New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-07-14

sewer drain. an area item square miles, and Is
seven miles long; it is circular, varying
in size from nine to twelve feet in diam
oter, and was carried under five or SIX
canals and railways. The Northern Middle
Level sewer drains an area OF about
2s miles, and is raised high above the level OIL
the surrounding country like railway embank-
ment, which it perfectly resembles, having ralls
along the top for the contractors steam engines
and trucks, and is carried BY aqueducts over
streams, railways, streets, and roads," Inc
Low Level sewer is 10 miles in length, OF vary
ing size. The Southern Outfall sewer, ariy
IL feet In diameter, was for whole mile taken
under the town of Woolwich at depth varying
from 50 to 50 feet below the surface. On the
north, the three sewers converge at ABBEY
Mills. near Stratford, and their contents are
there thrown, by means of lit" INTO "ha'
is called the Northern Outfall sewer, and
conducted through that channel into the
reservoir at the opening OF Barking
Creek On the south side OF the Thames
the two intercepting sewers converge III
like manner at O point on Deptord
Creek, are then merged in Eli outfall OF their
own, and so discharge their contents into the
southern reservoir at CroSsness. From the
Abbey Mills on tho north side, which have a
nominal engine-power of ], l40 horses, for the
purpose Of lifting $1,000 cubic feet of sewage
per minute to hight of SO feet, st the sew.
age is lifted into the Barking reservoir, where
! it Is in a great measure disinfeoted, and where
it is retained till high water, and then discharged
into the eeni,r of the river. The Barking rescr.
voir is l63 feet average DEPTH and is divided by
partition.wals into four compartments, cover.
ing altogether an area OF 4l2.;'S4 superficial
feet, or about % acres. The external and par
| titon-walls are of brick.work, and the entire
area is covered by arches supported upon brick
piers, the floor being paved throughout with
stone. The reservoir is almost entirely above
tho general surface of the ground, and recovered
by an embankment of earth rising about two
feet over tho crown Of tho arches. The ground
on which it is built being unfit TO sustain the
massive structure the foundation Of the piers
and walls had to be carried down in concrete to
the depth of nearly 20 feet"
The total pumping power ia nomnally $3.50
horse, and the engines would consume 4i,ooO
tuns of coal annually if in full operation.
A. an Offset to this expense, however, it may be
stated that it formerly cost 10000 annually
for flushing pent-up refuse into the river, and as
much a. 1900 weekly during the Summer
months for disinfectsnts alone. But by the
new arrangement "the sewage Is not only at
once diluted by the large volume of the Thames
at high water, but is also carried BY tho ebb
tide Ia point in the river ~ miles below Lon
don Bridge, and it, return within the metro
potan area by the following loodtide is effect |
ually prevented. A series Of experiments has
demonstrated that the delivery OF sewage at
high water into the river at any point is equiva-
lent to its discharge at low water IL miles lower
down the river; therefore the construction OF
the IL miles Of sewer to Barking, so laid as
TO discharge there at high water, is virtually
equal to taking the sewage to a distance Of "A
miles from London
We have given all the space VIC could spare
f, to the foregoing meager outline of these gigan.
tic works, because nothing can be of deeper
interest to our own metropolis than to watch |
the success Of this plan, prepared to initiate or
improve upon Il. London was always the best !
drained city of Europe; but not content with /
her | 800 miles of sewers, which emptied into
the rivers, with far better reason than ours do |
into the rivers here, she has now boldly taken
tho continent mass delivered by these 1000
miles Of sewer, and by means of - miles of in
tercepting sewer. constructed at a cost of
"a ,000, 900, will carry it bodily IA miles away
Grayitation is TO furnish what power it will,
and where that stops the enormous engines at
Abbey Mills and Crossness Point begin. And
the conditions under which tho sewage is to
be delivered into the river should be particu.
arly noticed. Instead Of merely allowing tho
sewage TO run into tho river at any time
and take its chance with the tide (as used to
be the case in London and il now the
case here). it IL retained until high water
and then empticd, not at the banks, but into
the center Of the Thames. The completion of
one Of the sewers south of the river, we are in
formed, has actually rendered q district
hitherto damp and pestilental "as dry and
healthy as any portion of the metropolis" At
the present rate of sanitary advancement here,
how will New.York, which just now seems
likely to die Of contractors, compare with Lon
don in point of mortality, now that the latter
city has her drainage works completely The
horrible prominence which We have before