Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-07-19
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What M. Edmonds Expects Will be
Accomplished.


| Accomplished.
| THE COMPLETION OF THE SEWER SYSTEM 70
MAKE THIS CITY THE BEST DRAINED AND
| HEALTHIEsT ON THE CoNTINENT-A BRIEF
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT sYsTEN-How THE
CITY WAS DRAINED FORMERLY.
The subject Of sewerage is one which at this
time greatly concerns the District Commission.
ers. The liberal appropriation recently made
| by Congress to complete the sewerage system
has placed upon them the great responsibility OF
securing the best results from so large an ex-
penditure. Commissioner Edmonds told STAR
reporter yesterday that no pains would be spared
| by the united board to show to the people and
to Congress the wisdom of its action in making
this appropriation 1t will" he said, '.giye to
| the people of the whole country an abiding
| faith that the national metropolitan city is not
only to become the most beautiful but the most
| healthful city on the continent. To secure a
! thoroughly good sanitary condition of our city
| is, OF course, the great object of this work This
| expenditure, together with the restraints over
the plumbing regulations, now strictly enforced,
both for public and private work. will insure q
nearly perfect system. The work will receive
| watchful superintendent in its progress and
nothing will be left undone to make it just what
was intended by Congress.
THE SEWER SYSTEM
now adopted by the District authorities, and for
several years recognized in making public i'm
proyenents, is the result of much study and
thought by the officers of the District engineer
department, and there can be no doubt Of its
| superiority above all others for this District.
| There can be no doubt that the committees OF
both houses OF Congress were impressed with
the plans adopted for the drainage of the city,
az the appropriation was willingly made with
/ hnr lIt Lin
was introduced all the members seemed to have
knowledge OF the whole situation relative to
sewers in this District. and all voted under
standingly."
1nreply to suggestion interposed by THE STAR
as to the provision in the bill recurring the Dis
trict to pay interest on the amount advanced by
the government. the Commissioner said: ''That
is all right The District will be more than
compensated In having the benefit OF the i'm
prOvement; and besides the interest will prob
ably be calculated only on the excess OF the Dis
trict's half of the appropriation over the aggre-
gate balances standing to the credit of the Dis
trict in the Treasury department This will
make the interest light, and it will be paid
promptly with the annual payments fixed by the
law, which are $50, 00O."
ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM.
In speaking of the materials to be used and
the quality of the work to be performed, Mr..
Edmonds said he was not particularly favorable
to using so much pipe sewer, but great improve
ments had been made in its manufacture. it be-
ing thicker and harder than formerly and none
but persons skilled in the business will be en-
ployed In laying it, so when the work is finished
all the trap connections made and proper venti-
latiOn secured, the work would be to the city
what a job of good sanitary plumbing is to a
household. Another advantage will be that
every purchaser of lot of ground can inform
himself just what sewer capacity he has, and
where to find il. The surface or street drainage
will $50 be disposed of through these pipes
which In all cases empty their contents into the
larger size sewers, and they in turn flow into
the intercepting sewers, and so on along to the
river channel. Perfect sewerage is the first and
most important requisite for healthy city, and
in some OF the old countries CT Europe is the
first condition in establishing village or city.
In the larger and most pOpulOuS cities the cost
OF the underground work equals, and often eX-
ceeds that OF the surface work. Napoleon
gained more lasting glory and renown in con-
structing the sewers OF Paris than by all his bat
ties. The many advantages of perfect drainage
in this city. Mr.. Edmonds said. can hardly be
oyer-estimated. Contrast the present system
with that in use -,....
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. '@..---
Up to the time of the organization Of the
board of public works the city had received but
little attention as to sewerage. Most of the
drainage emptied into an open ditch known as
current of water, it is said in this ditch, de-
pended on the ebb and flow of the tides in the
river which was altogether insufficient to carry
of the deposits made at the outlets of the sew
eral sewers which from time to time had been
constructed by the old city governments and
the canal is said to have become so offensive as
10 threaten pestiienCe, and so unsightlv as to
disgust every behOlder The board of public
works built an intercepting sewer on the site of
this canal, from 7th to 18th streets and from
9th street west to Sd street, the former empty
ing into the river at the foot of 18th street and
the latter into the Tiber arch on Sd street
These vary in diameter as they approach their
outlets. T1ber Creek sewer receives all the
drainage east of 9th street and west to 18th
street and north to New York avenue where an
intercepting sewer was built several years ago,
running from 9TH and X streets to 18th street
thence down the latter to the south of Penusyl-
vana avenue, thence diagonally across the
White Lot into the mouth of ,TIber creek Other
large sewer arteries were constructed and many
lateral branches, all of which, when merged
with the present system, will help to make one
OF the most perfectly drained cities in the Union
These great public improvements in this Dis
trct. Mr.. Edmonds said, are objects of national
as well as local pride and are so regarded by
the executive and legislative branches OF the
government.
THE OLD SEWERS.
The old-fashioned way of constructing sew
floor them with plank. Many OF these sewers
have become worthless by change of grades,
which leaves them below where they are wanted
In Georgetown these old sewers are represented
to be in a wretched condition. Especially is this
the case where the grades are steep. and
the water rushes down through the sewers,
sweeping the debris and outlying the bottoms,
undermining the walls. and leaving great
caVerns In the ground far below the surface
The engineer department has to great extent
during the last lew years repaired these sewers
by taking advantage of dry seasons, and carry
ing the materials necessary up through the
mouths to the defective places Many new and
large sewers have been constructed, both in
Georgetown and Washington, by the engineer
department. Tiber sewer extends from the in
tersectiOn of Maryland avenue and Sd street
nOrthwardly to E street at it's junction with
North Capitol street. where 1t is diverted to the
center of that street. This is very large
sewer, from "a to 30 feet inside diameter, and
has proved to be of sufficient capacity to supply
all demands made upon it. 1t has been con-
tinued through North Capitol street to
street. along street to LIST street east:
thence along LIST street to Boundary A
branch sewer, nine feet in diameter has also
been constructed along Sd street northwest to
z and along 2 to Sth street, into which flows
many OF the lateral sewers east of 14th street
An additional branch sewer of nine feet dame
ter has also been constructed on the line of F
and G streets In the northeastern part of the
city to drain the valley, between and the
Boundary, but the immense Boundary street.
sewer now in course of construction will relieve
all the pressure brought to these sewers besides