Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-11-29
PUBLIC HEATH.
The Drainage and Sewerage Of
Cities.
A Paper Read Before the American
Health Association by Col. Geo.
Il. Waring, of Newport, IA. L.,
at Nashville, Tenn,
NOV. 18th. 1919
PUBLIC HEARTH.

OF comparison in considering tn
charaetei of existing work. 1t Woul
SAVIOR of presumption to describe G
to prescribe methods radically dil
ferent and better than those now i
use. 1t is impossible to foretell tn
Improvements; which are to groy
out of the present rapidly increasing
interest among intelligent and inge
nious men in all that relates to san
itary practice. If | were to attemp
| now to set forth the details of per
feet system of sewerage | fear tina
my recommendations, like DR.
Richardson's City Hygeia, would
surpasss what practical men anC
investors of capital would ac
cept. The most that it is pruden
! to do is to consider the question il
its purely sanitary bearings and Il
indicate in what way the best re
quirements of public health may bt
met, in the light of our present
knowledge.
So far as we can judge of the fu.
ture from the indications of the
present, it would seem that in one
respect we are to witness a very
marked change in the practise oi
sanitary engineering. There is much
reason for believing that there will
De distinct separation between the
application of sewerage to the re-
moval of domestic and manufacture
ing wastes and saltwater, and the
construction of cOnduits for the pro-
lection of public and private prop
OFfyr &tNO fNfc csf
ter. This latter, like The construe-
ton of roadways and bridges, will
be treated as purely civil engineer
ing question, having, at best, only
an indirect sanitary relation. The
interests of public health. so far as
sewerage is concerned, will, in my
opinion be best served by a close adj
herence to the collection and remo-
val of foul waters, and to their prop
er final disposition. This suggestion
is not new. The discussion between
the advocates of the combined and
the separate systems of sewerage,
in England, has long been
active. The issue between them
seemed doubtful until the matter of
or chemical publication
of the effluent became prominent.
The arguments in favor of the ex-
clusiOn of storm-water from the sew
ers proper, seem to me SO conclusive
that / no longer hesitate to accept
such separation as essential to the
best sanitary sewerage. Sewers
large enough to remove storm-wa-
ter, according to the usual formulas,
are open to several serious objec-
tions. The question of cost is so of
ten the controlling question, even in
improvements of the most vital inn
portance, that the expense entailed
by the construction of storm-water
sewers constitutes an insuperable OBJ
stacle in the case of many a small
Town where sewerage is most nec-
essary. Even in the larger cities
The expenditure in this direction
might sometimes, if not always, be
for the benefit of other
necessary work.
The larger the sewer the more diff |
icult becomes the matter of venti-
alton. Cases are extremely rare |
where sewers of the storm-Water |
'ize are not, at least during the dry
md hot season, sewers of deposit to |
such an extent as to have the air |
made most foul by the decomposi-
ion of their sediment. Where the |
question of final disposal has be- /
come important, the admixture of |
Storm water with the sewage leads
o the constant embarrassment of
he system, whether the process be
chemical or agricultural. There
Gems to be no controlling reason /
Why storm-Water should be admit,
ed to the sewers at all for very long
of the street; and not sell
lonr; throughout the whole of the
mailer towns, the whole rainfall
nay be discharged over the surface
causing inconvenience.
Until about 1854, the cities of Al
,any and Troy, both large towns,
md both having very steep grades,
erminating on level ground, had
10 storm water sewers. The in
caused during heavy
torms was sinconsiderable, and there
vas practically no material injury
o public or private property. l am
informed by the engineer of both
tiles that neither inconvenience
rom the OverfioWing of the streets
Ior injury from wash constituted an
argument in favor of sew
rage. The sewers were built to the
torm-water rise only in conformity
With the general custom. The car
wing of surface water to a depth of
en- or fifteen feet below the surface
GEMS to be at least unnecessary.
treet wash can be safely admitted
0 sewers only after passing through
ettling basins, which are sure to ac-
an offensive and danger
us amount of decomposing filth.
/ believe that one of the most i'm
Ortant improvements that we are
estined to see is the removal of
as far as possible, by
e-gutters-carrying away the
reater accqmglations through very
nallow conduits, largely, perhaps,
trough covered cutters, easily ac-
essibIe for cleaning and flushing.
his part of the engineering prob
I'm being satisfactorily provided
)r, the sanitary drainage of a town
the removal of the wastes of its
opulation-becomes a simple prob
IN. 1t implies, however, one con-
ition which, Though almost un-
noWp in America, has been shown
Y foreign practise to be an attaina-
lie one; that is, it requires that the
reefs be kept clean by some other
leans than occasional drenching by
Orms.
There ij no more inefficient, cost
: and dangerous scavenger than
he rain which falls upon the sur !
ice of our roadways, and which
ashes their horse-droppings into {
le catch-basins at the street-cor- !
ers. In my judgment, a perfect
fstem of sanitary sewerage, for a
nall town or a large one, would be
)meWhat like the following:
No sewer should be used of a !
mailer diameter than six inches, !
ecause (a) it will not be safe to J
1opt a smaller size than four-inch
II housevdrains, and the sewer must
9 large enough surely to remove {
hatever may be delivered by these; 9
y because a smaller pipe than six I
lch would be less readily ventila- q
ID than is desirable; (c) and be-
ause it IL not necessary to adopt .
mailer radius than three inches to l
.o,,-o N oIaa ncipnr of tho ahaOnpl hU I