Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-29

No. HE.
THE REMEDIES PROPOSED.

THE REMEDIES PROPOSED.
From the Sanitary Engineer.
The project suggested by Col. warfng WIN
next engage our attention, and we shall follow
the different branches of the subject In the same
order as before. The first one, that ofthe recti-
hcation of the river is solved in a way that is
unusual with US, but very common in Holland
Instead of advocating the filling up of the fats
to a level above high water, he recommends
that the river be confined to its channel by
strong embankments. bulkheads, or otherwise,
the fats to be kept near their present level.
Their subsoil Is to be artifcially drained to a
sufficient depth to secure the same result as to
dryness that would be obtained by the filling
which has been recommended by others.
So far as practicable, it Is added, all upland
water should be made to flow to the channel
without descending into the drained lands The
deep drainage of the reclaimed territory should
be by open canals and ditches and the water
pumped into the river.
Aside from the economy of his system, the
advantage is claimed of affording easy deep
drainage to those large areas of the city which
now lie but slightly above the tide level. 1t is
also asserted that such of the reclaimed land as
Is not needed for municipal purposes, would,
from its fertility, and its nearness to the market,
have an agricultural value fully compromising
Tor the original and permanent cost of Its i'm
prOvement. Finally, Col. Waring asserts that
the filing in of the Kidwell bottoms would be
failure as far as the public health is concerned
To doubt the practical feasibility of the Dutch
system as here proposed, would not be justih-
able, as the conditions are quite favorable to t.
The plan must, however, be tested, with refer
ence to its cost and its influence on public
health As to how far it mag be cheaper must
be left to detailed estimates. IL strikes u.s. how
ever, that the difference would not be as great
"a at first sight might be supposed. The streets
as laid out on Observatory HILL will necessitate
nf for
which the flats offer q convenient dumping
ground When the river shall be confined to
narrower limits, considerable amount of
dredging will become necessary to obtain a
greater depth OF water way, or to prevent re-
deposit OF silt near Alexandria, which an in
creased velocity in the new channel would carry
away. This dredged material can also be used
for filling up, and the remaining quantity
CURED will therefore not be very great. The
present soil of the meadows is soft and filling
syer it would somewhat displace the same But
shis could not be to any great extent. if Judged
som the effect of the causeway leading To the
Long bridge
The plan advocated by Colonel Warinc neees-
states a constant expenditure for pumping the
subsoil water and without heavy defences and
great precautions still permits the risk of food
ing the entire area under less favorable cOndi-
tions than If the territory were raised to higher
level.
We cannot. therefore. feel as sangune about
the great economy of this plan as its author nor
would be comparative failure from a sanitary
point of view. On the contrary, we think there
Is reason to believe that the reverse is more
probable.
The drainage and gradual drying of marshy
soil exposes it at least for a few wears until
completely purified by rain water and oxidation.
to the dispersion of miasnatic influences which
would necessarily affect the health of Washing
ton more seriously than even the present condi-
ton Of the flats. Proofs of such influence are
ABUNDANT. aitad in foe
OF this plan, namely the Surrey Side of London.
which is partly below high water mark of the
Thames, and drained somewhat as here pro-
posed, shows, as a rule, the highest rate of NOR
tally in the metropolis. An embankment of
clean soil or river silt could not have the same
effect
The next object considered is the drying of the
sod In those parts of the city where it is now
subject to saturati0n. 1t is proposed to Law
agricultural draining tiles in the same trench
with sewers, and discharging it into the latter
In such a manner that there can be no inflow of
sewage matters. This plan, which has often
been executed. can have none other than good
results Practically however most of the sew
ers, especially when built Of brick, are rarely
wafertight, and in low or wet ground, they
themselves act as drains. rather than allowing
the sewage to soak away into it.
We have now to consider the plan suggested
oy Col Waring for removing the rain water and
sewage from the city. As elsewhere. he pro-
poses here TO abandon the method of leading
street AID house drainage into the same chan
neis> We shall not enter into the merits of
scparation In general, but simply show that the
arguments made in favor OF It apply less to
washington than to many other cities. In the sfst
place he have to deal with a water sdpply per
capita which Is from three to f.. fines arreafer
than that in most places. The sewage il there
fore, highly diluted, and cannot be nearly as Of
Ienslve as N other cities, if properly carried
away. In the second place, the street wash
VIII, on the other hand, be no less foul in WASH
inntnn han oils
fore, between it and the highly diluted sewage
will not be as great, and it will much less war
rant their complete separation, IL at all. In the
third place, number of the sewers are COM
paratiyely well built, and will permit of an eff
feetual sewage removal, or could be made to do
SO at no great expense, which Col. Warning read
lily admits common section lately used for
sewers in Washington is an egg-shape with
small seml-circular pipe forming the invert
That the sewage. when flowing i'm this smooth
semi-crcular channel. is substantially under the
same conditions as when flowing I'm a circular
pipe OF the same diameter and less than half
inIi, cannot De questioned. and the arguments
Tor separation, as given by Col. Waring have
little. If any, weight in these instances
To construct an entirely new system Of sew
ers in addition to the present one entails an ex-
pense which, under these existing conditions,
would hardly seem warranted At the same
time a close examination NAV undoubtedly
show the ACCESSIBILITY of combining some OF the
Older sewers TO the conveyance of rain water.
ana OF building Others instead for sewage
alone. But this course could probably be con-
lined TO comparatively few sewers and to the
low parts where sewers are tide-locked. and
where 1t might be found advisable to pump the
sewage: at least during the high stages of the
tide
AS regards the general alignment OF the sys-
TEN. Col Waring suggests interceptpg sewers
TO collect the sewage, together with light rains
from all but the lower and fatter parts OF the
city, and 10 lead them by gravitation directly to
suitable point at the river for discharge. Un-
less publication Is required, it Is advisable to
oniid mtereepting sewers also, when their con-
tents must be prevented from reaching the low
grounds to which they would naturally flow
That they are therefore advisable for the topo-
graphical conditions presented by Washington.
Is evident But it is even more important To
prevent storm water from accommodating in the
low districts, the principle and Of separation
Oilers no advantages in this respect.
Regarding the disposal of the Washington
sewage, Col Waring concludes that it win prob
ably be safe, at least for long time to come to
discharge the sewage in fresh state into the
Then ma Ia e n