The Portland daily press., 1884-10-11
Report Of j. Herbert Shedd on the
Back Cove Nuisance,
PRovIDENoE. r. r Oct 1eA

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| GENTLEMEN:-In accordance with Won,
request | have made careful study of the
sanitary condition CT Portland, especially
with reference to the Back Cove District.
aud will now briefly report my conclusions
Several causes combine to give bad air to
the northwestern slope of the city. The de-
posts retained in, or periodically removed
| from privy vaults; the accumulation OF de-
caying animal and vegetable refuse dumped
along the shore and on vacant grounds; the
Pork Rendering establishment; the masses
of dead mussels; the sewage of the district
spread on the flats, and the foul air from
sewers aud culverts, are all iuoortant ele-
ments OF the nuisance so much complained
of by residents Of this section.
| A good sanitary condition requires that
priVy vaults, cesspools, and other recepta-
| cles for retaining decomposing refuse, be
abolished as quickly as possible, and that
the cleaning of such as must be temporarily
kept, be radically improved. The odorless
excavator and the alright buckets, which
are much cheaper, are about equally salts
factory as means of removing this filth.
| But no improvement in the mode of clean
ing these receptacles should be allowed to
retard their extinction at the earliest posi-
BILE day.
| The dumping of offal from meat shops.
fish markets and other places, on any shores
or grounds within the city should not sim
ply be prohibited by law, but stopped as a
matter OF fact. And the dumping of silt
taken from the culverts or catch-basiDs and
| leaving it exposed, as is now done by the
city, should be stopped.
| Reform in these matters will remove the
sources of much of the bad air which is now
justly complained of, and the reform can be
secured without great expenditures.
| Many complaints have been made of foul
doors from Pork Rendering establishment
near behring's Oaks. OF this matter I have
no knowledge from personal obseI walton,
but much that has been said in past years is
only accounted for, to my mind, by the sick
ening smell that is SC metimes sent out from
such places. Fouling of the air in this way
ought not to be allowed.
| The odOr from the large beds of dead mus
sells is no doubt Objectionable, but am not
at present prepared TO make any recommen-
dations in regard to it.
The chief remaining source of nuisance is
| the present mode of conveying and dscharg-
| ing sewage. Reform in this particular is ur-
| gent, but it will be expensive. The expendi-
ture would, however, believe, be in the line
of true economy, for all the cost judiciously
incurred here would be Immediately more
than returned to the city by the capitalized
saving thereby secured in other ways, such
as in life and health and working capacity
| nf 10 0F
estate.
| So far as possible the money spent on sew
erage should be in accordance with a scheme
which will give permanent and satisfactory
works in the end. With this in view have
considered what would be finally required
as to sewage disposal, by the city of Port
land. 1t is 30 be remembered that the de-
mands of the people for cleanliness aud lux
ury are always advancing They never re-
cede. The best final disposal of sewage
should be looked forward to in the work we
do to-day.
The situation of Portland points to the diff
fusion and dispersion of sewage in tide water
| rather than application to the land. But in
this case the work of gathering the sewage
tor dispersion in tide water, so far as at pres
ent proposed, is mainly that which would
be required for gathering il for chemical
| treatment or to send away upon the land
and we may confidently expect that our
| present expenditure for one plan would not
be lost if another were finally adopted.
But cannot foresee that any other plan
| than discharge into tidal currents, on he
ebb, at such poiDt as Pomroy's Rock, will
be required within the limi; of time for
which We should be justified ia making a
present expenditure.
| The scheme which believe to be the best
suited to the conditions and needs of this
case is to finally collect all the sewage of
| the city at Pomroy's Rock and discharge it
in the first half of each ebb tide.
| 1t will be many years before this complete
work will be required but portions of it,
which will in the end form essential parts of
the finished scheme, are needed at once.
| good sewerage system requires that the
outward flow in all the sewers shall be con-
stant. For this, and other reasons, pump
ing will be required to discharge the sewage
from certain low living portions of the city.
But for the sake OF economy, and eff
ficiency, the area furnishing sewage to the
pumps should be reduced TO the least practi-
cable limits. This may be accomplished BY
laying intercepiiDg sewers in such locations
as to take all the sewage which can well be
discharged at the outlet by gravity.
For the Back Cove District such an in
lntrrcepting sewer might be located as fol-
lows:-Beginning at the junction of Con-
gress and st. John streets and running
easterly in Congress street about two hun
dred and sixty feet; thence northerly cross
ing lots and streets diagonally about seven
hundred and seventy-two feet to Portland
street near Forest street; thence northeaster-
ly and eastery through the Aims House es-
tate, crossing Grove street., and through
/ behring's Oaks about tweuty-three hundred
and seventy-eight feet to Portland street
near Mellen street; thence more northery
through Portland street about two thousand
and ninety-two feet to Oxford street; thence
northeasterly through Oxfort street about
thirty-three hundred feet 10 Anderson street
thence northwesiery through Anderson
street about four hundred and forty feet tc
Madison street; thence northwesterly about
two hundred aud eighty-five feet to Green
leaf street; thence northwesterly about foul
hundred and five feet to Fox street; thence
northeasterly through Fox street about two
hundred and fifteen feet 10 Hammond street
thence nOrtherly through Hammond street
about eight hundred and fifty-five feet tc
the side of Gould street; thence northerly
about on the contour, about fourteen hun
dred and ninety feet to the Marginal Way
or possibly this point may be more ecoDOmi-
caly reached from Fox street, through Cove
street and along contour eighteen-; thence
easterly through the Marginal Way about
three hundred and seventy feet to East Com
mercial street. At this point the present con
slruction of permanent sewer might termi-
nate and temporary outlet be laid to con-
vey the sewage to dep water, say three
hundred and fifty feet from the shore. That
portion of the proposed sewer lying souther-
ly from the junction of Portland and Forest
street need not be built at present but the
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