National Republican., 1877-09-06
THE UNHEALTHY RIVER FRONT.

A CIVIL ENoINEER DIssECrs 4 DotToRs
TECHNICAL PHRAsEs. AND OWES HIs
VIEWS ON THE sUBJRoT OF IMPROVING
THE DRAiNAoE
EDrToa REPUBLICAN, Tho communication
in your Issue Of the 5th instant on the i'm
;provement Of the Potomac, drainage, sewerage
tsnd health appears 10 be mainly production
sof DR.. Verdi. and, a. usuzl in emanations from
THAT source, II abounds in errors concealed un.
Sior redundancy Of technical terms, ss will
be shown more fully hereafter, probably be.
fore Congress will again act upon these highly
important questions' His urging the improve.
mont Of the river is not new idea II has
best engineers Of this country; but not In the
manner suggested by the Doctor. 70 force the
nsin channel from it natural course along
the Washington side to tho Virgins side Of
The river. This plan was devised about Is72
~ such gentlemen as A. R. Shepherd, o. E
sabooek and H. D. Cooke, the projectors Of our
present most pernioious system, or rather no
yystcm, Of drainage and sewerage, in which
aeplorabls and most shameful failure Dr.
Verdi has and still stands as the leading sani.
taIy adviser.
We all want TO see the river properly i'm.
proved. and az soon as possible. But few scien-
ehc and practical engineers can ever be In
tuced to sanction the Shepherd and Babcock
plan referred to. 1t appears too much like q
scheming ring -jobbing affair. II would req uire
TOO much time. II would be, too, very costly
fts effect on drainage would be inconceivably
bad. The doctor very properly objects TO the
present discharge Of the sewerage In the shal.
low water near the foot Of Seventeenth street.
But he seems to forget that this Is part Of the
plan hitherto approved and commended by
himself Of having all the sewage west Of Sixth
street turned westward against the tides and
current Of the river on \ plane from three 10
four feet higher, In times Of foods, than the
surface Of the Eastern Branch, the former
place Of discharge.
None Of the sewage ought 10 be discharged
at any point along the river front. The plan
generally approved, and part Of which was
under contract at the time DIR. Verdi and Mr.
Shepherd and company came 10 the surface,
but was unfortunately annulled by them, con
templatcd lntercepting all the sewage north of
the canal, between Rock creek and Arsenal
point, aud conduct It along the canal valley to
the Eastern Branch, thence to the main chan
mel Of the Potomac, quite outside Of the city.
This may still be done 1t Is hoped something
substantially like II may DO done very soon.
It Is highly important for sanitary purposes
and for insuring cleanliness along the whsrves
between the points named Then, having the
main channel restored TO Its natural side OF the
river there will be no more malaria rising from
any part of the city front Greater quantities
and far more deadly gases arise from the badly
constructed sewers thau from any part Of the
river
The following passage Of the Doctors is re-
narkable for laudation and for deception un-
der technica! terms. He says
Vssss ' :sna4 sgs SG @,
1he Improved PORTIONS OF the city have been greatly
yenaSie ii eases largely edncsd comparing iavcis
6iy with the healthlest districts ofthe country.
Now, does any body besides the Doctor know
Of any part Of the city that has been improyed