Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-10
Union and American


Frsm the Ncw York World
In ali cities the sewerage system receives
the attention Of the most scientific minds,
and is maintained by constant expenditure
al vast sums of money. Probably London
contains a greater length Of sewers than any
other city in the world. Their exact length
is. of course, unknown, because the first sew
ers were constructed, il Is believed, by the
Romans.
Commencing so far back, and added TO
by 80 many different generations, holding
different opinions as TO the best material, the
best mode Of Reconstruction, the most favorable
shape, and advantageous inclination, the
sewers of London viii furnish model for
almost any theory that may be started
Whoever examines the multitude Of sewers
of different constructions, and the vast ex-
perience which has been gained Of the work.
ings ofdiffereni kinds Of sewers, must think
there can remain nothing 10 be discovered,
and nothing said about sewers, which has
not already been discovered and said in Lon
don.
The matter of sewers seems 10 have been
left in London principally to private enter
prise. until 1923, for there are no records Of
sewerage acts prior 10 that time. At thai
time. however, the matter seems TO have be-
come one Of sufficient importance TO attract
attention and from that time forward they
have been constructed under the direction Of
law. Sir Thomas Moore, in an act in 1881,
revising the previous acts, first digniied il
with the name of a system. Including new
sewers constructed, and old ones discovered
and explored, 1900 miles Of sewers had
been ascertained TO be in London at the
close Of 1853.
These sewers were originally designed for
carving off the waters running in the gut
tiers, including the water thrown from the
house, and there was heavy penalty, until
within the last century, for discharging any
thing else into them Hence drains in
London and elsewhere, are not among the
time-honored institutions Of antiquity, and
the invention Of water closets and their con-
nection with the public sewers is a matter so
very recent that they are nowhere but par
tally introduced ; and in the great city of
Paris they are absolutely prohibited, except
in the case Of certain public buildings. 9th
er cities on the, continent, Brussels, Stras-
bourg and others, refuse 10 adopt them be-
cause il would deprive the municipality of a
valuable source of revenue-there being
persons who pay the city as high as four
francs for each inhabitant for the privilege of
emptying the vaults, the contents of which
they use IN sae mannfacture Of pObdrette. 3
MANY Of the London sewers are from u TO
ii feet high, by wide; Others, 81 by feet;
Others, s feet, by 10, and so on down, Of all
shapes and sizes, to the smallest pipe sewers.
They discharge directly into the Thames,
the outlet being below high-water mark.
When the tide rises TO an unusual height
it turns the sewage back into the city, and
drives the most noxious gases from the drains
into the houses. The eflluyium is most in
tolerable in the vicinity Of the man-holes,
and 80 poisonous that butchers are compelled
10 avoid such localities, it having been mo-
-tieed that fresh meat near. them becomes
tainted much more rapidly than when re-
mote from them.
Thefsewerage matter discharged into the
Thames renders the river even more filthy
than the Chicago river. The tide rises and
falls 20 feet at London, and, at high tide, the
soft mud banks become saturated with the
filthy outpourings Of the sewers, and, at low
tide, areexposed TO the air and the action of
the sun, producing a stencil, compared with
which, the exhalations of the Chicago river
are as sweet as the breath Of roses. The
matter became at length-as il viii
here, in time = Of such a serious char
acter as 10 demand attention and some
plan Of relief And, commencing in 1858,
ITO tons Of lime and II tons Of the chloride
Of lime are emptied daily into the Thames,
ut a cost Of $500, to assist in the purifca-
ton of its waters A plan Of intercepting
sewers was devised, and is now in course Of
construction. II will consist Of three gigan-
tic main tunnels at different levels and dis
tances from the river, which will intercepi
the sewers at right angles, receives their
contents and convey them along the course
Of the river eight miles below the city into
a reservoir one and one-half miles long, 100
feet wide and 81 feet deep. This reservoir
is arched over and covered with earth to
prevent the escape Of foul gases. Here the
sewage is partially deodorized, and at high
tide emptied into the middle of the river at
its bottom, 60 feet from the surface Of the
water. BY emptying the reservoir during
high tide the possibility Of any Of the sew
age matter being carried back into the city
is prevented These improvements win
cost, according to the estimates $20,000,000,
and If estimates Cor public Improvements
in that country are in any respect similar TO
estimates in this country, these works win
cost, completed, at least S30,000,000.