Daily Republican., 1883-11-21
HOARD OF II EAL7yr.
An lnteTestlng Meeting LAST
Night Report ON the Brandy
Wine water.

An Interesting Meeting Las
Night Report ON the Brandy
Wine water.
The regular meeting of tn, Board q
Health was held last night, with al
the members present, and Presiden
Bush in the chair. The committee OF
the complaint about the slaughter house
of Garrett and Burke reported tina,
the slaughter houses were clean bu,
the pig pens were in bad condition
and instructed the Secretary b
order the parties 10 have then
cleaned and put in a good condi
tion.
The com mittee ON the complaint
of George Adele and others, in referenc
to offal thrown in Stallcup rul
sewer by Hart & Brothers declaret
1t a nuisance and the Secretary wa
ordered to notify the firm to abate 1t
A number OF other nuisances wert
acted upon, some of which were dis
missed, others reported abated, an(
severa! continued in the hands Of the
new cases of small. pox were reported
one at No. 500 French street, and ths
other at No. SO2 Spruce street.
The following resolutions offered by
DR. rGrimshaw were unanimously adopt
ed:
Resolved, That the gutter on thu
north side of Delaware avenue, between
Jefferson and Madison streets, is here
by declared a nuisance.
Resolved, That the Board Of Health
suggests that the nuisance can be aba
ted by connecting the drain pipes from
the houses north of Delaware avenue
now emptying into the said gutter,
with either OF the sewers on Jefferson or
Madison streets.
The following report on the con ditior
Of the Brandy wine water was unani.
mously adopted by the Board as Com
mittee of the Whole:
WILMINGTON, Nov. 90, 1885,
Agreeable to the resolution passed by
the Board, the following members met
at the outlet of Crooked run on
Wednesday, October II, viz: DR.. W.
Springer, A. Gawthrop, S. II. Fcaster,
ard DR.. l.. T. Bush. From that point
up to Hartman 4 Fehrenbach's brew.
dry the stream, which was quite small,
gave decided odOr of sour beer. No
other impurities were observed, nor
was there anything Objectionable along
its course, such as hog pens, privies or
foul drains. The rocks over which the
water flowed were in many places Goa :
ed with slimy substance, consisting OF
a modification Of the starch of the bar.
ley, deposited from the fluid. Tn
Board then entered the brewery and
ascert aimed that the whole flow of the
stream came from the water used in
cleansing the beer barrels, which were
daily returned to the brewery for re-
filling. The number is quite large of
course, and quite sufficient to account
for all the water in the run. Unless
care is exercised it will receive the
drainage of a neighborhood which will
before long b. covered with dwellings,
hut now the run above the brewery is
dry, except In time of rain.
Rattlesnake run is much more of a
ruisance than Cooked run. 1t receives
all the drainage from Rodney and
Union streets, and even beyond that
westwardly. and from Pennsylvania
avenue to the city railway. The amount
and character of the contents OF that
stream can be best understood from thi-
statement. Whatever of the surface
impurity there is produced at Nc
Dowellville, and from dwellings scat
tered over the territory Just described,
will be immensely increas d when II
shall have been built over, and IL will
all tend 10 Rattlesnake run. But one
offensive cesspool was found which con-
taminated its water, and that was near
its western extremity and not neces-
sar ly Objectionable except from neglect.
Ordinarily the quantity of water n
Rattlesnake run may be estimated at
from 1O, 900 or 10, 600 gallons in twenty
four hours, but in heavy rains it rises
up in the deep ravine In which 1t de.
scends to theI'randy wine until it would
be difficult for any ordinary culvert to
with stand its power. Coming now to
the outlet of these brooks we find them
both discharging into the Brandywine.
Rattlesuake run at the distance Of $50
feet, and Crooked run l, 800 feet from the
head of the South Long race, which
supplies the city with water. At their
low water, which would usually be the
low water of the Brandywine river,
their contents are all carried by the
slow current into the race.
The beer barrel washings and the
general drainage along Rattlesnake run
are the chief pollutinc sources along
these streams, there being but little i'm
purity of a specially offensive or dis
gusting character entering into them.
The Board finds it difficult at present
to suggest any method which would be
considered judiCious.
1t has betn suggested to build a dam
across or near to the mouth of the Rat
tlesDake run 10 convey the ordinary flow
by an open sewer or drain below the
South Long race, and under 1t into the
creek. This corresponds very nearly to-
The suggestion of the late Chief Engi
neer Conwell which was to commence a
Train or pipe about 100 It from the mouth
If the run, ,abovea dam or break water and
larry it along the slope of the hill down
70 and over the the South Long
-ace, distance of about 700 feet, into
he Brandywiue river. This latter
plan would answer very well as long as
he flow in the run was slight as in an
ordinary time; but it is very evident
hat during every heavy rain the large
amount of water which p0urs into this
'un would overflow the dam and pass
INTO the CT elk, and the entrance of the
ii pc would be obstructcd by debris, so
hat for the greater part of the time it
would be practically failure. No
plan could be devised to keep the en-
rance of the pipe or drain clear except |
by a personal visit to the place after
very heavy rain, which neither the
Council nor Board of Health could |
.urely carry out. The expense of this
,lan would be at least 81, 900. Every
me knows how unreliable the workings |
If any machinery or process IL, which
'equires personal attention, unless there |
,e some one who can be depended
lpon to give the requisite supervision.
The plan, which above every other,
Gems to he that which will secure a
abatement Of the nuisance,
% far as the ordinary drainage is con
erned, is by Il sewer or pipe of sufficient
IN .aprv fhn bnuua n rui pfI