enveloped by it, and the backyard privies in the adjacent neighborhood leached their noxious contents into the soil, contaminating the rainwater that filtered through and drained into it. In 1809 a canal was dug to the Hudson to drain the Collect and the spring-fed marshes near Broadway. By 1815, the Collect had disappeared, but Canal Street remained. '° Writing after completion of the Croton system. Dr. Charles A. Lee concluded that without the new aqueduct, the City's water sup- ply would have soon been inadequate, for the quality had been steadily deteriorating for decades: figure 7. above: The Tea Water Pump at Roosevelt and Chatham Streets. engraving Courtesy the Museum of the City of New York figure 8. right: The Collect Pond, c.1800. Illustration #17, Hullyer's Old NeiL- York Vic^-i Courtesy The New- York Historical Society It is fearful to contemplate the amount of decomposing organic matter contained in the wells in the vicinity of Trinity, St. Paul's, and St. John's burying grounds, which for more than a century furnished the only water used by those residing in their neighborhood. No one can doubt that the use of such water, as well as that from the wells on the Collect, and over the greater portion of the city below Canal- Street, must have proved extremely detrimental to the health of the citizens, and especially to children, and infants.^^ For everyday purposes, such as washing clothes or floors, New Yorkers relied on the cisterns which held rainwater, but even this source deteriorated as the population increased. A guidebook pub- lished in 1837 complained: The best water for washing in New York, is that which comes from the clouds. And indeed, nothing could be better, if you could catch it pure, as it falls. But in passing over the roofs of the houses, from whence it is conveyed to the cisterns, it contracts so much foulness from the coal-ashes and soot on the roofs, that its appearance is nearly as dark as ink, and its smell any thing but agreeable, as it comes in con- tact with your nose, in the operation of washing your face.^'^ The City received several proposals for a water system in the 1790s, but the government was reluctant to increase taxes to finance the effort. Still, whenever the subject arose there was gen- eral agreement that the system must be a municipal enterprise, rather than a privilege granted to a private company. In December 1798, the Common Council accepted a plan to tap the Bronx River, which they believed would "afford a copious supply of pure and wholesome Water." The Council urged that the appropriate legisla- tion be introduced in Albany (at that time, the City had limited pow- er over its own affairs, and for all important measures it had to gain approval of the state legislature). In endorsing the proposed water works, the Common Council specifically rejected the possibili- ty of a private corporation receiving the franchise, reasoning that such a company would not undertake the project "unless upon the Prospect of considerable Gain; and such Gain must be acquired at the Expense of the City." A bill was prepared, and had events con- tinued along this path, New York would have become the first city in the republic with a municipal system. In Albany, the bill underwent a metamorphosis, and when it emerged it had created the Manhattan Water Company. Aaron Burr, the influential New York lawyer and leader of the City's Jefferson- ian faction, first blocked the bill, and then, enlisting the aid of Alexander Hamilton and other influential Federalists, submitted a new version which granted exclusive rights to his corporation. For his part, Hamilton favored on principle the private sector over pub- lic ownership. Burr was not interested in water, of course. At that time, all the banks in the City were controlled by his political rivals, the Federalists. Burr had inserted a clause in the Manhattan Water Company charter that permitted the company to invest surplus cap- ital "in the purchase of public or other stock, or any other moneyed transactions or operations ...." In other words, the Manhattan Company could function as a bank so long as it fulfilled its char- tered obligation to supply water to all citizens who wanted it.^^ The company quickly confirmed the worst fears of its critics by abandoning plans to tap the Bronx River and, instead, drilling a well at Reade and Center Streets in a densely populated neighborhood. figure 9: Hollow Log with Valve, used by The Manhattan Water Company, N.Y.C., wood and iron Courtesy The New-York Historical Society, X.47 Kroessler They also constructed a 132,600-gallon reservoir on Chambers Street, an obviously inadequate supply given an estimated need of 3 million gallons daily. Finally, rather than install iron pipes, the company used the