Wichita eagle., 1888-04-21

| river and east of Chisholm creek REQUIRE
| independent treatment and as the sewers
draining them viii have no connection
with the works now proposed. its consid-
| Grafton can be postponed for the present.
| The grades of the mains are approximately
| one foot per LOCO, therefore as good as the
grade of the Topeka avenue sewer. Those
of the laterals are about four feet per 900.
! 1t is supposed that the creek can furnish
enough water to cause each main to flow
| from one fourth to one-half full at all
/ times and thus to give constant flushing
velocity throughout the year if desired.
During rain storms the flushing water
| should be shut off The increase of grade
| in the laterals caused by their shorter
length will generally be sufficient TO make
| daily automatic flushing unnecessary, be-
cause they will keep themselves fairly
clean for several weeks and can then be
| flushed by hand or by a water cart TO bet
| ter effect, because a greater quantity Of
water can be used at one time. WheIey er
/ the grade is less than four feet per 1000 |
| should however prefer automatic tanks. of
which the design suggested by Mesers. r..
6, c. is as good as any in the market.
| In order to have access to the sewer
whenever necessary, manholes should be
| built at every street intersection, bend or
| turn in the sewer or laterals they should
be not more than 800 to 400 feet apart
| Then, as the pipes must be laid perfectly
straight between these holes, it is possible
to look through the sewer by placing a
| light at the next opening. The manholes
should be about 3x4 feet in the clear at the
| bottom to allow man to stoop down to
| take out any deposits. The lower half of
| the pipes should be carried through the
| manhole, so as to preserve regular and
| even current, and the curves should be
made true and smooth. The ventilation
of the sewers should be obtained by per-
| forating the manhole covers. This method
| is the usual one and is by far the cheapest
| BY having the openings frequently enough
! the air is exchanged SO often
that an odor is not noticed
particularly as the manholes are in the
| middle of the street. In order to prevent
street mud from dropping through the
holes pan is suspended below the cover,
| which can be emptied whenever necessary
A more expensive system is the carrying
of special vent pipes at intervals to and
above the roofs of houses, and in northern
ATTITUDES where the streets are covered
with snow and ice for long time during
the winter, this system becomes necessary
Opposite every lot a siX-lnch branch is
placed into the sewer, which size is suffi-
GENTLY large to carry off the water even
from hotel.
The design of the house drainage is quite
as important for the health of the people
as that of the street sewers. But
inasmuch as there is no difference
between what you want here and
what is needed and used III other cities,
need act say nothing about it, as you no
doubt have good plumbers located in your
city.
The fiat grades of the sewers make it i'm
perative to give the greater case to the lay
out of the grades during construction, as
difference of an inch here and there on the
mains, would make very perceptible diff
ference III the flow. 1t is also necessary to
select nothing but the best material and
Workmen for the construction, because by
so doing, you can max the sewers practi-
cally imperishable.
Finally, / wish to urge upon you the
necessity of giving the sewers, after they
are built, more than ordinary attention 1t
pipes, will do their work without any fur
ther examination after they are laid. This
idea is a great mistake. The variety
of substances which get into
sewer is so great that it is
impossible to make system of sewers au-
tomato. Regular inspections should be
made of all the pipes, and flushing and
cleaning given them whenever a slight de-
post is found, thus avoiding a sudden ac-
emulation and stoppage at any point
The more attention is given to the system
the better results You will get from it.
The manner in which you should, in my
opinion, now proceed to carry out the work
you propose to do is, first, to ascertain
whether you can obtain the water from
Chisholm creek for the purpose of running
it through the sewers for all time. If so,
the system of several parallel mains run
ming through the city from north to south
Will give you better grades both for mains
and laterals than you can secure by the
system of mains running at right angles
to them, and depending for flushing from
the Arkansas river. If you cannot secure
the water from the creek, then it will be
better to adopt the latter system. which,
though it may possibly even cost less than
the other, cannot be kept as clean and as
free from deposits and distractions.
The second thing to do is to have your
city engineer make borings to the quick
sand along the proposed mains or sub
mains, TO ascertain the depth at which it
will be most economical TO place them and
the exact grade that may be given them.
This point settled, he can then project the
short laterals to the best available grades
in each case, which rarely need be less
than four feet per 1000, and often proba-
bly, more.
Then, after deciding what sewers you
will build, he can make the profles and
such detail plans Of manholes, functions,
flushing tanks as may be required and
prepare the specifications for a contract
You will then be ready TO advertise for
bids to carry ont the work"
When Mr.. Herring had finished reading
his report quite number of questions
were asked and answered satisfactorily.
Some time was spent in this direction
when Mr.. George L. Rouse presented the
following resolution:
Resolved, 1t is the sense OF this meeting
that the opinion and plan II the report OF
Mr. Rudolph Herring shows that Wichita
can be effectively and economically severed
and we recommend this as similar plan
to the city council and hope their action
will not be long delayed.
The resolution drew out no opposition
and passed unanimously.
When the meeting adjourned there
seemed to be general spirit OF satisfac-
ton. 1t was believed that the council
would act according TO the resolution.
Mr. Herring will leave today for New