, 1863-01-16
A Covered Aqueduot and Mature,
Filter Basin. /

|
1nittccs of investigation; the evil wa
on the increase. md -as the pack
ing. .season set in. in addition to the other FL
| thy horrors, a To1uminous current of bloc,
rolled throughout the. entire length Of th
river, adding to the odor OF the sewers th
no1ious e1hatations Of the packing houses
The public Wared indignantly loud in Its clam
OTIS, aud the Common Council found them
selves compelled to take action Of some dos
cription- They met and instructed the Mayo
mud Comptroller to sign contract with Mr.
Preston, Superintendent Of the Canal, b,
which portion of the water of the Ca1ume
river should be diverted through the feeder
and pumped into the river, thereby creating an
artificial current which should carry of tile
i1npurity. This plan. however, can only be
put in operation while the canal is in disusc
and In many other respects is temporary in its
natnre, If not quite entirely imperative. Some
nnnl plan must be adopted: It Is time that
measures Of permanent nature be devised
both for thoroughly cleaning tic river and
securing also an undiminished supply oj
wholesome water from the hydrants, which
shall obEiate the use Of filters, Us well as the
presence Of pesti1ence or such eptdemics as
are now scourging the city.
Before urging any particular method Of &C.
complishing these desiderata; It may not be
foreign to this article to briefly glance at some
Of the various plans which have been sub
mitted.
TEE RIVER DIVERSION.
/ 1 farnr3ta 1,rnfan& .p5 kt,n ,.,n
secured BY the late contract entered into be,
tween the city and the Illinois and Michigan
Canal Company, Is to divert the water Of the
Calumet and Desplaines rivers into the Chi.
cago river, by means of the feeder and punps
plan familiar to all our readers. While this
plan perhaps n ould first present itself to the
public, still it admits Of serious objections,
and those ofa class which renderit totally in
adequate to the ends proposed The plan
might be partially practical, If sufficient sup.
ply Of water could be procured at all times
from these rivers, and granting the supply, Il
the power at Bridgeport were capable Of Gre,
ating current strong enough to wash the
river out. In addition to these objections,
which are OFFS serious nature, is the additional
one that the vested rights Of the Canal Com.
pany, as well as those Of tho mill owners at
points along the canal, would be materially
encroaehed upon, entai1ing thereby continual
litigation In which the city would prove a suf.
fering defendant.
1STEHcEpTEa SEWERS,
Another plan which has met some favor il
that Of constructing gintcrcepting sewers along
eaehmargin Of the river to receive the filth.
and empty itinto the lake. This plan, although
promising the most desirable results, is at the
present time theory, barren Of developed
ana nnal results. It has been adopted by the
city OF London in the cleansing of the Thames,
but as yet has failed to dcduce results upon
which to base any calculations Of its practical
ra1ue. The scheme Is gigantic and erpcn-
siVe one, demanding both time and money.
The former Chicago cannot afford, the latter
she cannot spare, and while other plans
promise equally well at less expense, and
with less Of experiment In their character,
they should have the preference.
THE DEEP CUT.
4 third plan, the proposed ship canal, car.
rying OF the filth into the Illinois RiYer. is q
Tcry fayorite one.
It would undoubtedly be effective at all
times SO fur as the main river and South
Branch arc concerned. 4 mere ditch to the
Illinois River, however, would only confer
upon those places bordering the Illinois River
the fayor Of receiving the filth Of which we
ourselves have so complained so loudly-a
favor Of which they would rid themselves BIZ
judicial or legislative action. The Ship Canal,
ifit should ever be constructed, would not be
liable to these objections, but the insurmount-
able "if7' ut present. starcs us in the face: m
''h'' open toextremc doubts both az to time
and expense, and at the same time i1nmedi-
ately applicable only: to portion Of the river.
- There are two or, three points to
be considered with reference to this project,
Its construction is problematical. It's status
In Congress at the present time is anything
but encouraging. As condition to Its con
struction, the Eastern members demand the
construction Of four Immense lines of rail-
road, which, practically, must delay If not kill
thu bill. Again, supposlng. the Canal built,
and the people bordering upon tho Illinois
River unfavorable to- the receipt Of Chicago
filth, as undoubtedly they would be, then
some other plan must be sought. In addition
to these objections, the deepening Of the Canal
will require many ycars of labor. Chicago
cannot whit those many years. Whatever
plan isadopted must be adopted speedily. Tic
evil Is on the increase and cannot diminish.
while the city is augmcnting yearly its popu
ltion and Its sewerage.
COVERED AQrRpucT.
Another plan has been proposed, which
seems to us the most feasible and economical
and one which meets thc. approval Of those
competent to judge, and that Is: the construc.
tlon Of covered aqueduct, about ten feet in
diameter, from the lake to the river, at some.
point In the South Division, cay along North
street, which is situated about. four blocks
south Of Twelfth street. =. -.
Through this channel, with steam engine
of one hundred horse power and wheels sim
liar to those ut Bridgeport, or perhaps pro-
pellcr wheel, fully e, 900 cubic feet could be
driven through In . minute, or enough in
twenty four hours to drive out all the water
from TINT point to the mouth Of the main
river: This would produce current twice
as strong rs that produced By the wheels st
Bridgeport. OF course, that portion of the
rtrer sonth Of It would be left uninluenccd
BY the current, but all the filth Of Brideeport.
as NC know to our soErow, is gradually work
ing towards the city, and would soon be
canght BY The current, andhurried of to th1
lake.
This would cleanse the river thoroughly. as
far as the surface and floating matter are con-
cerned: The heavier matter, which sinks to the
bottom Of the river, would be carried out by
the spring ffcshets. What these might fall to
accomplish, dredging would supply. An
hours dredging ut the outlet OF. each sewer
would remove the deposits Of an entire yesr.
at q triaing cost.
:: 80. SECURING 1HE RIVER
In relation to the securing Of the river bv
heshets,' the report Of the Chief Engineer Of
the Board Of Sewerage Commissioners, made
in 1855, says: :.
" It is remembered by many, that tho river
became quite offensive about thirteen years
fuse from slaughter houscs being Thrown into
it. Since these substances have been kent
ont Of however, the nuisance haa been com
parativc1y slight, and has not Increased ner-
ceptibly, notwithstanding the remarkable
growth Of population, md corresponding in
crease Of sewage; discharged In the liver,
When the spring freshets scour the river
well, disagrceablc smells the next summer arc
perceptibfy less, than when there arc no
spring fteshets.: For instance, last year there
was little ii amy complaint from the state Of
The river, and get the amount Of sewage dis
charged into 1t was never SO great; but the
3Sssonitng 1t received, when the snow and Ice
massaaso msssa 81 in February, was unusually good,