction of the tunnel was halted in in the 1880s due to a variety of problems including funding shortages, cost overruns, bribery and fraud associated with the construction process. During that period some improvements were made to the Dalecarlia portion of the system, and work on the tunnel finally resumed in 1898. The tunnel was completed in 1901 and the McMillan Reservoir began operation in 1902.
All the District's water needs were thought to have been quenched by the water aqueduct system, but by 1902 it became apparent that it was no longer adequate. To handle population growth and municipal sanitation needs, officials added the McMillan Reservoir Filtration Plant in 1905. This facility implemented an innovative water purification
system relying on sand instead of chemicals to filter 75 million gallons (280 million liters) per day. It helped quell typhoid epidemics and other communicable diseases throughout the city.
In 1907 the reservoir and filtration plant were named in honor of Senator James McMillan
of Michigan
, who chaired the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia and supported development of the water supply facilities.
Subsequent improvements to the city water system were initiated beginning in the 1920s. The regular use of chlorine
as a disinfectant began in 1923 at the McMillan filtration plant. Another treatment plant was completed in 1928, and this was built adjacent to the Dalecarlia Reservoir. The growth of the city population led to further expansions at the Dalecarlia site in the 1950s.
artist Herbert Adams located on the Reservoir grounds. The fountain, completed in 1912 and dedicated in October 1919, consists of a bronze
The Three Graces
placed upon a pink granite
base. Cast by Roman Bronze Works
, the fountain was originally part of a large landscape setting designed by Charles A. Platt
. A tribute to James McMillan, the fountain was paid for by citizens of Michigan
, who raised $25,000 by way of pennies, nickels and dimes donated by public school children. Congress also funded totaling $15,000 towards the completion.
plant at McMillan was replaced in 1985 with a new rapid sand filter
plant.
The old water treatment site was purchased by the District of Columbia from the federal government in 1987 for $9.3 million, and since has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. The question of what to do with the property is up for debate.
The 25 acre (100,000 m²) McMillan Reservoir, located between Michigan Avenue, North Capitol Street
, and First Street in Northwest Washington, D.C., was designated a DC Historic Landmark in 1991.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
that supplies the majority of the city's municipal water. It was originally called the Howard University Reservoir or the Washington City Reservoir, and was completed in 1902 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir was built on the site of Smith Spring, one of the springs previously used for drinking water. Washington's earliest residents relied on natural springs but this came to be inadequate as the city's population grew. In 1850, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
determined that the Potomac
Potomac
-Places in the United States:Washington, D.C. area:*The Potomac River, which flows through West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC**The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, a region of the Potomac River's watershed in West Virginia...
River should be the city's principal source of water.
Washington Aqueduct
A Congressionally funded engineering study was conducted to determine the most available mode ofsupplying water to the city. Work and study conducted under the leadership of Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs
Montgomery C. Meigs
Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, construction engineer for a number of facilities in Washington, D.C., and Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War....
culminated into the development of the Washington Aqueduct
Washington Aqueduct
The Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aqueduct was commissioned by Congress in 1852, and construction began in 1853 under the...
which began operations on January 3, 1859. (Initially the system provided water to the city from the Little Falls Branch in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, until the aqueduct construction was completed.) Regular water service from the Potomac River source through the aqueduct commenced in 1864.
Washington City Tunnel
In the early years of operation the water was routed through the system's two earlier-built reservoirs, DalecarliaDalecarlia Reservoir
Dalecarlia Reservoir is the primary storage basin for drinking water in Washington, D.C., fed by an underground aqueduct in turn fed by low dams which divert portions of the Potomac River near Great Falls and Little Falls....
and Georgetown
Georgetown Reservoir
The Georgetown Reservoir is a reservoir that is part of the water supply and treatment infrastructure for the District of Columbia. It is located in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C., approximately two miles downstream from the Maryland–D.C. boundary.The reservoir was built by the...
, which were designed to settle sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
out of the water. In 1873 the Army began construction of a new water supply tunnel, known as the Washington City Tunnel, to provide more storage, sedimentation and distribution capacity for the system. Construction of the tunnel was halted in in the 1880s due to a variety of problems including funding shortages, cost overruns, bribery and fraud associated with the construction process. During that period some improvements were made to the Dalecarlia portion of the system, and work on the tunnel finally resumed in 1898. The tunnel was completed in 1901 and the McMillan Reservoir began operation in 1902.
Filtration plant
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
system relying on sand instead of chemicals to filter 75 million gallons (280 million liters) per day. It helped quell typhoid epidemics and other communicable diseases throughout the city.
In 1907 the reservoir and filtration plant were named in honor of Senator James McMillan
James McMillan (Senator)
James McMillan was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.-Biography:McMillan was born in Hamilton, Ontario to William and Grace McMillan, both Scottish natives...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, who chaired the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia and supported development of the water supply facilities.
Subsequent improvements to the city water system were initiated beginning in the 1920s. The regular use of chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
as a disinfectant began in 1923 at the McMillan filtration plant. Another treatment plant was completed in 1928, and this was built adjacent to the Dalecarlia Reservoir. The growth of the city population led to further expansions at the Dalecarlia site in the 1950s.
McMillan Fountain
The McMillan Fountain is a public artwork by AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist Herbert Adams located on the Reservoir grounds. The fountain, completed in 1912 and dedicated in October 1919, consists of a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
The Three Graces
The Three Graces
Antonio Canova’s statue The Three Graces is a Neoclassical sculpture, in marble, of the mythological three charites, daughters of Zeus – identified on some engravings of the statue as, from left to right, Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia - who were said to represent beauty, charm and joy...
placed upon a pink granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base. Cast by Roman Bronze Works
Roman Bronze Works
Roman Bronze Works in New York City, established in 1897 by Ricardo Bertelli, was the pre-eminent sculpture bronze foundry in the United States during the American Renaissance. It continued to cast sculpture after that period ended. Its foundry, long a sub-contractor to Louis Comfort Tiffany's...
, the fountain was originally part of a large landscape setting designed by Charles A. Platt
Charles A. Platt
Charles Adams Platt was a prominent artist, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and architect of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.-Early career:...
. A tribute to James McMillan, the fountain was paid for by citizens of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, who raised $25,000 by way of pennies, nickels and dimes donated by public school children. Congress also funded totaling $15,000 towards the completion.
Recent developments
The slow sand filterSlow sand filter
Slow sand filters are used in water purification for treating raw water to produce a potable product. They are typically 1 to 2 metres deep, can be rectangular or cylindrical in cross section and are used primarily to treat surface water...
plant at McMillan was replaced in 1985 with a new rapid sand filter
Rapid sand filter
The rapid sand filter or rapid gravity filter is a type of filter used in water purification and is commonly used in municipal drinking water facilities as part of a multiple-stage treatment system...
plant.
The old water treatment site was purchased by the District of Columbia from the federal government in 1987 for $9.3 million, and since has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. The question of what to do with the property is up for debate.
The 25 acre (100,000 m²) McMillan Reservoir, located between Michigan Avenue, North Capitol Street
North Capitol Street
North Capitol Street is a street in Washington, D.C. that separates the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of the city. The street begins at D Street due north of the United States Capitol and continues northward 4½ miles to Nicholson Street where it is interrupted by Fort Slocum Park and the...
, and First Street in Northwest Washington, D.C., was designated a DC Historic Landmark in 1991.
See also
- Dalecarlia ReservoirDalecarlia ReservoirDalecarlia Reservoir is the primary storage basin for drinking water in Washington, D.C., fed by an underground aqueduct in turn fed by low dams which divert portions of the Potomac River near Great Falls and Little Falls....
- Georgetown ReservoirGeorgetown ReservoirThe Georgetown Reservoir is a reservoir that is part of the water supply and treatment infrastructure for the District of Columbia. It is located in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C., approximately two miles downstream from the Maryland–D.C. boundary.The reservoir was built by the...
- Washington AqueductWashington AqueductThe Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aqueduct was commissioned by Congress in 1852, and construction began in 1853 under the...
- McMillan Sand Filtration SiteMcMillan Sand Filtration SiteMcMillan Park and Sand Filtration Site is a twenty-five acre green space and decommissioned water treatment plant in northwest Washington, D.C. connected to the McMillan Reservoir. It is bound on the north by Michigan Avenue, on the east by North Capitol Street, on the south by Channing Street and...
External links
- D.C. Preservation League
- D.C. Water and Sewer Authority
- Washington Aqueduct - US Army Corps of Engineers
- Pictures of the McMillan slow sand plant, with history