National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-12-13
RECLAIMED FLATS.
HUNDREDS OF ACRES or LAND wREsTED
FROM THE RIVER.
Important Stage Reached In the Improve.
ment-The HydrAu'ic Dredge Tested and
Found TO Work Well--How Much Ground
will BE Made Daily by the New Process.

Will BE Made Daily by the New Process.
The most important item in the i'm.
| provement of the Potomac flats, from O
sanitary standpoint, has just been com.
pleted. All the filling that had been done
simply reclaimed just so much of the flats
from repositories for sewerage, and con.
verted the foul-smelling surface into dry
land. But of tho $50 acres OF fats, which
it is intended to reclaim, only $50 acres
have SO far been 80 converted. The con.
tents Of the Seventeenth street sewer still
flowed over the balance to be left high
but not dry, by the receding tide for the
sun to pour down upon and still further
putrify. BY the work which has been
quietly going on for some time at the foot
| of Seventeenth street, and Is just now
completed, the contents of this immense
tunnel are now carried between two
branks out to tho channel of the river,
whore the comparatively swift current
catches and sweeps it beyond the shoal
places. This canal, which is over 1000
feet in length, is only temporary affair,
but serves the purpose until q perma-
mont work can be substituted. IL ia
formed Of earth embankments, which
are really part of the filing
and will serve double purpose, retaining
the softer dredging to be thrown by the
new machines. The permanent construc-
tion Of an outlet for this sewer has not
yet been decided upon, the question of
whether the work should be done by the
government or be included in the district
improvements not having been satisfac-
torily settled.
There will have to be q permanent
canal" said Col. z. G. Hams, when asked
about tho matter by a REPUBLICAN, re-
porter yesterday. "But | don't believe
the sewage of Washington will ever be
disposed of satisfactorily until il Is pumped
out; the city is too low and there is not
fall enough. The canal will always be
useful for storm and surface water, oven
when the sewers proper are emptied BY
pumps"
Col. Hains was down at the navy yard
yesterday and inspected the newly COM
plotted hydraulic dredge, the machinery
of which was put in motion so that he
might soc how it worked. It was not
connected with the suction pipes, and the
S-foot runner Of the centrifugal pump was
easily run with FIVE pounds of steam.
this pump is very much like steamboat
paddle-wheel inclosed, only the dashers
are curved into q scoop shape. The ac-
tion is that of both suction aud force
pump, the mixed earth and water being
projected any required distance over the
surface of the wator in 20.inch pipes sup.
ported on pontoons. When on dry land
the pipes are simply laid along the ground
the end joint being moved SO as to make
uniform deposit.
The whole scheme Of improvement will
cost in the neighborhood Of two and
three quarter millions Of dollars, of which
81, 100000 has been appropriated, the last
half million being now available. The
reduction in cost obtained under this
new process will not materially lessen
the total cost, as the original estimates
were made on q basis of 1S cents per
yard of material excavated, while the
late contracts had to be made at much
higher rates. 1t is estimated that 75 per
cent. more dredging can be done for the
same amount of money by the new pro.
cess than by the old. The whole amount
OF land to be reclaimed under the i'm
provement is $50 acres. OF which $50 are
now filled in, and 200 more will be by the
100000 yards which Benson & McNee
are to excavate, 10000 yards being the
equivalent OF an acre Of hard
ground, two of which will prob ably be
ouNSu VuSh Voihihb ue
tions will DO commenced about the mid
die Of next week, the upper work being
begun frat.
No improvement of tho reclaimed sur
face will be attempted until all the flats
are filed in. "The work is designed
primarily as a sanitary measure" ex-
planned Col Hains, "and the most fats
will be reclaimed in the least time and
money. After we have removed the
nuiiance that threatens the city with
pestilence and substituted dry. healthy
ground, then the work of grading and
beautifying will probably be pushed for
ward.'
1t is doubtful ifthe inlet gate will be put
in before next season. as without proper
flushing facilities the Washington chan
mel would become mere basin. The Vir-
ginia channel will have to be thoroughly
dredged, too, before it is called upon to
carry of the volume of water that is
liable to come down with the first freshet.
Much depends upon the satisfactory per-
formance of the new dredges The basis
OF estimates of what they will accomp plish
is the work done by smaller machines in
California, where the only operations
with this system have hitherto been con-
Quoted. The material to be handled here
is believed to bo much moro favorable,
both for excavating and spreading, than
that met with on the Pacific coast
COL Hains yesterday submitted to Gen.
Newton, chief of engineers, his report of
the operations for the past month. The
progress in dredging and forming en-
bankments on the tidal reservoir, under
contract with tho ID. Il. Culver company
was not satisfactory. The amount dredged
was only 5,293 cubic yards. The con-
tractor has been somewhat delayed by low
tides, but the chute used is not adapted
to the work. The work of dredging and
forming embankments along the Virginia
channel side of the upper section, under
first contract with F. G. Somers, was like
wise slow. Fair progress was made in
dredging along the Washington channel
wall line on this section, the amount
dredged being IL, ,263 cubic yards.
The work OF dredging and embanking
on the small tidal reservoir was COM
menced. The embankment is to be held
in place by timber crib or revetment,
but, owing to tho delay in obtaining tim
Der, only a small amount of dredging has
been done. Under contract with the Po-
tomac Red Sandstone company 5,19S cubic
yards Of stone have been delivered and
put in place along the northwest margin
of the tidal reservoir on tho middle sec
tion and along the wall line of Washington
channel on the upper section. The con-
tractors for dredging in the Washington
and Virginia channels, Messrs Benson &
McNee, have been engaged in constructing
cross embankments on section 3. to retain
and drain off tho dredged material. Dur
ing December work will be continued on
the dredging aud embankment on both
sides of section 3, under two contracts
with II, Q. Somers, and on the large tidal
reservoir, by tho d. E. Culver company.
Asking More Money FOR Indians.
delegation from the Indian Rights
association had hearing yesterday be-