Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-11
THE SEWER SYSTEM.
How Shall It Be Planned
and Built.
A PLAN VERY NECESSARY
What an Expert Has to Say ON It
Use of Sewage and Sewage
Farms.


Great Britain.
EpIroRs HKRALD-The most important
question that the City of Los Angeles
has at present to solve is undoubtedly
the sewering and paving of the town. 1t
has been claimed, and justly SO, that
with q good and really efficient system
of drainage and properly paved streets,
Los Angeles may not only be made the
capital of Southern California, but also
the most beautiful city in the West.
Besides this, and which is still more
important, it can be made one OF the
healthiest cities in the world. The nat
ural gifts given to this most favored part
of the world are such that to allow them
to be deteriorated would be calamity
which would involve the city in serious
trouble before many years are past.
The citizens have the power now to
prevent such disaster and to insist that
these questions not only be thoroughly
taken in hand, but also in such a man.
ner as will insure their having the very
best system of both sewerage and
paving.
Having had a very large and varied
experience, both in the old country,
Europe, and other parts of the world,
in all matters pertaining to the sewering,
paving, water supply and lighting, etc.,
Of large cities, and being we'll acquainted
with all the best and most approved
schemes which have been carried out,
few remarks from one upon these ques-
tions may assist to throw some lightupon
the matter. The drainage or sewering OF
q city should be divided into three parts,
viz: First, the disposal of the sewage
second, laying the main sewers IN the
streets third, house drainage.
Now, the first thing to do in sewering a
city is to prepare a complete plan, to-
gether with q report, which will show
exactly the proposed scheme OF drainage,
the method to be adopted for the dis
posal of the sewage on reaching the out
fall, the different kinds of material to be
used, the size, depth and fall or grade oi
every sewer, how each sewer is to be
flushed and ventilated, the position oi
every manhole, lamp holes, ETC., and
in fact the most perfect plans OF every
single detail in the system must be pre-
pared, together with an estimate OF the
cost. A scheme such as this can only be
prepared by thoroughly competent en-
gineer, and he should be responsible to
the town for the efficient carrying out of
the same. / may here mention that to
prepare such scheme would take some
considerable time, but it would be q
grave error to endeavor to rush ques-
tion of such vast importance to the city
it would only end in defective work.
When such plan and report has been
prepared and submitted to the Coun-
Gil, it probably will be found
that the cost much exceeds what
was anticipated; if such is the
case, the best method to adopt is to
carry out portion of the scheme, each
year doing as much work as the city can
afford, but always upon exactly the
same lines as originally laid down in the
complete system. If this mode OF con-
struction be faithfully carried out, the
city in few years would have system
of drainage which would be not only
complete in every detail, but also in ac-
cordance with the latest sanitary knuwl-
edge. As regards cost, if the citizens
are desirous of bavinga thoroughly good
and perfect system of sewerage, they
must be prepared to pay high figure
for the same. There are few works
which require greater care and closer
supervision than work of this descrip-
tion, and, as rule, there are no works
where greater mistakes, grosser careless
ness and thoroughly bad workmanship
are to be found. By those who know, it
is we'll known that the sewering CT city
is difficult class of work to carry out
well, besides being at all times very
costly. There are many reasons for
this. In the first place, men engaged
upon this class of work do not see the
necessity for being so particular, and
there is kind of general feeling amongst
them that anything will do for sewer,
whereas the very opposite is the case /;
for even with the best material
and the most perfect workman
ship, sewers are none too effective.
Again, everything being underground,
if the trench be once filled in the defects
cannot be discovered until too late, and
this often leads contractors and others to
wilfully do bad work, 80 as to save them
expense, and it requires the closest
supervision to prevent this on the part OF
the engineer and his assistants. The
care thus required, must necessarily in
crease the cost of the work, but under
any circumstances good drainage is al
ways expensive. The citizens OF Los
Angeles ought to be willing however to
bear the expense if they are really sure
of obtaining satisfactory scheme when
finished, and should take especial care to
ensure this after the innumersble
examples of failure which may be found
in drainage matters all over the world. l
have seen some of the work already
carried out in Los Angeles, and have
no hesitation in saying that if the city
only continues to proceed in the same
manner it has commenced, the drainage
can never be made efficient or anything
like it.
will now proceed to make my views
more clear in detail. The disposal of the
sewage: do not here propose to refer
except in general terms to this most i'm
portant matter, as it involves 80 many
different questions that it would be quite
impossible for an engineer to give an
opinion as to the best method of disposing
of the sewage of Los Angeles, without
having proper detailed plans, with levels,
etc., before him.
In q climate such as Southern Cali
fornia enjoys, where sometimes there is
little or no rain for months, one would be
inclined to think that many people hav-
ing fruit ranches and alfalfa land would
be only too thankful to take sewage for
irrigating purposes, and, not only so,
but also willing to pay for it. From what
/ have heard there seems to be feeling
of prejudice against sewage irrigation
this may be owing to the fact that farm
ers and others do not appreciate the