The failure of this embankment might not only create a devastating flood in the valley below , but also cause a current above , of such irresistible velocity , as would de- stroy the earthen part of the old Croton dam , thus at once cutting off the supply of water to the city until the old dam could be repaired and in addition postponing indefinitely the time when the city could have the addi- tional supply of water which the enlarged reservoir was to furnish . Thus , the writer , was thoroughly convinced that a change in the plan of the structure at this point was nec- essary . Thereupon he recommended to the Aqueduct Commissioners that this entire section of the embank- ment and core wall to the gatehouse be removed and the stone dam extended in its place . But while maintaining that the conditions allowed of no other conclusion , he

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and Byram Rivers , small as compared with 290,000,000 gallons , the present daily consumption of these two boroughs . The natural flow of Croton River in dry seasons was judged insufficient to supply the city as early as 1843 , now more than 60 years ago , so Croton Lake of a capac- ity of two billion gallons , was then created by building the old Croton Dam . Since then , from time to time , six other reservoirs , having an aggregate capacity of 40,000,000 , - 000 gallons , have been built on the principal tributaries of the river , above the lake , for the purpose of collecting water in wet seasons , to be discharged into the lake as re- quired for use . The city has no auxiliary supply , and no lakes or rivers that could be used as such in case of an emergency , hence an accident to a reservoir might result in so great a loss of water as to cause a water famine , truly styled one of the world's greatest disasters .