The daily gazette., 1883-11-21
BOARD OF HEALTH.
An Interesting Report Upon the Condition
of the Brandywine Water.


DR.. Bush occupied the chair at the regu-
lar meeting of the Board of Health held last
| evening, with all the members present. The
| secretary was instructed to notify Garrett &
Burke, proprietors of the slaughter house
complained of by the B. q o. officials, to
| clean their hog pens. The slaughter house
was pronounced by the committee as being
clean.
Hart & Brother were ordered to dscon-
| tinue emptying entrails and other OBJ
jectional matter from their slaughter house
| on East Fifth street into the Stallcup run
sewer, complaint against which was made
last week. 80.
Several cases were dismissed, number
were continued and several ordered to be
| prosecuted If the nuisances complained of
are not abated within the time specified.
Two new cases of smallpox were re-
ported, one at 500 French street and the
other at S02 Spruce.
The following resolutions, offered by DIR.
Grimshaw, were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That the gutter ON the north side
of Delaw ire avenue. between Jefferson and
Madison streets, is hereby declared q nuisance.
Resolved, That the Board Of Health suggests
that the nuisance can be abated by connecting
| the drain pipes from he houses north Of Della
waye avenue, now emptying Into the said gut
ter, with either OF the sewers on Jefferson or
Madison streets.
the Brandywine water was presented by the
committee, consisting of the entire board:
WILMINGTON, Nov. 90, 18S3.-Agreeable
to the resolution passed by the board the
following members met ut the outlet of
Crooked run on Wednesday, October IL,
viz: DR.. W. Springer, A. Gawthrop, 8. Fl.
Feaster and DIR. {. P. Bush. From that
point up to Hartman u Fehrenbach's
brewery, the stream, which was quite small,
reaxx nd. nE -.
| 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 coated with Shiny substance
consisting OF a modification of the starch of
| the barley, deposited from the fluid. The
board then entered the brewery and ascer-
| tanned 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 retilling. The number Is
quite large of course and quite sufficient to
| account for all tbs water In the run. UEless
care is exercised 1t will receive the drainage
of a Beighborhood which will before long be
covered with dwellings, but now the run
above the brewery is dry, except in time of
rain.
Rattlesnake run is much more of q nui-
sance than Crooked run. It 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
this statement. Whatever of surface i'm
purity there is produced at McDoWellville,
and from dwellings scattered over the terri
tory just described, will be immensely in
creased when 1t shall have been built over,
and IL will all tend to Rattlesnake run. But
one offensive cesspool was found which con-
taminated its water, and that was near its
western extremity and not necessarily OBJ
jectionable except from neglect.
Ordinarily the quantity of water In Rattle
snake run may be estimated at from 10, 600
or $4,000 gallons In "a hours, but In heavy
rains it rises up in the deep ravine In which
1t descends to the Brandywine until 1t would
be difficult for an ordinary culvert to with
stand its power. Coming now to the outlet
of these brooks we tDd them both discharg-
ing into the Brandywine. Rattlesnake run,
at the distance OF $50 feet, and Crooked run,
l $3.50 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 polluting sources along these streams,
there being but little impurity of specially
offensive or disgusting character entering
them.
The board finds it difficult at present to
suggest any method which would be con-
sidered judicious. 1t has been suggested to
build dam across or near to the mouth of
the Rattlesnake run to 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 Engineer Con-
well, which was to commence a drain or
pipe about $50 feet from the mouth of the
run, above a dam or breakwater, and carry
it along the slope of the hill down and over
the South Long race, a distance of about
700 feet, into the Brandywine river.
This latter plan would answer very
we'll as long as the flow In the
run was slight as In an ordinary time; but
1t is very evident that during every heavy
rain the large amount of water which pours
into this run would overflow the dam and
pass into the creek, and the entrance of the
pipe would be obstructed by debris, SO that
for the greater part of the time it would be
practically failure. No plan could be de-
vised to keep the entrance of the pipe or
drain clear except by personal visit to the
place after every heavy rain, which neither
the Council nor Board of Health could
surely carry out. The expense of this plan
would be at least 81 900. Every one knows
how unreliable the workings of any ma
chinery or process is, which requires per-
sonal attention, unless there be some one
who can be depended upon to give the re-
quisite supervision.
The plan, which above every other, see ms
to be that which will secure a permanent
| abatement of the nuisance, so far as the or.
dinary drainage is concerned, is by a sewer
| or pipe of sufficient capacity to carry the
house drainage, of whatever sort, down to
and into the Brandywine river below the
| opening of the South Long race. There are
at present 80 few residences along this run
that 1t would not be judicious to propose its
immed ate construction; but In few years,
judging from the present rate of improve
ment in that neighborhoOd bordering upon
the run, 1t will be indispensable to establish
a system of sewerage which will relieve the
Brandywine of the impurities which will
| then be otherwise carried into It. And,
after all, that may be done by
the city at this point, and also along the
Brandywine river below, to protect the river
and the race from pollution from the north
ern slope of the city; the purity of the water
which we drink will never be assured until
the pumping station is remove above Ban
croft's dam. Every other measure will be
merely temporary and palliative. That
done, the Board Of Health has sufficient au-
thority to protect the river up to the boun-