Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-09-12
THE SEWAGE QUESTION.
Official Report of the State Engineer Upon
the Subject.

concerning the Stockton Insane Asylum
and IN mis- report to the Board OF Director
OF that institution considers the who'll
subject Of sewage and deals WITH it in
manner which will be of general interes
at the present time, when the question o
warding off the visitation of epidemics AM
plaques is uppermOst in the minds of tn,
people In it's treatment the subject i
divided into five parts or subdivisions, a
follows: The pollution of rivers and estu
aries the application OF sewage to land
the artificial treatment of sewage; the dis
posal Of the asylum sewage, and the sew
age works proposed at the asylum. ph,
following Is the substance of his treatist
upln
THE POLLUTION OF WATERS.
The practice of the disposal of sewag,
by minglihg it with the waters of rivers
tidal estusries, ETC., has been upheld upor
the theory that running waters soon purify
themselves that the organic matters be-
come changed in character, and other OBJ
jectional parts so far dispersed or altered
as to lose sppreciable influence upon the
human senses and all harmful effect unou
the human system.
1t wag alleged that the particles of the
organic (animal and vegetable) parts Of
nozious matters, being dispersed by min.
Cling with comparatively large bodies OF
water when dumped into a river or estuary,
were brought IN contact with the combined
or dissolved oxygen of the air in the water,
or Of the air over the water, by the rolling
or boiling motion Of the current, and thus
oxydized-a change equivalent in its effect
to burning.
Tne theory appeared to be well founded.
a number OF instances were cited where
ths waters of streams polluted by sewage
apparently cleared themselves by running
4 few miies. Oghers were brought for
ward where cleaC water streams polluted
by peaty matter, and rendered dark and
Opaque by the vegetable organic matter
held IN solution, became clear after running
similarly short distances. These changes,
it was ssid, were due to oxidation of the
animal matter in the one case and the veg.
etable matter in the other; and, hence,
that the waters were purified.
So well grounded has this theory ap
peared, and SO strong we're the interests
involved in its favor, that in England,
until recently, sanitary engineers have
done their best TO remove sewage matter
from towns into rivers in obedience to
legislative requirements. = Bailey Der TO &,
Lectures, ETC., q. 24S.
But facts soen proved that the theory of
self-purificatiOn of river waters as at
tallt, Some streams of no less but greater
volume, receiving no more or perhaps less
sewage, did not purify their waters as wes
alleged Of others, and inquiry developed
the fact that By no means all peaty waters
become pure in their onward flow, and it
was observed that streams which for years
had received sewage matter without much
apparent detriment to tneir waters, became
foul 10 every sense within comparatively
short space of time, and without any con-
siderable increase in the amount of sewage
led into them.
The subject now assumed a serious form.
Great sewerage works had been carried
out, immense manufactures located and
operated, and all depending for efficiency
upon the privilege of free outfall for sew
age into the tidal or inland waterways of
the country. Sanitarians generally, and
towns located down on the streams, pro.
tested against the pollution of the waters
by town sewage and manufacturing offal
at points above.
Ine property owners (''rate payers, so.
called in English literature-really nom
resident landlords in many instancas) in
towns where sewerage works had been
constructed leading the sewage into the
streams, as well as those in other towns
which desired to construct works on this
principal, together with the manufact-
urers lgenerally, who were for getting rid
of their offal waters in the easiest way to
avoid further expense to themselves, Wig
orously opposed interference with existing
practices.
The fight became a war very similar to
the struggle which has gone on in this
State between the hydraulic miners and
the farmers and Others in the Sacramento
valley, with not SO much organization of
the centending parties, however, but with
legal points on both sides, and denial and
assertion Of facts in way almost iden.
tical.
In tine meantime the attention of scien-
tifc men had been secured, and store of
systematically arranged facts was accumu.
The aid of chemistry had been invoked,
and waters were subjected to chemical
analysis with comparatively satisfactory
but sometimes startling results, for waters
which had been regarded as pure, and
which were 30 20 all appearance, taste
and smell, were shown to be laden with or
ganic matter Of 8 character calculated to
develop the most deadly zymotic diseases
under conditions favorable for such de-
velopment. SomeEapparent cases of self
publication of streams were shown to be
delusive the waters were clarified and
deodorized, bnt not purified either of their
organic impurities or inorganic elements
not to be desired in potable waters.
1t is now known that, as a general thing,
waters polluted by the organic matter of
sewage do not purify themselves within any
limited space OF time or distance of flow,
as has been supposed, and in no material
degree by the sole action of the oxygen
contained in the water or of the air above it.
1t is certain that alleged cases of self.
purihcstion are only apparent to the eye
and sense of smell, and are not real and
it is conteuded that if waters are danger.
GUS to health they had better have the
noxious appearance and smell, and thus
carry with them warning of their char
acter, than be tempting to the eye or lulling
in effect.
1t is explained that the action of self
puriicstion OF rivers of organic matter,
found to take place in some cases, is due to
the admixtnre from tributary streams or
springs along their banks, of waters hav-
ing certain mineral substances lsuch as
ferric oxide, copper and allumina) in solu-
tion, or to the action of certain clays or
the mineral constituents of certain clays
which compose their bed or banks; and
hence that such instances of self-purifca.
tion are due 20 peculiar circumstances,
which, being local aud not generally dis
tributed, establish the rule as against self
publication az all
1t is understood that the action of the
soil of the banks or bed of a stream in pu-
rifying its waters of organic matter, after
awhile cesses and that in The meantime