University Green Area Heritage Study

Historic Burlington Research Project - HP 206

Historic Preservation Program - University of Vermont

Main Street Pump House and Burlington City Reservoirs

Main Street Pump House, photograph by Melissa Smith, (October 16, 2011)

Burlington was incorporated in 1865.(1) Within that first year, the city health officer, Samuel W. Thayer, preformed a sanitary survey of the city and concluded in his 1866 report to the City of Burlington that there was a very pressing need for an ample supply of clean water.(2) Comparing water to the “life blood of a city” he described the current conditions of Burlington’s water supply in this way, “If we were to estimate the degree of vitality, possessed by the city of Burlington, by the quantity of water circulating through it, we should be found to consider it an almost bloodless, and very feeble city.”(3) Many community members relied on lake water, cisterns, and wells or collected roof water for their daily needs.(4) Water was also provided by the Burlington Aqueduct Company, which Thayer estimated supported approximately 4,000 people.(5) However, in light of seasonal draught, not even the Aqueduct Company could meet the demand for water in the city.(6) Thayer believed, even with their engine operating 24 hours a day, the water supplied by the Aqueduct Company could meet only half of the population’s urgent needs.(7)

In response to this crisis, the City purchased the Burlington Aqueduct Company in October of 1866, but from the outset intended to begin planning a city water works project that would be able to better meet the needs of the entire community.(8) While arguments persisted about where the water should be obtained and how, the City ultimately decided to access water from Lake Champlain and deposit it in a reservoir next to UVM.(9) Construction of the Water Works began in 1867 and water was first pumped into the Reservoir on Christmas Day.(10)

By February 1, 1868, the Reservoir and Gate House had been completed.(11) The Reservoir’s capacity was 2,236,000 gallons.(12) The Gate House, later renamed Pump House, was not initially a part of the building plan, but as the construction costs were below budget, the engineer felt that the incorporation of a more attractive building to house the pump machinery would add to the overall beauty of the Reservoir grounds.(13) It was suggested that walkways, trees, and fencing be added to the property so that it could be utilized by residents “…to enjoy the delightful prospect, the fresh pure air and the many pleasant surroundings…”(14) It was also suggested that such improvements would “…improve not only the taste, but the morals of the community.”(15)

F.W. Beers, Plan of the City of Burlington 1869, (Courtesy of Special Collections, UVM Library).

This reservoir was approximately 800,000 gallons smaller than had been originally planned(16) and as a result a second reservoir was built to the south of the present reservoir with an estimated capacity of approximately 4,000,000 gallons and was completed in 1888.(17) This new reservoir had a concrete bottom and brick sides with the upper third paved with granite blocks.(18)

In 1895, the needs of the community outstripped the operational capacity of the original pump and a second pump was installed to improve conditions.(19) Also in this year, a typhoid outbreak eventually convinced the mayor to adopt a rapid sand filtration system that was completed in 1908.(20) In 1910, the hypochlorite of lime treatment was adopted to further improve the quality and safety of Burlington’s water supply.(21)

Fourty-Seventh Annual Report of the Water Department of the City of Burlington, Vt. and of the Water Commissioners the Twenty Fifth, (Burlington: Free Press Pringtin Company, 1913).

Later improvements included the incorporation of diesel motors in 1938 and new intake and filter systems in the late 1950s.(22) This filter system required the addition of a large ell to the Pump House.(23) A smaller ell was built for storage in 1960.(24) To further improve the safety of the city water supply, the reservoirs were eventually enclosed(25) and community access was restricted.

Text by Melissa Smith, 2011

(1)Edward Tracy, “Burlington Water Quality and Treatment-Plant Operation” Journal of New England Water Works Association, June 1960, 116.
(2)Report of the Committee on Supply of Water For the City, and Extracts From the Report of the Health Officer, (Burlington: Free Press Steam Job Printing, 1866), 3-7.
(3)ibid., 4
(4)ibid.
(5)ibid.
(6)ibid.
(7)ibid.
(8)“Address of Hon. T. E. Wales, Mayor, April 2d, 1866, and Annual Reports of the Officers of the City of Burlington, For the Financial Year, Ending Feb’y 1, 1867,” City Documents –1867, (Burlington: Free Press Steam and Job Pringint Office, 1867), 25. “Report of Alderman Dallou, Peck and Appleton, Standing Committee on the Water Department,” Reports of the City of Burlington, VT, Annual Reports – Feb. 1, 1868, (Burlington: Free Press Steam Book and Job Printing House, 1868), 31-32.
(9)Report of the Committee on Water Works, Appointed by the City Council, April 14, 1866 With the Analysis of Lake and River Waters by Prof. Henry M Skely, and the Report of Wm. J. McAlpine, Hydraulic Engineer, (Burlington: Times Bok and Job Printing Office, 1866); Report of D.C. Linsley, Engineer of Burlington City Water Works, to the City Council, Made in Compliance With a Resolution Passed August 6, 1866, Instructing Him “To Report to the Board Such Plan For the Construction of Water Works As In His Opinion, Should be Adopted, (Burlington: R.R. Styles, Book and Job Printer, 1866); Reply of Wm. J. McAlpine, To the Report of D.C. Linsley, Engineer of Burlington City Water Works, Made to the City Council October 7, 1866, (Burlington: R.R. Styles, Book and Job Pringter, 1866); Edward Tracy, “Burlington Water Quality and Treatment-Plant Operation” Journal of New England Water Works Association, June 1960, 116.
(10)Edward Tracy, “Burlington Water Quality and Treatment-Plant Operation” Journal of New England Water Works Association, June 1960, 116; “Completion of the City Waterworks,” The Daily Free Press (December 2, 1867).
(11)Report of Chief Engineer D. C. Linsley, Engineer of the City Water Works, January 1868, (Burlington: Free Press Steam Book and Job Printing House, 1868), 33-35.
(12)ibid., 35.
(13)ibid.
(14)ibid.
(15)ibid.
(16)ibid., 41.
(17)Edward Tracy, “Burlington Water Quality and Treatment-Plant Operation” Journal of New England Water Works Association, June 1960, 117.
(18)ibid.
(19)ibid., 118.
(20)ibid.
(21)Fourty-Seventh Annual Report of the Water Department of the City of Burlington, Vt. and of the Water Commissioners the Twenty Fifth, (Burlington: Free Press Printing Company, 1913), 14.
(22)Edward Tracy, “Burlington Water Quality and Treatment-Plant Operation” Journal of New England Water Works Association, June 1960, 119.
(23)Heather Rudge, Conservation Report for the Pump House Main Reservoir, City of Burlington, (Burlington: Historic Preservation Program, The University of Vermont, 1988), 3.
(24)ibid.
(25)ibid.