Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-05-26
THE SEWERS.
Their Condition and what Is Being Done
TO Extend, Repair and Keep Them
in Good Order.
Maintained and Kept I'm Order ut
thrilling Cost They are the saliva
lion or the City.

A call at the city engineers Office yester.
| day disclosed some very interesting facts in
regard to the sewers, their workings, the ex-
tensions being made and the cost of keeping
them in order. Mr.. Niles Meriwether, the
city engineer, together with his assistant,
Mr.. A. j. Murray, who has been in his same
position for the past twenty years (from the
| time of Ed Fuckers administration, in 1851,
and Mr.. A. Ross, superintendent of sewers,
are placing the Taxing District sewers in
| such condition as to excite th5~enyy of not
| only all the cities and towns of this country,
but also many OF foreign lands. In fact, the
| department has recent letters on file from
nearly all the large cities of this country,
and from Milan, Italy, asking for informa-
! ton of the Waring sewer system.
One of the chief beauties of this system
| is that as many outlets may be made as de-
sired, and the growth of the city will not
necessitate enlargi1g the present mains or
branch pipes, but only extending and max
ing different outlets.
At present only the larger portion of the
sewage furnished by the residence part
of the city is carried off through the
Waring outlet which is in and near the
empty into the Mississippi at the points
named: Bickford sewer, at the foot of WASH
ington street; the Goyer sewer, at the foot of
Jefferson street; the Elder sewer, which is
the first ferra-cotta pipe ever laid in this
city, empties at the foot of the alley, be-
tween Court and Madison streets, and the
Porter sewer, which empties at the foot of
Union street, making four additional outlets
to our city sewers.
Owing to the unlimited amount of water
citizens used when the Wsring Fewers were
first put down the Water Company was I'M
able to give enough at remote points from
their pumps, and the mains were overtaxed to
carry off what was used or rather wasted.
Recently more moderate use of the water
has taken place by the Water Company
forcing their rules of cutting off the supply
where a constant stream was permitted,
which shows the calculation of Mr.. Warning
to be correct-that our main pipes are
ample in size for the territory they drain.
Just here 1t may be proper to say, in Justice
to the much-abused- Water Comps that
the number of gallons of water furnished
during the early part of the sewer system was
three times greater than was furnished during
the same time by any other water company
to proportlonate number OF subscribers.
Engineer Meriwether informs US that his
force is very small at present, as there are no
great amount OF sewers being put down. In
fact, his men are only making short connec-
tions, adding such improvements as man.
holes, etc, attending to the removal of OBJ
structions and the repairing of the flush
tanks. 1t is contemplated by the engineer to
make separate outlet for all the southern
section of the sewer as soon as the balance of
the branch sewers now being built in
the tenth, fifth, and sixth wards are COM
pleted. Several surveys have already been
made for that purpose, and it is the prevail
ing opinion that junction with the east
sewer at Union to connect with the Porter
sewer is the most satisfactory of the surveys.
But Just at present there is no necessity for
an additional outlet.
Mr.. Ross, the superintendent, informed us
that the cost of maintaining this system,
which extends to the length OF about thirty
miles, was only little more than $1,000 dur
ing the past month, in which was included
two months water rent for flush tanks,
amounting to nearly $500. In plain figures,
we mayssafely claim that the cost of main
tanning the sewers is only about one-fftieth
OF the cost for proportionate length OF sew
ers and service in other cities; and we are
permitted to boast of the entire absence of
that death-dealing foul air so common as a
result of other systems.
A fact which should not be lost sight of
by some of our citizens who apprehend
contamination of our supply of water from
the present outlet of the Waripg sewers in
Wolf river, is that the sewage from the
thickly settled and business portion OF the
city is not deposited at that peint, bat is car
ried off into the Mississippi river at four
points, from Washington street south, by the
private sewers known as the Bickford, Cover.
Elder and Porter sewers, which were built
by private subscription, purchased recently
by the city, and made q part of our sewer
system.