Springs, bridges and towers: how the Moscow water system has changed throughout its 214-year-old history

The Museum of Water is located on the area of Moscow’s first sewerage pump station on the corner of Krutitskaya Embankment and Sarinsky Proyezd. It is surrounded by brick buildings from the late 19^th – early 20^th century, monuments of industrial architecture. More history can be found inside the museum including details on the development of Moscow’s water distribution system since the 14^th century and the state of the system today.

On 28 October, the centralised Moscow water distribution system celebrates its 214^th anniversary. Oksana Bozhneva, director of the Museum of Water, talked with mos.ru about the most interesting facts in the history of Moscow’s oldest utility system.

Question: What events are essential to understanding the history of Moscow’s water supply system?

Oksana Bozhneva: Moscow has had various water systems at different times because there have been several water sources. But in terms of the central water system, the credit goes to Catherine the Great. She made this important decision to build a public water system.

By that time, all water sources were already rather polluted, and the river was being used for various things: its water was used both for drinking and for housekeeping and technical needs. Another factor was widespread disease and epidemics: it seems that the Moscow Plague Riot of 1770–1771 had not been forgotten. Catherine II decided to allocate funds to build a water supply system and signed a corresponding executive order in 1779.

In 25 years, the Mytishchi water pipeline was built: water was transported to Moscow from the springs in Mytishchi. It was a gravity-feed conduit, there was no water treatment, but the water tasted great. The water was even considered to have healing properties, almost like mineral water.

By the late 19^th century there were new fundamental changes in the city with new implications. Moscow became a large European city, and the Mytishchi water pipeline could no longer meet its needs. The city began drawing water from surface sources, mostly from the Moskva River, using new technology and the Rublyovskaya water supply station, first known as the Rublyovskaya pump station, built in 1903.

In 1937, the Moscow Canal was opened which carried water from the Volga River, and the Vostochnaya (Eastern) water station. The story of construction is well-known and very tragic, because it was constructed by political prisoners under slave-like labour conditions. However, the new water source saved Moscow from the water shortage that had already begun by then, especially in the east of the city, because the Moskva River could no longer meet the capital’s water demands.

The water treatment procedure has changed, of course, as in the beginning the process was very simple: the water was filtered through sand. Since 1904, new technologies have been introduced. At first it was coagulating agents and de-liming. Later, in 1916, chlorination was gradually introduced. The classic two-step purification system was developed which is still used today: settling and filtering.

Question: The question that is always debatable: can you drink the tap water?

Oksana Bozhneva: Yes, absolutely. Most visitors are skeptical about that. When you tell them that, they raise their brows in disbelief. But our water can certainly be used for drinking. It does not need any additional filtration, but people worry less when they filter it: it is just a habit. But there is no practical reason for it: of course, water travels long distances in pipes, four or five kilometres, but the public still gets high quality drinking water. We have very strict laboratory tests.

Question: Let’s get back to the history. The Rostokinsky Aqueduct is one of the most interesting sights in the northwest of Moscow. What was its practical purpose?

Oksana Bozhneva: Yes, the aqueduct is really beautiful: it is a cultural heritage site, Russia’s largest stone bridge at the time, 356 metres long. From the technical point of view, it served as a means to transport water across an obstacle, in this case a river.

The Mytishchi water pipeline was a gravity-feed conduit. Water was carried to Moscow along the river beds via cast pipes, and several aqueducts carried it above ground level. The only one left is the Rostokinsky Aqueduct which is a unique structure with 21 arcs over the Yauza River. At the time, it was topped with a metal-covered trough to carry the water.

Question: What other structures in Moscow are related to the history of the water distribution system?

Oksana Bozhneva: Two really great fountains, Petrovsky and Nikolsky, have survived since the time of engineer Nikolai Yanish, who renovated the Moscow water pipeline in 1826–1835. Back then they served as water-intake fountains, one of which was located on Teatralnaya Square, and the other was at Neskuchny Garden, near the old Academy of Sciences Presidium building. The architect was the noted ornamental sculptor Ivan Vitali.

The brick industrial style buildings of the Rublyovskaya water supply station date back to the late 19^th century. Other structures built in this style include the Krestovsky water towers which were near the beginning of the Yaroslavskoye Motorway at the Krestovskaya outpost. These buildings looked just amazing, and unfortunately, they were torn down in 1939 during the renovation of the motorway. All these structures were designed by the talented Russian architect of German origin, Maxim Geppener.

Question: Are there any legends or tall tales about the history of the Moscow water system?

Oksana Bozhneva: There is one story that is both funny and true: it was told by the first head of the Rublyovskaya water supply station. When he and his colleagues started the system — by the way, the opening was quite unpretentious, without any fanfare — and opened the Vorobyovsky water tank for filling, they poured a bottle of champagne in it, saying: “Now, all Moscow citizens can drink champagne today!” I think the story is true, because these are the memories of the actual workers.

Question: Are there any exhibits in the Museum of Water which you are especially proud of?

Oksana Bozhneva: I guess it would be the 200 year-old albums with illustrations. We have authentic handwritten albums dating back to late 18^th – early 20^th centuries, and that is not all. Our showcases present authentic calligraphic writings by the engineers of that time and detailed drawings of the buildings we have talked about: the Alexeyevsky and the Mytishchi water elevator structures, the Krestovsky towers, etc.

The exhibit that always attracts our visitors is the amazing illuminated model of Moscow where you can trace where the water came from and went to at different times in the city’s history. You can also see fragments of old pipelines: a part of a wooden underground pipe, a clay soil pipe and many other things.

Question: How was the museum established?

Oksana Bozhneva: It was opened on 15 June 1993; this year we celebrated the 25^th anniversary. It was a good time for us to open it: we had the experience, technology, people who had collected and stored old documents and interesting exhibits, and then they wanted to share them and talk about them. At first the museum was aimed at professionals; it was not open to the public like now, there was a tour schedule. Later, more high school and university students started visiting our museum, and we realised that people were interested in it.

Water is such an endless topic. All children study it at school, even if the subject is covered only a little. We adjusted our material for secondary school pupils, and the children became interested; they wanted to study it deeper, many high school students choose the museum for so-called career guidance training, they want to find their future career. The reason is that our museum actually covers various fields: from science to social issues.

Question: Does the Museum of Water hold classes for school children dedicated to ecology and environmental protection?

Oksana Bozhneva: Yes, we do this regularly. One of our halls has a dedicated area for such classes. We teach children about everything — from statistics to specific precautions to protect water sources. How much water is consumed in a Moscow flat every day, how a much smaller amount would suffice, how water sources are affected by the litter left by people on the river bank, etc.

The Museum of Water is open from Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is free.

The archive photos are courtesy of the Moscow Main Archive Directorate (Glavarkhiv).

The archive photos are courtesy of the Moscow Main Archive Directorate (Glavarkhiv).