The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-01-16
REPORT UPON A SYSTEM OF SEW
ERAGE FOR MANKATo, MIMI
BY O. r, Loweth. City Engineer. st. Paul.
Minnesota.
10 n, cOureil Cbmmitt,, an !Sr,,t,.


Minnesota.
To the COGAcil Committee on Streets.
GENTLEMEN: In compliance with your re.
quest have the honor To- mako You herewith
| report upon plan of sewerage for Manka o
Sanitary measures aud precautions are n
| necessity In every community, be II large al
small, and OF late years, sanitary eonstruc
items IN the way NJ sewers have boon an In
crsasing need even In the smaller towns ard
villages, made so by the increased comforts
! and necessities of life In this advanced state
people enjoyed q cent ury since.
| II IL an exceptional locality. In climate and
soil, In which any considerable community OF
/ men Gun long enjoy immunity from disease
and epidemic, unless there be strict obedi
enee tv Natures laws Of cleanliness not OF the
body alone nor of the house but ct nil their
surroundings, and thorough removal or de-
| struction OF I'LL animal waste and refuse.
That the sanitary condition OF Mankato this
| past summer has not been up e. that high
| standard that II should be. must be admitted
by every thoughtful cit zen. In some parts OF
| the city, both sight aud smell were offended az
the Nth In one form or another which was In
| condition OF things were only an otfense u
| sight and smell IL would be mater of small
| Importance possibly, II is otherwise however,
aud the health Of the city Is endangered there
by, not alone the health of the people In the
| immediate vicinity Of such filthy surround
1 inRs, but the whole community Is subject 10
|
fairs Is not without remedy. A system. OF
| sewerage be 10 ever so efficient and complete
| Is In itself but partial remedy, In that II
fuse and human excrets from dwellings. q
partial remedy because oven then there Will
still be much depending upon the people them.
selves, and the cleanliness of their surround
inRs.
That public sewers In certain streets, prop
erly connected with the dwellings, Will DO
beneficial To the public health. cannot admit
Nf lnInhf nd I'm al fO
me your Honorable City Council should ar.
range for the construction ~ certain sewers,
as early next spring rs practicable, SO they
may be Of benefit during the following sum-
mer.
desire briefly to call your attention to the
work required Of sewerage system.
| First-The removal of storm surface water.
| Second-The removal of all fiutd refuse from
dwellings, stables and manufactures
Third-fhe drainage of the subsoil.
| Possibly the desire to be rid OF the incon
venienCe and damage OF surface water, was
alone in the minds OF yoHg Sitfipsr dhSvaii 81
the LIQUID refuse from dwellings. which IL
termed sewage, becomes the real sanitary and
more important question There would seem en-
| sooner brought Ia the consideration OF this
question of sewage disposal. by that less i'm
| phrtant. although more co nmon one OF sur
| Iurv drainage.
| IL Il not always that sewers are built TO car
| ~ utf The surface water, which Is then taken
care III by separate channels. There are Ger,
The sewage from the Storm water, the primer
| pal reas, being that of econnmy. The guam
tincs ur sewage aud nf rain water To be gather
| cd at any d nut are very different the v'lumI
| ~ the surface water can be led into the natur
al water courses, over the surface of tint
streets, or for short distances through shallow
| sewers or drains, a great saving Will be erect
I'd us agains: leading the surface water
through hong aud large main sewer, IN sucf
distant outfall as may be necessary To INT
| proper disposal Of the sewage.
| : regards efficiency there can be but little
difference between the separate ana combined
| systems OF sewerage, provided Doth nave INT
same intelligent design aud supervision,
The plan OF sewerage recommended for
your city Is not strictly either system by L.
self, but a col binatiun uf the two, aud Tor the
| &, II wing reasCns:
By "A glance AT the map and the topography
of the city. We perceive that the surface water
will readily NOV oil OF that POI ton ~ the cit
d, tween Warren creek and Van BruuI''
Il ,ugn. Inc street grades are gcner'llI regu
lar aud AFT ord a ready drainage Tor tho 'mei
| is we'll as higher paris al this district, IN.
iengin 81 t"c 81 pes are I great mems
IN val ut surf see water IN tins portion III y''ul
city, Ia have dunr uIhcIwIsc wOu Il hav" H. q, 3
STATED much larger and more expansive SCI"
cts, than are shown IN plans. and In my uiiIlG
| wHs not Warranted when cJnLpared III COS
| with that of Manufacturing suitable street gut
Iers ar u need Dr. OF hort lvngths vi shallow
| covered drains For SIMILAR Reasons surface
drainage Is recommended for the portion Ol
| tue city lying north ~ Vine Creek, mere INT
slopes are n i generally as steep. but sum
cienIly So that H. trouUie need be experienced
| la draining II, II properly done. Thus warren
Greek aud Viue Creek, h,'wIng as they do
through opposite sides OF the CITY are the ma,
turaI drainage channels Tor the northern and
southern part, aud make the sewerage prob
lem uf the city not only simpler Tut much
more economical than would "tnerwIse oe me
case. The plans rs presented contemplate the
continued use of these two creeks Tor the pur'
| poses vi drainage channels.
| The area included between these two creeks
and xIyna f.nn ami.
| portion Of the city cannot 81 easily be drained
INTO them, for the reason that the general
| slope is parallel Ia the direction III NV IN the
| creeks and 10 very steep. There seems here
| To be no other way for the surface water 10
flow 1T, other than along the east ana west
streets TO the river, this plan has been tried,
! aud the experiment determined the advisable
| Ivy OF undergo und drainage, Notwithstanding
| its increased cost.
| Ii may be argued that II the grade or Second
street were raised, the property abuting on II
| would NJ I be so often nor severely Hooded,
but II caII hardly be expected that al this pro-
| perty can De brought TO grade at once, and
| were every other lot raised they would still
| be undesirable by reason OF the hOOding OF the
adjoining ones; but not only this, as the city
grows. Improvements both public and private
take place, which enables the rain 10 more
| quickly collect In the street cutters and hoo0
larger areas AT the lower levels. ...--
For the above reasons the sewers In the area
between the creeks have been prupOrtiOned TO
carry OF all the rain fall except that OF strip
| u block wide adjoining Vine, and two blocks
wide adjoining Warren Creek, both of which
| increase In width east OF Fourth street ana
| drain directly into the creeks.
| l may as well note at this point the extent OF
the city Included within the sewerage plans
| submitted herewith The system has been
proportional looking towards an ultimate ex-
| tension Of the sewers from Marshall and Will
lard streets, tu as fur us Fulton street, and
from Front street To three blocks east OF
| sixth street, kept south OF Warren Creek,
where the eastern limit extends To, aud beyond
Shaubut street
us can easily be drained u one outfail, aud
further seems 10 include such portions as " Ill
| in all probability need sew ers trst.
| south MankatO and that area lying between
! the q. N. d ST. 4. hy. and the Minnesota II. or
| from their luct ZION aud topography can not
| be included III the main sewerage district but
| will REQUIRE cash an independent system ol
sew crasC, and Whenever at such iululc tiiue
| the need of sewers may be teit, the question al
tho NEST feasible plan can Ut better determ.n-
| ID hen, than at present.
The Outfall IOr the future drainage area
no tn o. Fulton street will doubtless ue into
! the RIVER somewhere near the loot oil spruce
| or Chestnut streets.
| The lew blocks IN the triangular AREA i'll
cluded between VINE aud Willow streets, and
| tue river lies too low Ia nave been lucludcd la
| Inc main d, wer district, aud must ultimately
Uc PROVIDED with snort sewers leading directly
] u tue river.
IL viii doubtless DO of interest to you to
| know the basis vi calculation emplU! I'd IN
| determining the capacity oi The various
sewers
rne sewers of the combined system have
been prOp'Itiun.d to can! IN All SURFACE
water rom u rail- fail VI u inch per hour.
,Hln fail records covering "a p.rIua I'll years
sh ~ that at nny one place rain IallS IN excess
VI = inch ,'er Lour aIc lew, All tn1se IN CA
CCss - I.IcI por nsur usccur Snly al iu4.B iaI-
tci VaIs upuII.
In mrg. cities, closely built up and impro,-
ca, ana " b, Ie IhG per cent. ~ axe c,v'r.d ~
paNem, dud roo. > IL Large, Iroui wa "a lur
rliiII-.an Is q,Ackl, gathered ann wan uut
IN Il, lose IL IN "us'n pain a.id ev"p"."ti II, IA