Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-05-08

THE work of construction Oh the sewer
 from the city and county public build ings is now in progress, from the west end. The sewage will be carried through a sIx-inch concrete pipe from the alley between the court house and city hall, down Ott street, across Main, through the narrow crooked lane to the north side of the Park, ending at the scequia which runs northwsrd parallel to Man street and very close to it.
 This acequls IS used to irrigate the gardens and fields west of Main street, and several families living along its course use the water for domestic pur- poses. Not many months ago a nest of Chinese wash houses were restrained from depositing their waste wash water into this acequis for the reason that its
 waters thus polluted became too offen- sive and unwholesome. North Main
 street IS lined with residences standing
 considerably higher than the acequis, and
 the width of the street distant from it.
 Thsfreysiling west winds give to these
 people the full benefit of the effiuvis
 arising from the sluggish and polluted
 waters of this ditch, unpleasant even in
 Its nearest approach to purity. To in-
 crease the present volume of the filth
 this feeble little stream is compelled to
 contend with seems to be an iniudicious
 proceeding if not actually dangerous to
 the health of those residing along its course. Sewage is always a prolific source of disease when permitted to putrefy and fill the atmosphere with its vile odors, and the greatest possible care should be exercised in so disposing of it that the health of the community is not endangered thereby.
 We have heard it stated by an sppar- ently intelligent person, that the sewage would not pollute the scequia water, but would actually improve its quality. Had he not spoken with unques- tioned seriousness, his remark would have passed as Pickwickisn expres- slon, or a harsh commentary upon the present foul condition of the water. But as it was said to convince others of the propnety of making the acequis the receptacle of the sewage, it must be | taken ss his honest opinion, although | it is the first time we remember having l known excrement recommended as water purifier, and We confess to having | no ambitious desire to experiment in that direction.
 It is a recognized fact that when | fresh and freely exposed to air, as m sewers only partially filed, sewage has little odor, and can scarcely be consid- | cred as offensive; but let 1t once sccu- mulate in quantities and come to & rest, as 1t naturally would | in the slowly running acequIa, putre- faction sets in and it becomes vile-s seethIng mass full of those minute or gsnisms which live, and grow, and rap- idly multiply in such a favorable me- dium, fostered by a solar influence of intense fervency. Sewage thrown into 8 large volume of running water, such as flowing river where it can be car ried away by currents, diluted by rapid diffusion and oxYgenated by the dissolv- cd oxygen, may involve no spprecisble nuisance. But in small and sluggish streams it is dangerous to health, and in the already foul water of the acequia it will certainly give out poisonous eI- hslations. Some other method of dis posing of the sewage should be adopted