Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-31


three or four hundred acres of sandy
river bed at the places of deposit.
All of these expenses, however, would
be incomparably small in comparison
with the immense cost of the Ballona
sewer.
Indeed, it would appear from careful
reading of the engineers report that the
weight OF the facts and opinions therein
expressed favors this plan rather than
the recommendation finally stated by
them. Here are GONE quotations from
that report.
OF the disposition of sewage on land
the report says: "It is universally &C.
cepted by sanitarians and engineers that
the most efficient and desirable disposi-
tion of sewage is by irrigation on suit
able lands. The properties of the soil as
a powerful deodorizer have long been
recognized. Its capacity as filter ex-
ceeds that of an artificial one, chiefly
because the irrigation fields represent
vastly greater area. The facts are that
sewage can be made chemically pure
only by land filtration, and that should
always be resorted to for the disposition
of sewage wherever practicable.
"Sewsge farms need not cause any
nuisance and are not necessarily un-
healthy. The sewage should be con.
Quoted in smooth, artificial channels,
and should only run in earth bitches for
temporary purposes. n \ y From the
foregoing it must appear that on account
of the nearness of large areas of irrigable
lands, and the comparative distance to
the ocean, a disposal of the sewage by
irrigation is the most suitable method
for Los Angeles. 1t was therefore neces-
sary to ascertain what lands are avail
able The conditions of the climate of
this section of the country, and the
scarcity OF water demand that none
should be wasted. AS the city does not
own lands for sewage disposal, the COM
mission inspected the erritory lying to
the south of it which needs irrigation for
the production of crops, and prepared a
circular which was handed to all prop
erty-holders that could be reached in the
Vernon and Florence districts and in the
direction of Ballona, inquiring as to their
wishes in reference to sewage, in what
form they would wish to use it-crude or
purifed-how many acres they owned,
etc.
ga great number of answers we're OBJ.
tanned, and the results are tabulated in
the report. These tables point unmis-
taksbly to the following facts:
"First. That great portion of the
lands lying south of the city are suitable
for irrigation purposes.
"Second. That an insufficient amount
of land is offered for permanent disposal
of the Gty's sewage.
"Third. That enough land is, however, :,
available for disposal during the dry
season.
Fourth. That an insufficient amount
of sewage would be accepted in winter.
"These conclusions, together with the
experience obtained elsewhere, clearly
show that there will be no difficulty of
dieposiDg Of the sewage on land south of
the city during the summer, but that in
winter no demand exists therefor.
THE PROBLEM,
Therefore, requiring a solution, is the
finding of practicable method of dis
posing of the sewage during the winter
months"
At this point, when the engineers had
apparently arrived at the proper solution
of the problem, to-wit: the using of the
winter flow of the Los Angeles river for
disposing of sewage during the wet
weather, they erected for themselves an
insurmountable obstacle in the shape of
legal point, which they decided for them
selves in the following words:
| First. There is no legal authority to
pollute water course and to create and
maintain a nuisance therein, and there
fore crude sewage cannot be discharged
into the Los Angeles river or any other
available stream.
"Second. For this reason it is not
within the province of the commission to
consider an outfall sewer to the river,
nor far from the city, or to any water
course within reach, without making
provision for the proper publication of
the sewage at the point OF discharge"
| 1t is here admitted that but for this
supposed legal difficulty the surplus sew-
age, in it's crude state, should be dis
charged into the Los Angeles river dur
ing the rainy season, just as it is now
being discharged by the South Side Irri-
CATION Company. This writer does not
intend TO find any fault with the en-
gineers for entertaining this legal opin-
ion. AS to the abstract legal
question, the doctrine is gener-
ally sound as to the pollu-
ton of fresh water stream by an indi-
vidual. But We do know that Rome dis
charges her sewage into her Tiber, and
Paris hers into the Seine, all the year
round.
Cannot Los Angeles do the same
| thing into her river-for the limited Pc
riod of the winter rains-where such use
would be harmless? Or if she has not
the strict legal right, cannot she obtain
it as above suggested, especially when
the engineers declare that it will almost
bankrupt her to take any, other course
This writer feels confident from the
purport of the engineers report, as we'll
as from expressions orally made to him
| by Mr.. Herring and others of the COM
mission, that but for the supposed in
surmountable legal difficulty in reference
to the Los Angeles river, the plan finally
recommended by the commission would
not have been recommended.
But in lieu thereof, those intelligent
gentlemen would have unhesitatingly
prepared the plan here suggested, or
something like it.
| If the course here suggested be
adopted we can have a practical outlet
for our sewage completed before the next
winter rains, besides saving hundreds of
thousands of dollars to the city.
If the Ballona scheme be adopted
i E. L