Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-08-11
The city Engineers Explanation Of
the sewer system Continued.

for not adhering to my former recon-
mendation, of outfall by way of Cent?
nela, l will add before leaving this part
of the subject, that have advised with
Mr.. Rudolph Herring, our Consulting
Sanitary Engineer, on this as well as
other changes which l have made.
The impression that route Tor an out
fall sewer by way of the Los Angeles
river would follow the natural drainage
outlet of the area to be drained is an or.
roneous one. The rivers former and
natural bed is down San Fernando and
Alameda streets to point near the Wolf
skill depot; thence in a southWesterly
direction, crossing Main street, near
Washington street, and continuing IN
about the same direction to Ballona
Lake. Its present course is due to the
change of the Arroyo Seco channel from
the East Los Angeles side OF its bed to
the present location. When following in
the former channel it met the river at
the head of San Fernando street, from
which point the most direct and natural
course is as above stated. The general
Topography of the bottom lands west OF
the present river bed will flow the water
Ill d WOblSll1 oliNONAOiJ oho 40
the channel is dependent upon artificial
means for the confinement of its waters,
it is quite evident that more natural
drainage outlet is in another direction.
An examination of the Typographical
map of the city will, at a glance, show
that the low land in the city extends, as
[ have already described, from the juno
tion OF San Fernando street and the river
sx,r uraaknrlxy Ifvoofiny, 10 tha 1OI1kh-
west corner of the city. The map will
also show that the river due east of the
southwest corner of the city is thirty feet
higher than the said southwest corner.
The river has a greater fall than that re-
quired for the outfall sewer, and grade
line, therefore, running in southeasterly
direction from said corner will, in about
six miles, gain 80 much on the river that
it can be discharged therein, if required.
This southeasterly line runs through a
great deal of highly cultivated private
property, and almost all the land fer
more than three miles is subdivided into
small holdings. The line could be car
ried in the roads by going south and
afterwards east, thus avoiding private
property, but this would add thirty per
cent. at least to the length OF the line.
L u6 l1u6s TuUuluS oOuGu OLi tiO iOahS
would have more than ample grade,
while the easterly lines would not have
sufficient grade, as the ground rises in
that direction. This would entail great
expense in deep trench digging.
Another objection to this route Is the
delay, expense and uncertainty attending
the procurement of the right OF way
from such large number OF land hold
ers. The adherents OF this route do not
fully appreciate all the difficulties that
have to be overcome and the great expense
to be incurred to carry the outfall sewer to
the river near Florence and thence to the
ocean near Long Beach.
Mr.. Dockweiler, when City Surveyor,
made survey of this route and for sew
eral reasons he did not recommend its
adoption. One good reason that he gave
was that it was nine miles longer than
the route by Ballona, and another reason
was that the last two miles OF the route
were overfowed at every high tide, which
would make the construction in these two
miles very expensive and Troublesome.
1 may add that the point of discharge
into the ocean is not half as far from
Long Beach as the Ballona outfall is from
the Arcadia Hotel at Santa Monica.
L
ecn to object to the sewer as proposed,
discharging near BalloDa, it is very ap-
parens that the towns of Long Beach and
San Pedro have still more grounds for
complaint by reason OF q sewer discharg-
ing on the beach between these places.
The disposal of sewage by irrigation on
lands in the vicinity of Florence, using
the river bed as a waterway when the
lands will not absorb it, has been given
due consideration, and the objections
found to this method are as follows:
First. The river outside OF the city
flows on private property for its entire
length.
Second. There is no we'll defined chan
mel in which the sewage could be con-
ined.
Third. There is never any water in the
bed to dilute the sewage except during
extremely wet winters, and then the flow
seldom reaches beyond Florence for
more than four or five days during the
entire year.
Fourth. 1t will not be possible, even
If an adequate channel were made, to
keep it open at all times.
Fifth. The sewage will pollute the
waters of the San Gabriel river below its
1uuCUlOu WILL luo LUIS AHSOACo iANCl' lhO
water of the San Gabriel river is now
used by the residents along its course for
domestic purposes, and they will in
eyexy possible way dispute the right OF
Los Angeles to contaminate their only
water supply.
Sixth. There is not a precedent to
Justify the disposition of the sewage from
q large city by discharging it into dry
siver-bed.
If it were not for the pollution OF the
waters of the San Gabriel river, the
sewage could be run into infiltration
beds during the winter months, and the
effiuent drained into the bed, but this is
not 30 effective or economical either in
first cost of plant and maintenance, as
what we have in the Ballona proposition.
The Ballona route, over which 1t is now
proposed to construct the outfall sewer,
is practically the same as that surveyed
and recommended by Mr.. W. I. Lambie,
late City Surveyor. The last three miles
~ this survey was changed to where
amn,,> ocean frontage could be obtained,
and the right of way acquired. The line
aa now laid down commences at the In
tersection of Grand avenue and Jefferson
street and r,Sos on Jefferson street to
Wesley avenue: thence on Wesley
avenue to the Santa Monica railroad
thence along the railroad to the county
road leading to Ballona lake /; thence along
said road to the lands of Anderson Rose
thence across said lands to the lands ol