The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-11-01

parts of town through which they form
the natural waterways.
The tendency of Roanoke's growth is
toward the west. Already now the
largest part Of the city is lying west of
Lick run.
AS MIR. Herring correctly says in his
report, the most important matter to
be considered is the removal of the
storm water" This Is what bothers MS.
But it certainly seems to be round
about and also expensive way to carry
all the storm water and sewage through
the whole city i'll order to get it into
Lick run, thence into Tinker creek, and
eventually, as Mr.. Dunlap says in his
report, into the Roanoke river through
sewer along Tinker creek.
The necessity Of interceptors in our
sewer system is admitted by all. Mr..
Dunlap, in his estimate Of June Is,
| puts in an intercepter, but wants it built
on the north side of the city. He then
winds up by saying: "At the end of
five years your city would then have
thirty miles of sewers more than at
present and the drainage provided
for" But goes he on in the next line:
"By that time it might be necessary to
provide for the sewage at the mouth
of Lick run by turning 1t into the
| river" Here we are exactly as Mr..
Herring says. Lick run will not be able
to provide for the sewage from the
whole city, and it will therefore have
to be turned into the river eventually.
Here is financial question of i'm
portance for the taxpayers to solve,
which is the most economical to follow
Mr.. Dunlap's plan and in the next five
years expend all what is appropriated
in building sewers, which at the eXpira-
tim Of tho Hun will nn1u
benefit a certain part of the city-of
course we have thirty-fve miles of
sewers to show up-and then again face
the absolute necessity of Mr.. Hering's
interceptor, the need of which will be
still more urgent without any money to
pay for it; or now to begin at the right
place of building the interceptor, which
must be built some day or other, and
then still have $4,000 for other i'm
provements, which will benefit the
whole town?
Mr.. Herring says in his report it will
altogether be too expensive to convert
Lick run into storm sewer able to
carly off the water from the whole city.
And it is the storm water which is the
most important part we have to deal
with in our sewer system. Mr.. Dunlap
in his estimate proposes to expend
sos, 400 and S33,SO0 respectively on Lick
and Trout runs, in converting them into
storm sewers, of sizes which, after the
expiration of some years, will prove
entirely inadequate for the purpose as
the the city grows and becomes more
populous.
Here are over 500, 600 expende d. only
benefting part of the city, with the
necessity of Mr.. Hering's interceptor
staring us still more urgently in the
eyes. Mr.. Rawn objects to the inter-
ceptor because it diverts the drainage
a remarkable objection, indeed. II Mr..
Rawn will look into the sewer system
of some of our large cities he will find
that it always is advocated by sanitary
engineers TO have the system divided up
in districts, so as to dispose of the storm
water as quickly as possible.
That is what Mr.. Herring proposes in
his plan. and to do it as cheap as posi-
BILE, and still looking out for future ex-
| tensions. He proposes to build tho
interceptor to carry away all the
water west of Trout run as quick as pos
sible and by the most direct route into
the river. In other works, he divides
the city into two districts, the eastern
and the Western. The eastern district
is adequately taken care of by the nat
ural waterway, Lick run, with little ex-
|
low central part of the city is given i'm
mediate relief through the interceptor
into the river without being taken
| through the whole city in a roundabout
way.
| Mr. Herring says then: "a num-
Der of other plans for dealing with the
| problem have been studied, but this
one is found to be the best and at the
same time the least expensive in the
future, allowing for gradual extensions
as the requirements may demand" He
is right. In dealing with our sewer
system, we must not only look out for
what is cheapest now in the start, but
also which will be tho cheapest in the
future. 1t might look like a great
expense to spend 100000 now on an
interceptor, but it is not taken into
consideration that this interceptor is to
be the very foundation for the whole
system of the western and southwes-
tern part of the city, the part. too.
which is about to progress and extend
the rost in the nearest future.
Mr.. Dunlap's proposed interceptor on
the north side of the city will do no
future good for the western and south
western portion of the town, and his
proposed storm sewers on Salem avenue
and Campbell street will not be ade-
quate to take care of the storm water
which confronts and bothers us, and
which, as the town grows, will increase
and in the end necessitate tho so-much
opposed interceptor. 1t is also argued
against the interceptor that the fall in
the river, near the outlay, is OF suffici-
ent to carry away the sewage, which
will remain there as n danger to the
health of the surroundings.
Mr.. Rawn gives as proof some level
figures. Well, MIR. Rawn. let me ask