Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-09-05
SEWER SUGGESTIONS.
An Engi states HIS Views ON
the subject.

the subject.
EDITORS HERALD-The question of the
sewer bonds having been settled for the
time, now submit the following to your
consideration and to that Of the voters of
the city:
The moving of sewage in bitches,
pipes, etc., is subject to the same laws as
the moving of water. All that is required
is grade sufficiently great to allow
gravity to act. Water will run down
hill, sewage ditto, and an open
ditch will carry either just as we'll as one
underground.
This promised, a sewer-line can be
located from point near the southwest
corner of the city, commencing at point
where the sewers of the city would be
brought to the surface, and running
thence with the minimum grade required
for the moving of sewage (say seven and
half feet to the mile), across the
Cienega rancho, now the property of E.
j. Baldwin, then across the Rancho Rim
con de los Bueyes, the property of the
Higuera family, then across the inter-
vering ranches to the ocean. This line
would be located high up on the hills
and would probably reach the ocean at
an elevation of seventy or eighty feet
above high tide, on the east side OF
Ballona harbor. It could be then run
eastwardly for couple of miles, and a
connection made with the ocean.
The engineer could 60 locate it, by
adapting it to the accidents of the ground,
as not to require the removal OF more
than a cubic foot of earth to the running
foot. Here and there he would have to
introduce piece of trestle to carry q
sluice.bo across some steep ravine, but
there would be little work of that char.
acter.
Were the right of way obtained, the
ditch located, staked out, etc., and let to
any OF our contractors, such as Backman (;
Chase, French & Co., Crowley, ETC., the
contractors would hardly know that they
had commenced before they would have
finished and be in search of more work.
An open ditch is all-suficient, the
clamors of those who want to make big
expenditure to the contrary notwithstand-
ing.
When I last visited Vernon I saw that
the East Side Irrigation Company con-
Quoted the sewage from the termination
of twenty-inch pipe in an open ditch
through a populous district. The route
proposed il uninhabited, and therefore
there can be no objection to an open
ditch. Moreover, the sewage matter can
be diluted by the water which comes
into the city across the Felis rancho, and
which runs into large reservoir in the
hills not far from Temple street, and
also from the Zanja Madre. The body
Of water entering by that ditch is double
in volume to the sewage matter which
would be collected at the commencement
OF this proposed outfall sewer. There is
no trouble about making the sewage mat
ter innocuous by diluting with water,
and thus rendering anything but an open
ditch unnecessary.
OF course by this plan there will be no
great amount of money spent, and therein
ia its weakest point; nor will the digging
of ditch, as proposed, do much toward
giving any one reputation. But then
it will save the city from indebtedness,
which, to the average taxpayer, may be
matter of some importance in the near
future.
A connection with the sea once had,
by any route you please, makes the city
Independent. If gentlemen living south
OF it want the sewage matter, they will
then be suitors and not dictators. If
they don't want the sewage on the city g
terms, to the ocean it goes, and no one is
injured. Respectfully,
JOHN M. BALDWIN.