Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-30
THE SEWAGE QUESTION.
Shall We Resort to a Make
shift Programme?
WHAT THE MAYORS VETO DID
Engineer Eaton Tells What He
Knows About Getting to the Sea
and Fertilizing.


The question Of Che disposition OF the
sewage Of the city is one which Is
at present proving a knotty problem
for the members of the City Coun-
ell, and many are the schemes and
propositions being set forth for satisfac.
tory solution Of the matter. In morn
ing contemporary the other day appeared
IN article OF the Eureka type, which un-
dertook TO settle the whole business, and
proceeded to outline plan by which the
sewage was TO be conveyed by thirty
inch cement pipe as far as the Ballona
slough, into which 1t was to be dumped
and then allowed to drift along into the
ocean. Having an idea that some very
strong objections could be raised to this
proposition, q HERALD reporter yester-
day morning called on Mr.. Fred Eaton,
formerly City Surveyor, and had chat
with him on the subject.
at is possible, but impracticablc to
dispose OF the sewage in the manner
mooted,o said Mr.. Eaton" because there
is State law which expressly forbids
the dumping Of sewage into creeks or
streams, and an injunction would be
doubtless at once served and enforced on
the city II such measure we're adoped.
The creek into which it is proposed to
run the sewage carries about 800 mines'r
inches OF water, and the settlers along its
course would doubtless !strenuously OBJ
iect 10 such use being made OF the sew
age. Then again, the stream is remark
ably sluggish one, and for four or five
miles of its course may be said to have
scarcely any current at all.
The project is untenable; If they
desire to run the sewage to
the ocean by that route, the pipe must
be carried right through to the beach
and disposing place arranged for the
output. Then, again, Of what use is q
30-inch cement pipe? In the first place,
the material is not adapted to the con-
veyance of sewage for in time it cracks,
whereupon the liquid escapes and the
solid matter remains, and in a short time
clogs the pipe. The size OF the pipe is
another objection; for it would only be
suited for a city Of $4,000 inhabitants,
allowing the usual 100 gallons per capita
per day. with 80 per cent. limit in case
Of unusual pressure. In short time an
extra pipe would have to be laid, and
bu6u duObiltT anu dhOehOA ohN Wied
each of these would come the cost
Of retrenching, etc., which would be
almost as great as the initiatory ex-
penses. The city should not be continu-
ally bridging over this matter by making
temporary arrangements, that were all
very well when the future of the city
hung in the balance but now its fate is
assured. We know that we have estab
lished town here that will not die out
like mining or railroad camp, and by
fair calculation we can rely on having
population OF 200, 900 inside OF five years.
Taking this into consideration, all the
improvements we make now should be
done with an idea to permanency, and to
nothing should this apply more emphat-
ically than to the sewer system, for
it is to q certain extent the life
and death of a city-especially to
one like this, which will always
be more or less considered in the East as
a Sanitarium. The history Of the sewer
question here is, as suppose you know,
an interesting one. When the matter
was first seriously considered last year l
was then City Surveyor, and set to work
TO make plans for the disposal of the
matter. ran lines in different direc-
tions, and after testing the various routes
/ discovered that the most practicable
and expedient way to dispose of the
savage was across the Centinela Ranch.
l realized the enormous value of this
refuse as fertilizer, and how thousands
of acres could by its means be reclaimed
from waste and put into cultivation; but
i also saw that it was necessary to have
an outfall to the sea, 80 that in
the winter months, when the sewage
was not necessary, the flow could be
diverted into the ocean. The Centinels
ranch was the very place needed; the
grade was good, there was large body
OF land that would flourish under the in.
fiuence Of such a system, and the exit to
the sea was all that could be desired.
approached Messrs. Mcfarland, Silent,
and Vail on the matter, but at first they
rejected the idea and would not for mo-
ment entertain such proposition. But
they meditated and inquired into the
subject; they read of the cry going mp in
England because millions of dollars
worth of fertilizing material was annually
being thrown into the ocean, and they
to obtain what they had at first declined
They asked for a perpetual grant of the
sewage, and for its use they offered the
city bonus of 100000, or 5000
acres of land, in addition to which
they would deed right of way over theiI
property and, il necessary, secure the
same privileges along the entire route.
This was submitted to the Council, who
decided to accept the cash offer, and
with this endorsement sent it to the
Mayor, but His Honor vetoed it. He
said that he wanted more light thrown Oh
the matter, and for this purpose Messrs
Waring and Herring, two of the ablest and
most reputable sanitary engineers in the
United States, went over the lines | had
laid out. They presented favorable
report, fully endorsing the disposal oi
the sewage as recommended; but the
Mayor was not satisfied. and engaged two
other engineers; but they also could find
no material objections to the plan defined
Yet in spite of all this the Mayor stuck
TO the veto, and so the matter was de-
cided. Since the subject has again be-
come matter OF public gossip, owing to
the agitation at Vernon, was approach
ed and asked If | would not endeavor to
get Mrs. Mcfarland and Silent to re-
snbmit their proposition. l knew that
they would be certain to decline after the
manner in which their former offer had
bsen disposed of; but l nevertheless
called and asked them if they would still
extend the privileges they had offered a
year ago. As expected, they promptly
declined, and Mr.. Mcfarland informed
me that about one-half of the land he
had offered to the city had been sold