Board of Estimate and Apportionment - Report of the Chief Engineer - Investigation of Tidal Currents

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve

1926 report by the Chief Engineer of the City of New York’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment to the Committee on Main Drainage. It details an investigation of tidal currents in the vicinity of New York Harbor using sealed bottle floats (“Message” bottles) released near a specified dumping ground. The report explains the background regarding alleged inability of floating garbage to reach nearby beaches, describes the bottle identification method and correspondence, and summarizes returns by lot and the measured return rates up to September 15, 1926.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Report of the Chief Engineer

Investigation of Tidal Currents

Background and Method

Bottle Float Design and Release

Returns and Summary

97-84070-14New York (N.Y.) Board of Estimate..Report of the chief engineer to the... [New York] 1926 # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ## ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED·EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD Reproduchions may not be made without permission trom Columbia Universlty Lbraries RESTRICTIONS ON USE: ## TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35mmREDUCTION RATIO: 1/:1 IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA DATE FILMED:197INITIALS:_ TLM TRACKING\#: 23472 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. ## BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES MAIN ENTRY:New York(N.Y,)Board of Estimate and ………………- Apportionmen …… …… …………… …………Report of the chief engineer to the Committee o -Main Drainage of the Board of Estimate……………………………… ## Bibliographic Irregularities in the Original Document: List all volumes and pages affected;include name of institution if filming borrowed text. Page(s)missing/not available:_ Volume(s)missing/not available:_ Illegible and/or damaged page(s):_ Page(s)or volume(s)misnumbered:_ Bound out of sequence: Page(s)or volume(s)filmed from copy borrowed from: X3 unnumbered maps follow page 9 Other: Inserted material: 说12 BX C # Board of Estimateand Apportionment 2017 ## REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER TO THE COMMITTEE ON MAIN DRAINAGE OFTHE BOARD OF ESTIMATE ANDAPPORTIONMENT ON THE ## INVESTIGATION OF TIDAL CURRENTS IN THE VICINITY OFNEW YORK HARBORBASED ON THE USE OF BOTTLE FLOATS OCTOBER TWENTY-ONE,NINETEEN TWENTY-SIX CITY OF NEW YORKBoard of Estimateand ApportionmentREPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEERTO THE COMMITTEE ON MAIN DRAINAGE OFTHE BOARD OF ESTIMATE ANDAPPORTIONMENTON THE INVESTIGATION OF TIDAL CURRENTSIN THE VICINITY OFNEW YORK HARBORBASED ON THE USE OF BOTTLE FLOATSOCTOBER TWENTY-ONE,NINETEEN TWENTY-SIX /.、 REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON MAIN DRAINAGE. September 20,1926. Hon.HENRY BUCKNER,President,Borough of The Bronx,Chairnan,Committee onMain Drainage,Board of Estinate and Apportionment: Sir—The following report is submitted on the investigation concerning the action oftidal currents in the vicinity of New York Harbor,which was conducted during thepast sunmer by the Chief Engineer of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. In connection with the consideration given by the Committee on Main Drainageto the sanitary condition of the harbor and adjacent beaches,the Committee on December 8,1925,was advised by the Commisioner of Street Cleaning,in a report concerningthe complaints which had been made during 1925 to the effeet that City garbage driftingashore along the New Jersey and Long Island beaches had become a serious nuisance,that under normal conditions the garbage,which is deposited at sea under the super-vision of the Federal Supervisor of the Harbor at a point 20miles southeast of Scot-land Lightship,could not reach the beaches on account of the infuence of the tidaleurrents and also because of the fact that it usually disappears beneath the surfaceof the water in less time than would be required for it to drift ashore.The Committeethereupon concluded that it would be desirable to make a carefu study of the tidalcurrenis for the purpose of obtaining further light in the matter,it being understood,however,that even though the results of the investigation should not fully substantiatethe claims which had been made with respet to the inability of floating garbage toreach the shore under normal conditions,the uncontroverted fact remained that garbagegenerally sinks before suficient time h

FAQs

What prompted the investigation of tidal currents in New York Harbor?

The Committee on Main Drainage considered complaints about city garbage drifting ashore and the claim that tidal currents and sinking prevented floating garbage from reaching beaches, prompting a careful study.

How were bottle floats used in the investigation?

Tightly corked bottles containing a red-lined “Message” and a return postal card were released at sea near the established dumping ground in multiple lots.

How were results measured and summarized in the report?

Returns were collected from the released lots up to September 15, and the report tabulated the number of bottles released, the number of returns, and return percentages per lot.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve