Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-11-06
DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE.
ON MUNICIPAL ENG.
NEERlNG ABROAD.


A New York Gentleman Visits the Sew
age Disposal Works of Berlin, Paris
and Frankfort-some of the Essential
Differences Between Them.
Mr.. Rudolph Herring, of New York, who
has recently returned from an extended
trip on the Continent and in England,
stated in IA recent interview that his object
In this journey was to examine all the sew
age disposal works in which there were
novel features, and which embodied the
latest improvements and employed the
most recent methods of the best European
practice.
THE BERLIN DISPOSAL WORKS.
The largest irrigation works visited by
Mr.. Herring, and at the same time the llrg-
est in existence, are in Berlin There, DR..
Hobrecht their designer, well known TO
many American engineers acted as guide.
In such works it is well known that, where
large quantities of sewage are to be treated,
doubling the flow more than doubles the
difficulties to be overcome and the skill
required to manage the Berlin fields may
he in some degree understood when it is
called to mind that they are 10000 acres in
Mr.. Herring was very favorably impressed
with these fields. While he was there the
second crop of rye grass was being cut on
q large area, but it was claimed that had
the season been dry third crop would
have been ready, although the date of the
visit was July II. The grass was of a good
quality, and not at all rank in its growth,
probably due to the fact that the sewage is
not crowded on the land. 1t is the usual
practice to flood the fields to depth of two
inches every day for two weeks after which
the fields remain untreated until the crops
have been cut.
No odUr9 were apparent at the time of
the visit, but it is said that they OCCASION
ally occur in winter, when the sewage Is
! run into large storage hn~iu- twelve to
eighteen inches in depth. Inc fact THAI
the death rate is very low on these farms in
, dictates thaf there is no danger 20 the health
of the iaDurrrs employed. ami. indeed. in
one of the districts the city he's established
"A sanitarun. where cOnValesceut patients
are sent from the poor wards Of the city
hospitals.
Often four or five crops are harvested
annually. Along the roads trees are
planted, and groups of houses are scat
tered over the farm. The labor employed
is taken to a great extent, from the poor
houses, each man receiving half mark
Q2l9 cents a day Their dwellings i'll the
district visited (Grossbeeren) are appar-
!, emily perfect, both in design and construc-
ton, and are kept scrupulously clean in
every part.
The draina;e water from the farm is
often analyzed. chemically and bacteria
logically, ami is found To be very good; in
fact, the men frequently drink it, and it
l,,.
, results following The water supply is
taken from wells sunk in the fields.
THE PARIS WOEKs.
The works at Paris have not made much
progress in the last ten years. Only third
of the sewage is pumped to the farms, or
2 about 100000 cunic meters daily, equivalent
} to 3j3, Goa cu"lc feet, but it is proposed to
extend the lana on winch the sewage could
he utilized. The method employed is to
run the sewage through bitches over the
fields, the farmers being allowed to shut
oil the flow from their land at pleasure. In
rainy weather all the sewage is discharged
into the Seine, while in Berlin it must be
= received upon the fields at all times. The
land in Paris is in private hands while III
: Berlin it is partly the property of the gov
eminent and partly leased. Mr.. Herring
states that, regards sewage disposal,
Paris is practically where she was ten
years ago. and that few if any novelties
are TO be found there.
} CHEMICAL PREPARATION AT FRANKFORT.
Much progress has been made IN the last
/ decade in the chemical precipitation of
, sewage, and possibly the best of he largest
works using this process are just below
Frankfort -On-theM Main, in Germany These
were desi ned by Mr. w. H. Lindley. and
! are regarded by Mr. Herring a. admirable
No similar plant visited ha, IA, little odor
: The masonry was very even, the wetted
surfaces in particular being smooth and
frequently cleaned.
The precpitants employed are chiefly
y sulphate of alumina and lime, about 500
. 600 being spent for the former and 5000
for the latter annually. Labor coal, etc,
cost about 5000 in addition. The manage
meut is conducted very carefully.
The sewage is examined every half hour,
Y and the proper proportions of the chem
: icals are determined from prepared tables.
f These proportions are communicated TO
I the mixing room, and the charge is pre-
: pared to correspond with the quality of
= the sewage actually passing at the tune.
In this way it is hoped that the best results
will he obtained at the least cost. The
etliuent that enters the main Is kept suili-
GENTLY clear and pure to prevent any pos
r sble objection.
J. The sludge is pumped out from the
= tanks into basins and is allowed to dry.
When dry it is either taken away fol
manure by the neighboring farmers, or il
allowed to run into barges, which carry i,
down the river to farms at some distance
t from the city, Mr.. Lindley expects that
t in the future the CITY will derive a small
t income from the sale of tins sludge. 1t
:. may be an interesting fact to all munlc
pal engineers To know that about one
third of the entire annual budget is usu
= ally devoted to current engineering works
- Engineering Record.
Saved Money on 500 Year.
y A clergyman of the name of Mathsor