[Illustration: PLATE XVII, FIG. 2.--CENTRAL TOWER AND STAIRWAY, OBISPADO RESERVOIR.]
The concrete for the beams, columns, side-walls, and floor, was a 1:2-1/2:4 mixture, crushed sand and stone being used throughout. In the roof slab the mixture was 1:2:3.
The whole of the concrete work of the reservoir was completed in 6 months, by the Company's own administration, and the reservoir was first put into service a few days after the great flood of August 27th, when the Estanzuela supply main, crossing the Santa Catarina River, was partly destroyed. Since that time frequent examinations of the inspection pit, which is connected by a pipe to the rubble drains under the floor, have never revealed the slightest leakage.
_Lay-Out of the Reservoir Roof and Grounds._--The Company owns about 11-1/2 hectares of land, which includes that occupied by the reservoir and its surroundings, and as this property is in an attractive situation, commanding fine views of the Sierra Madre Mountains, the whole of the works have been given a pleasing architectural character, and the grounds laid out to form a public park for the citizens of Monterrey.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--SKETCH PLAN OF LAY OUT AT OBISPADO RESERVOIR.]
The general plan of the scheme is shown by Fig. 14 and Fig. 2, Plate XVIII. The roof, which has an area of 1 hectare, has been laid out with walks and grass plots, and the surrounding embankments have been converted into driveways. Above the reservoir a small plazuela of 1/2 hectare has been laid out with a space above it for a band-stand. The whole of the ground has been encircled with carriage drives, on which it is the intention to plant shade trees. The lay-out of this land also embraced the scheme for protecting the reservoir by draining the surface-water away to the irrigation ditches.
COMPARISON OF SOUTH AND OBISPADO RESERVOIRS.
The two reservoirs are practically of the same capacity, the only difference being the level of the overflows in their relationship to the roof, which gives the Obispado Reservoir a slightly greater capacity. Some comparative figures may be of interest, owing to the differences in type and construction. Table 7 gives the comparative quantities of material in each reservoir proper, that is to say, exclusive of the valve-houses, lay-out of grounds, etc.