Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-30
PAVING AND GRADES.


| Mr.. city engineer in case it is desired to
pave the streets are the grades sufficiently
established to warrant no change in the
| near future?
THAT is a very important question and
| of grave interest to the people OF Wichita.
| First let me state in answering that in an
ticipation of this paving and also to give
the grades for our new curbs and cutters
on streets having no established grades,
| we have run lines of levels east and west,
north and south over large section of our
city and have made profiles of them for
the purpose of determining a system of
grades. We have found this necessary for
variety of reasons"
when it was decided to sewer this city
BY what is known as the separate system
| that for sewerage only the question arose
what will be done with the storm water"
ITO not make proper provision for the
storm water. and especially if we had
paved streets, would simply be to flood
certain portions of our town during every
heavy rainfall"
Again il may seem very small matter
for the city council to order plans for
| curbing and guttering OF any block of
property and may seem very insignificant
indeed to be called on TO give the grade
for a building, but without e system OF
established grades these become very
serious matters, and should be left in no
uncertain condition and liable TO be
changed"
''The paving of streets is Of quite as
much Importance as either of the above
and should be laid only on carefully de-
termined grades The more streets we
pave the more water will be in the cutters
in given time and unless put on proper
grades certain portions will inevitably
become flooded. The low portions must
be raised to let the water pass by them as
rapidly as it reaches them or they are
overhown.n
after the completion of the sewer
system, now being built, the Topeka
avenue sewer will be used for storm water
only. But that is far too small for all the
water which now is directed 70 IL
during any of our heavy rains. when it
is filled TO repletion and the water boils
out Of the holes of the manhole covers and
the superintendent water goes down the
cutters flooding property, notably in the
vicinity of the opera house.
In devising system of grades one of the
main ideas has been to relieve this Topeka
avenue sewer and direct the water to other
and shorter channels.
1t has been maintained that the prin-
cipal par of our city should be raised sew
eral feet in order to secure better drainage,
and some persone believe this will eventu-
ally be done, costly though it would be
to raise the buildings, streets and pavings.
curbs and cutters, steam and street rail
ways, etc."
when the levels were taken for the new
sewer system it was discovered we had
about five feet fall to each mile in north
and south direction, with here and there
some low spots, and which was quite
enough. fall if properly cared for. Taking
advantage of such available natural slopes
as could be found in various places to dis
tribute the storm water, sending it by
divers routes to the river west and to the
creek east"
"If this can be accomplished, and we be-
lieve it can Ly carefully established sys-
tenn of grades, it will be the saving OF
many hundreds of thousands of dollars,
besides giving greater security in the minds
of many, in regard to the erection of heavy
costly buildings, that there will be no ne
cessity for further change of grade"
"The grade problem is a much more in
tricate one than was the sewer system
though both require great care and study
on account of small destinations. One OF
the greatest difficulties is to adjust the
new grades to suit the buildings of per-
manent character which are already
erected"
'Some of our new curb and gutter points
out what will have to be done in the way
of filing streets and lots, and when filed
will be much more valuable than at pres
ent, permitting of deeper cellars and Civ
ing more covering TO the new sewers,
which will be little enough in all low Sec
tons"
eve have the grades now worked up
from Pattie avenue to the river and from
Douglas avenue to Central, and a large
part of the work from Douglas to Kellogg
and from Central to Park street. More
will be done as soon as possible, and be-
sides this, we have now ready to be estab-
lished by ordinance set of bench marks,
to which all future grades, for whatever
purpose, may be referred, and they were
so carefully ascertained by various check
levels that they may be fully relied upon.
They exist from Garfield university on the
west to Paramount and College Hill on
the east, and from Lincoln street on the
south to Twenty-first street on the north.
In all there are forty-nine of them, and al
though our datum or starting altitude is
quite arbitrary, yet have ascertained our
zero to be LISA above meantide AZ Sandy
Hook, which amount added to any of our
heights, gives their true altitude above sea
level.
These bench marks have been pur-
posely separated long distances that
they smay be referred to in va
rious parts of the city and
also that in the event of any great calam-
ity, like great fire, cyclone or food,
they would not all be destroyed, and there
fore others could be established from the
remaining ones"
$50 you see in this matter of permanent
grades we have done something. although
much remains to be done and provided the
city council approves our actions"
Eyes, sir, the grade maps are open to the
inspection of the public at all times and
we shall be glad to explain them TO any
ono interested ~