Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-11-02
AN IMPORTANT MATTER.
The Full Report of the Board of Health
ON tho Impurities in the Brandywine
How the water II Contaminated
How Its Purity Can be Secured.

ON tho Impurities in the Brandywin.
| How the water II Contaminated
How Its Purity Can be Secured.
The following is the full report of th,
Board Of Health on the result of thei
recent visit mp the Brandywine as pre-
sented 10 City Council last Thursday
night:
Pursuant to resolution of October
l2lh, the Board of Health in Commit
zee OF the Whole, on the 14th day o.
october, visited the north western DOR
tion Of the city 10 investigate and re
port upon the sewage and surface drain
age entering the Brandywine from thai
lection.
In making this tour of inspection and
investigation the Board was accom-
panied by the President Of Council, the
PRESIDENT OF the Water Commission
with the Chief Engineer OF the Survey.
ipg Department, and had the benefit Of
any suggestions or advice those gentle.
men had 70 offer. This investigation
was intended TO take into consideration
all that portion Of the city from which
the natural drainage 10 conveyed intS
the Brandy wine above the pump pinp
station. This comprises quite q large
and populous section OF the city.
Roughly stated 1t begins at the Brand y.
wine bridge, extends up Market stree,
to Tenth, along Tenth and Delaware
avenue TO VanBureD, thence out Penn.
sylvania avenue to Clayton sti ieet,
sousherly along Clayton street to about
Seventh, along Seventh to Union, and
thence by the line Of Union to the
Brandy wine.
1t Is not to be understood that all the
drainage from this section enters the
drinking water. II such were the case
1t would have been, long sgo, utterly
unfit for use, From Market street to
Van Buren, 1t Is conveyed over the
race by shutes These are i'm perfect con.
trivspces, more or less leaky, but In the
main sufficient to prevent any materi ial
| contamination OF the water. From Van
Buren street, the eastern boundary OF
| the proposed Park, owing to the lorna
ton of the land, 1t being high and cCv.
] cred with woods. theye Is nothing OF i'm
portsnce until we resch Rattlesnake
and crooked runs. These two streams,
the former of which is being converted
into q public sewer challenges attention
lat once; being natural water courses
rrr7, furnish the only outlet Cor the sur
face diairAee from tbeir respective
slopes ana large portion Of tLa @as'e
from the dwellings, stables and other
buildings In their vicinity. The ques-
tion then naturally arises, do these two
streams now, or are they, in the near
future, likely to receive and con vey
Into the creek obnoxious matter In SIN.
oicnt quantity to ruin OK sefiously In.
jure the drinking water?
To answer this question intelligeptly, =,
10 ~ ne ,essary to examine their origin
and course and ascertain what they do
receive and convey. Crooked Run rises
wstt ci Union street and crosses 1t, en-
terins the city limits ut Lowering
avenue, AT this point and below, it
re ceives the surface drainage and house
waste from the outer portion of Union,
Lincoln and Scott streets; a'so from
Shallcross aud Lowering avenues and
WRwaset street Lower down, the sur
face water and refuse from the Brewery
enter it.
Crossing Riddles road about fourteen
hundred feet abve the hesd OF the race,
1t paeses Into the creek. This is a email
stream bnt it's coptents are generally
quito offensive. Rattleenske Run, by
far the more important of the Two,
drains q much larger area. It's origin
Is about on a line with Ninth street ex
tended, and in this section drains the
slope bocnded by Clayton street on the
east and Seventh Oh the south. Cros,
ing Union street at Tenth, it takes the
drainage from MoDowellyille and FROM
Pennsylvania avenue rs far east as
Clayton street.. At Dalaw avenue /,
recssves the street aud gutter Cow frooa
brcome street On the east to Union on
the vest. Waste water from the City
Passenger Rail way Station and stab, es
eZtera at the same point
1t also receives here OF lower dawn
ia its course, the water frsm the 60 .tert
on many of the graded streets liz the
section known as the ftEorty Acres. II
From Delaware avenue the stream Cor
eewer as 1t practically is) passes In o
I north easterly direction into the cree
about five hundred feet above and the
formation OF The dam is almost
equivalent to entering the rscs itself
IL IL to be noted further that the sec.
tion drained by thie stream has been
during the pass few years, growing
rapidly In population and that thit
Growth will probsoly be largely In
creased by the building of the Balti
| l.
! the location OF Its passenger station o.
| Delaware avenusand DuPout street.
| An examination of the above brie;
statement OF the facts concerning th,
two etreams under consideration would
appear to justify the assertion thx
they do receive and convey into Tho
| BIsa6 ywine obnoxious matter In sun
cient. quantity sc ipjure the drinking
water and that this obneEious mater
is sure to increase with esch succeed
ing ear
\ II, then, the water is to be taken from
the present puIaping station, the con
clustou Is inevitable that come prOv.
I sion must be made to keep the drain
aRe out OF the race Whist this provl
zion shall be, whether it shall be bJ
means of pipes connecting the two
streame asd conveying their ordinary
or dry weather flow under the bed o.
the etream aud over the dada on the OF.
posite side, or By constructing an inter.
cepting sewer south of the race al
recon mendsd by Mr. Rudolph Herring
| In hia plan Tor -system of &c werage fog
| the city, must be ID etermineG by an en-.
gineer acting under the aut,sorlty and
| by the direc lion of Council.
IL 3 permanent work shox Id be con
ltemplated q sewer cut to be preferred
over oil other plans. Il would not only >
take the ordinary flow of the two
streams in question, but IL would dc
away with the necessity for tine shutes
over the rsce, intercept the soaisage and
subsoil water from the northerly slope
of the city and serve as part of any
sy stem of sewerage that may hereafter
be adopted.
But Whatever remedy may besagreed
xpon conclusion ought TO be arrived