Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-02-11


ed communication from VIM. Wise, EGG Com
missioner Of the western section OF the City Canal
addressed to the City Councils throug one Of its
members, and which on being read in the Beard
Of Aldermen, was referred to the committee ap-
pointed TO attend to the interests OF the city
before Congress, with instructions to bling the
SUBJECT before tbs committees Of Congress on
fubllc Buildings and Grounds, contain some
suggestive facts. Our opinion heretofore ex-
pressed, Is that the Canal is a nuisance, which
must sooner or later compel Its being filled up or
covered over, but as long a. IL exists there can
ne no doubt Of the propriety Of having n tho
TJughly dredgsd. We suppose not one in a
hundred Of the citizens of Washington are aware
Inat tue nIth OF the sewers emptied into the canal
does NOT pass for the most part into the river but
- Wash'd backwards ard forwards along the
sire OF the canal by the tides, and is thus con-
thlally stirred ard shaken up for the benefit
OF the public noStril. We believe that Commits
siOner Wise has made some experiments show
Ing that light articles Of the same density as the
water, and therefore travelling with IT, thrown
lnio The canal. at say Four-aBd-a half street
bridge, never pass into the river hut are cauU ht
by the return tide In the neig h borhood of Four
teenth street bridge, and brou; hit back to their
starting place. Tais II rather a startling fact
taken into connection with tie kaoyledce ~;
upon the Introduction OF AJIeduct water. the
canal Is to b. made the receptacle of the filth of
should Congress make an AUTHORIZATION for
grading ana filling up the low grounds south of
TIRE CdpSOl, the depOsiies drsd gsd from The canal
eonld be used adyantagrously fo' such filing.
WA<HINGToN. Jan 80, 1850
HI. j. r. BTo'-n, OF b card Of AIdsriHsu:
SIR: As chairman Of the committee on drain
age and sewerage, beg leave TO address you
WIN respect TO the amount Of sediment that find.
us way into The Washington CITY Canal from the
sewers and drains OF Washincton From the
mouth Of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to Third
street west, the section of the tnaI under my su
peIVlslon Is Affected by every rain in consF ouence
~ the amount OF deposit brOuy ut down tn. sew
erS and cutters from the streets, low grounds,
etc, OF the city. The influx Of the waters Of the
chesapeake AID Ohio Canal in conjunction with
the s'wer OnlSeven'eentb stree: d rain ny The War
Department, forms large bar near the IN nth Of
ne CITY canal, uneqGal!Pd by any except those
formed by Tenth street sewer and T. her G. eek.
ana u las required constant attention during the
last TWO years to keep the canal at all navigab'e
~ tina, point. The sewer a; Sixteenth Street
dra'ninS The Presidential Mansion and grounds,
d. wen as Reservation /, forms the second bar
on n" north side of the canal The third bar
on The north side Of the canal, formed frcm sew
'r>, Is tndt at Fifteenth street deposited from the
sewer which drains the Treasury Department
and part Of Fifteenth street The sewer AZ Four-
teenth street, which drains Pennsylvania ayspue
from Fifteenth 10 Fourteenth street, deposits
much sediment at the pcin: of its entrance into
the canal near Fourteenth street BRIDGE Thir
t"rnth street sewer, which drains .Thirterntb
81 Get from u TO the canal, ard Pennsylvania ay-
" N'iic ulSlduCc, 1OlmS another large bar
in the canal.
The sewer at Eleventh street. which drains 4
part oil pennsylvania avenue also and the sewer
a. Tenth street, which drains Franklin square,
and great amount Of private property are each
sources OF great dCpOSite al the points of their
entrance into the canal, the latter bringing in
more sediment than any other sewer on the north
SIDE OF the canal. The sewer running through
Ninth street, draining the Post and Patent Offices
i another source Of heavy deposite bringing in
Ssfeat amount OF sediment at every heavy rain.
The sewer al Sixth street, which drains a pat
Of pennsylvania, and the three small sewers
which drain the reservations north Of the canal
between Third and Sixth streets all effect 10 a
great extent, TIE naviga6ility OF the canal Tiber
creek, which drains Judiciary SQUARE and the
buildings thereon, as well as the inf mary and
JAIL, Is very hravy Inlet TO the canal and the
sediment deposited at this point affects the can9I
q lar as Seventh street bridge As mentioned
20 Won IN a former report, the unfinished condi
tio1 OF Its banks causes them to be undermined
by the waters of the creek when they fail into
the creek, and are swept by the next heavy rain
into the canal. Alluding to this the Commits
"l"ner Ok Public Building, in his late report TO
To- secretary OF the Interior. saws: 90 The walls
of Tlber creek are still down, and the hanks
have been very much washed and Injured by tn,
summer"
As the creek flows into the canal, It has neces-
sarlly been the receptacle OF the wa>hinrS from
us baakS. That part of the Mali between the
canal and Seventh street which has been recently
graded, drains into the canal at Sixth street ana
Yea
the c"SSPool al that point, which holds twenty
at loads If material, has beea cleaned ont four
tlneS. ana n does not prevent One-fIurth of the
sediment that passes into 1t from bring deposited
into the canal la the aforementioned reporf
ne Commissioned Of Public Buildings aIludipg
10 the Mall, says: - The unprorectsd newly
graded suTfsce OF the Mall, has suffered from the
rams serious damage, which will probably re-
CURE from tnceR hundfcd to two thousand dol
ia's TO make it good" If IL would Iequirc such
an app opridtion TO replace the material unon
The Mall. ~ would also require A proportionaIlv
!argeT appropriation to remove tie material from
Tie bottom of the canal where the greater paIt az
!, has been deposited f ~
The Smithsonian grounds being in a some
what nriSh'd condition, deposit less sediment
than formerly, bat the public reSerya'ion hC
tween Twelfth and Fourteenth streets, leaves a
ARG amount at the mouths OF the three sewers
Vs. ioI IT'S Drainage. All these streets inter
seeing the Mall south of the canal, viz: FouT-
dnd-a-heiL seventh, Twelfth, aud Fourteenth
streets, draIn immediately iutO the canal
ELe sediment thus deposited in the canal from
Inc sewers, IN conjunction with that which il
brought down tie cutters, keeps il in AN almost
nnHavIEan!e cOndi'Inn, Notwithstanding the an
nuAl expenditure Of about s. tEpl for the orrDosa
al coping the dredging macEine I'm operation
lHow b~g leave, in consideration Of the circum-
s'arcsS above related of the drainage Of al the
Pup.lc reservations, tue STATE, War. Navy, and
treasury Departments, Presidential Mansion
Post and Patent Offices, Judiciary S1ua-e Iufi-
mary capitol grounds, and Botanical G. IDEAS
TO Su5yest to you the ProPrIety and expedIency
Oi d>kln2 OF Congress A small appropriation for
'h~ Iu' pose OF deilaying part Of the expense an
nudIy incurred by our Corporation In dredging
the raual The canal is absolutely necessary for
tn drainage Of Washington; and a. all the prop.
'i'y belonging To the Government, as we'll as
thdt belonging 10 private ind vIduals rains into
me canal little assistance mig ht Justly be asked
for by our Co. pOratiOH for TSnoy ny his sedi-
Mfnt-a ncces airy consequence of tie -alnape
an, respectfully, yOuC ob~dient servant
WILLIAM WISE,
Commissioner western sect. on canal
"HosEIs II Last Friday party Of young
men were out on a shooting expedition, they
made most singular discovery Having occa-
sion TO pass through the old Catholic burial