Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1866-06-07
EOCAL NEWS.

THE WAsHfae Tos CASAL-Repo~' Of tse ~
GiH.eI In laying before our readers me fol-
Iowa. report Of the Engineer an charge Of the
Washington Canal improvement, we desire
10 correct one OF the many Embellishments of the
Ckronsclesn reference 10 the work rha, paper
yesterday asserted thai IL was socly when
Ner,hern, capital Tor, Il you please. lsakee en-
tefPrisel stepped forward ana proposed 10 do
the work-Grstnitoasly,t ia pom which. ~nder the
administration Of Mayor Wallace, and his
friends, hundreds and thousands Of dollars had
been expended.p that they woke up 10 the sense
ted upon the city,
Now. Tor the facts, which are well known
TO oil citizens OF Washington VINO nave taken
an interest in the matter. In November last
Mr.. BenJanin Seversou submitted TO the Wash.
tnKton .esty Corporation, through be President
Of the Common Council, "a plan py which the
city canal can De inoroughly. economically
and speedily cleaned. and kept sos" in a man
ner to,nake the canal permanently navigable.
SAND il will thus AT once becor1H y source of
revenue to the city" Not untii,shis plan (al-
most identical with that recommen ced by the
Board Of Engineers appointed Z ader the action
ofCongTess, and now being carried out by the
ciiy,) was 50 submitted. and tbs Corporation
had ,he matter under consideration, did
wake mp to the fact that there was money an
it," with what result we already know. But
to the report:
ENsINKER's OFFICE oS WASHINGTON
CANAL, June 9th. 1s1-Hon. Riohd,d Waiiack,
Mayor Of tAe City Of. WashiAetsa Sir: am
happy IN beng able TO report that the exca-
vaisons of that part of the Washington City
Canal east OF Third street is finished TO the
depth contemplated for theIasesent, except the
slight obstruction formed by the Railroad
bridge At Maryland aveaae, which the Rail.
road Company will soon remove, ana that the
tide now flows regularly through this part of
the canal to the depth aS from three TO FIVE
anCa- hslf feet. carry in of not only the great
quantity OF filth flowing from the Capitol
.x.sf
annoyance TO this sectian, but all other matter
discharged into the canal that will noat is also
freely carried OFF. anG3 the purifying effect Of
SO large quantity of fresh water flowing
through with every ti0e. is seasibIy and agree
ably felt.
The causeway at Ifh street is expected 10 he
gates in operation by The end of this mouih
certain, and possibly by the 18th of this month.
when we will have a daily flow Of some eight
or ten. millions cRbic feet OF comparatively
pure wafer const.nsly moving iR one direction
through the eutiTs len 9Th of the canal.
The excavations on that part OF the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal. near Rock Creek, will
be finished ia fifteen days from this time, which
Will furnish ihs city canal ish an additional
volume OF clear water of Two feet teep and
about forty feet width.
Thus far thee has not beer. the least Tn usual
illness among the laborers employed ON this
work; nor have i been able to learn that there
has been single case of ;ilHess along the canal
resulting from the excavations; though great
SdIt Has OsSu tdhtn 10 CorTy OUT NOur 0lrpC-
tions and the ad vice of thu Board OF Health in
the application OF disinfectants
And now, as all the excavations at first con.
templated being made On the Washington Canal
before next winter, from which the least dan.
ger was apprehended, are finished, and as no
evil has resulted from il, but much good, by
purifying the air and in making the canal par
TALLY Aavigable during high tide. 1 would
most respectfully suggest the propriety of sub
hitting to the Board Of Health the question
whe.her we may not, with entire safety, enlarge
the now Of water, and still further improve
the navigation by removing some of the most
prominent sand bars from that part of the canal
between I'd and sth streets. The sand OF which
these bars are mainly composed, is not very
foul, and II can be conveyed in scows direct TO
the causeway at the foot OF 18th street. and
there deposited under water, where il will be
quite harmless, and where it will contribute
towards the formation Of that work, and such
as may be left elsewhere can be thoroughly
disinfected. Very respectfully,
Is. SEvERSoN.
Engineer in charge of the canal improvement