PC: Philadelphia Water Department,
Levine stated that these replacements continued until 1858, when “the last wooden pipe was taken out of service (if not out of the ground). The PWD reported that the section discovered on Spruce Street was mostly rotten, although a couple of sections were salvaged and moved to a storage facility. The replacement of wooden mains continued for decades.
Workers replacing a water main on Philadelphia’s Spruce Street in 2017 uncovered wooden water mains dating back to the early 19th century. The pipes were found during excavation along the 900 block of Spruce Street on 3 May, and research by Adam Levine, PWD’s historical consultant, indicates the main was most likely installed around 1812. Its archives contain more than 30,000 items and are dedicated to preserving the history of the department and Philadelphia’s water system, according to the PWD.
Because the old structures would not withstand the water pressure of the modern delivery system, the department had previously published images from its archives to address an urban belief that some customers might still be served by wooden mains, stating that this would not be possible.
Records from the city’s Watering Committee show that a pipe was laid “Back of Spruce, from Ninth to Tenth” between October 1811 and October 1812. The wooden mains dated to a period when Philadelphia’s water system was still developing, according to the Philadelphia Water Department. A Watering Committee report dated 5 November 1812 recorded that a pipe had been laid “Back of Spruce, from Ninth to Tenth” between October 1811 and October 1812, according to Levine’s research.
The report also listed other pipes laid near the same block during that period. The discovery added to the Philadelphia Water Department’s collection of historical material documenting the city’s water infrastructure. The Spruce Street discovery also helped document a period when wooden mains formed part of Philadelphia’s water network. The PWD noted that the discovery was not the first time its historic wooden water mains had attracted public attention.
The wooden mains formed part of Philadelphia’s early water infrastructure before the city transitioned to cast iron pipes.