The Portland daily press., 1881-03-07

City Engineers Report.
The City Engineer, William A. Goodwin
has prepared clear, exhaustive and we'll writ.
ten report OF proceedings of his department
including sewerage works, for the year ending
Feb. %, 1881
Under the heads of street lines and street
grades, details OF work are given, with sugges-
tlons OF some changes of records of lines
when do not describe the lines as originally
located and built upon. No street line or
grade has been changed during the year. Lines
nave been given for building purposes. in fifty
I'VE, and grades in sixty-two instances
- Under the head of surveys, plans and pro-
MES, IS record of a large amount of work
resulting In MANY valuable plans and profiles
for work done, as we'll as for future reference.
Among these are toe new plan of Evergreen
Cemetery, the sewerage system of Munjoy
Hill, with probable arrangement of future new
streets on that hill, plans of city lots, copies of
revaluation plans, proposed changes of lines,
sewer plans, etc
Under the head Of new streets, is given the
grading of Beckett and Vesper streets, from
Beckett's lane 10 Congress street, distance of
901 and 906 feet respectively, adding 1 1907 feet
to our length of graded streets.
Under "street numbers" it is stated that
though nearly every street in the city has been
remembered, the new numbers have been ap-
pied only i'll the principal business streets and
lew others, resulting in great inconvenience
to the public, and suggesting mode of remedy
OF this existing confusion.
The only work done on the public grounds
with which this department has been con-
cerned, was the grading of small bed on the
Western Promenade, at the head of West
street, and the esplanades on Congress street,
between Munjoy and Morning streets, in
which are ~ elms, a row of 16 on either side.
The report speaks somewhat in detail of the
city's newly acquired property, behring's Oaks.
we copy the closing paragraph:
Inc proper Improvement of the whole area
OF the oaks must extend over q period of ma
ny years, and will. therefore, demand contin-
ulty OF thought on the part of those charged
with its execution. 1t should begin under the
guidance OF general plan, which should indi-
cate the main features of the completed land
scape, embodying, not alone the suggestion of
any one person, but of those also who had
most carefully and intelligently studied the
possibilities of the locality as compared with
the results elsewhere obtained The work
would then go on, year by year, towards pre-
scribed end, each detail by itself, through such
annual appropriations as the city could afford
to make for it.
The following sewers have been built during
the year: On Cumberland street, Bradford
street, Merrill street, Newbury street, Orange
street sewer, Melen street sewer, Portland
street and Mill-pond sewer. The result of the
building of the last mentioned sewer SAYS the
report, is thorough and efficient abatement
OF the sewage nuisance of the southerly creek
and of that part of the mill-pond which has
been filled, comprising the outfall receptacle
OF the drainage of 125 acres of city territory
The remainder of the pond and the northerly
creek are open to the unobstructed flow of the
tide, and as the amount of sewage which reach
es the creek is literally, in comparison with the
surface drainage and tide water therein, not
drop in a bucket-full, its obvious method of
control may without damage to the public
health, be postponed until the completion of
the extension of the mill-pond sewer in Back
cove. This extension will be attended with
many difficulties, but must be kept in mind as
urgently demanded to be begun as soon as pro-
vision can be made for it. Some of the i'm
portant facts bearing upon the case are as fol-
lows: The bed of the sewer just completed is
at point of discharge 81 feet above mean low
water mark, having fall enough for the extern
sion to any probable final terminus. The dis
lance from the present outfall, by way of the
channel to low water mark is 1900 feet, and
thence to Tukey's bridge, substantially 5000
feet. making the distance between bridges $500
feet. The average depth of water over the
route is rs feet, at mean high tide. giving nav
igable waters far beyond the harbor commits
slonerS' line which forms the city's limit of
construction on the southerly side of the cove,
SO that II the city were ready to begin the ex-
tension at once, neither the state nor the gen.
eral government would permit its construction
i'd that place, and another location must be
adopted
This is afforded by the marginal way loca-
ton which can be easily reached from the
present outfall and if graded way instead of
location, real instead of an imaginary en-
bankment, were in existence, the solution of
the problem would involve only the question
OF pecuniary ways and means. Any sewer
through the cove for the present and proba-
Oily for years to come, must be made of timber,
for which pile work would be the first requi-
site, The ton of the sewer would he five feet
above the general surface of the flats between
behring's bridge and Wilmot street dock, and
II not covered with bank of earth, or
DulIt at an inordinate expense, would be seri-
ously endangered if not destroyed by the ice
which hes there, lifting and falling with the
The distance through the ginal way is sub
stantially 67o0 feet, or say 406 rods. AS the
cost of a sewer of 6x7 feet area may be esti-
mated at $50 per rod, giving total cost of
$6O,90O, and if built in sections $1,000 per an
mum for ten years.. AS against this statement,
or to be considered with it, it is true that at
every tide the cove within the length of the
proposed sewer is flooded by five million tons of
pure sea water, and that the distance by the
channel from the head of the cove to point
between Fish Point and Fort Georges, having a
depth of seven fathoms at mean low water, is
less than two miles, insuring speedy removal
of cove fiatage on the ebb of deep water.
Extensive repairs and flushing of sewers
have been made during the year. A number
of new culverts with catch-basins have been
built and old ones rebuilt and repaired in di-
verse parts of the city.
Dredging has been done in Berlin Mills dock
at the outlet of Maple street sewer to the
amount of 1046 cubic yards; at the sugar house
46o cubic yards; in Commercial dock, at the
outlet Of Market street sewer, at cost of
$7751O.
The following recapitulation of expenses is