Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-23


| report on the needs of the city in the matter
OF sewers and last year this commission, COM
posed Of men skilled in the question.
| made an elaborate report touching on
| and describing number of possible systems
| which would meet The present and future needs
| of the city and picking ont and especially elab-
Grating one particular system which in the
opinion OF the commission best met all re-
quircments. This report lies safely stored
| away at the Capitol, where it will in ali proba-
bility remain until some future Congress pro-
| vides for a new commission to study the ques-
| tion anew and make another report.
The question. however. is one OF continual
interest to the city, and paper which was
read recently by Mr.. Calvin G.. j. Norris before
| the Columbian Engineering Society throws
considerable light on the dispute to which
is the best system for the city to finally adopt.
DEFECTS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM.
Mr.. Norris as a preliminary TO the proposal
| of new system OF sewerage disposal opens the
| subject by stating that 1.-THE sewerage of the
| city of Washington is defective and inadequate
both for want of a uniform and cOmprehe
| system and also because the discharge into the
river is rendered difficult by the low level Of
the city" The paper describes the present
| sewer system with the Boundary sewer drain
ing into the Anacostia river to the northeast of
| into the old James Creek canal with an outlet
| into the AnacOstia to the west of the arsenal
and the street sewer emptylng into the fotO-
| mac. Describing still further the present sys-
| tenn the paper says: "AH the sewerage is al
present discharged into the river on the borders
| of the city. The river is very largely
composed of flats or very shallow
! water. where at low tide the water is but foot
! or two III depth. and often after strong north
| erly winds is still further lowered, so that u
larsy rffnya faf fln 81.
summer these flats overgrown with a grass
| several feet III length. which readily retains
| floating matter. The channel of the river is
| but a small portion of its width. Much of the
| lighter matter and floating particles OF the
| sewerage is carried onto the flats with the rise
! of tide and some grounds OH the shore in both
cases TO decompose rapidly under the hot sun
| Of summer. The foul air from these extensive
areas is carried by sOutheriy winds over the
CITY,"
| INSUFFICIENT CAPACITY.
Mr.. Norris brought out the fact that in the
| present sewers. on account OF the insufficient
capacity and slope and faulty shapes, the sew
erage was prevented from flowing ra pidly away
The presence and retention in the city of this
| sewerage. generating offensive and unhealthy
gases. was the prime cause of much disease
Another evil to which he calls attention is the
danger OF overflow of the low areas in time Of
| excessive rains. This applies especially, he
4 =,
| which were built wide and low with fiat bot
toms. Both sewers being tide locked are pre-
vented from discharging freely and are clogged
| for several thousand feet up by deposits OF re-
fuse matter. The Tiber creek and b street
sewers, says MIR. Norris. 'are but elongated
cesspools. causing nuisance, sickness and
death" The evils Of freshets in flooding the
| sewers is touched upon also slightly.
As a remedy for the present evils Mr. Norris
! discards the proposition Of filing in tho low
ufatlI inc fnn
fore entering into description of the system
| proposed in the paper Mr. Norris gives an in
\ teresting account of the general methods Of
| disposal.
VARIOUS SYSTEMS OF SEWERAGE.
Sewer systems are divided into two general
| classes, the separate and the combined. The
| separate system provides two sets of sewers,
| one for surface water and one for sewage.
/ he combined system has one sewer for both
Washington sewers are of the combined sys-
ten. The separate system has the objection
OF being more expensive and the sewers are
not SO well flushed naturally as by the COM
biued system As Washington is established
on the combined system. and as that system
could not be replaced except mt enormous cost
anu Inconvenience, separate set of drains
being required for each house. it is proposed
that the present system remain with modifica-
TONS"
In speaking of the methods of sewerage dis
posai Mr. Norris refers to the crude pnen-
matte. htratlon, irrigation and precipitation;
the crude method being where the sewerage is
discharged directly into a body of water, az in
case OF this city; the pneumatic SYSTEM con-
sisting in forcing sewerage by the action of the
air to receivers; the filtration method consist
ing In allowing the sewerage to flow intermt-
tently over a porous soil, whether used for
agricultural purposes or not, and the precipi-
tation method being separation OF the solid
| matter from the liquid by chemicals, mechan-
ical methods or by electricity.
MR. NORRIS SYSTEM
Describing then his own proposal for a sys-
tenn. Mr.. Norris says:
lit is, in short, provision for a concentra-
ton by means Of intercepting sewers OF all the
sewage and part Of the surface water at
pumping station to be located at the intersec-
ton of LIST and n streets, IN South Washington.
thence to be pumped through inverted
siphon of cast iron pumps laid in a dredged
channel across the Anacostla river; thence up
the steep hillside to the out fall sewer, whence
the sewage passes by gravity to a reservoir To-
Gated at Roster bluff on the Potomac on the
Maryland side of the river below Alexandria
This reservoir retains the sewage that flows on
| the food tide and part of the ebb tide aud dis
| charges only on the first part of the ebb tide
! SO that the cities OF Washington and Alexandria
would be wholly rid of this refuse matter
"One prominent feature OF this system is the
| application of artificial drainage in lieu of
| the natural one. which was in fauit in the low
| area In rot allowing a sufficient fall for prop
l eriy shaped sewers This defect is overcome
| by diking out high water by two bikes at mar
! row necks where it is only necessary and by
providing greater slope for the sewers by re-
! constructing Tiber creek and u street sewers
SO that at the receiving we'll at the pumping
| station the invert of the sewer 10 sixteen feet
| below level.
| The pumping Of sewage and an equal
| amount of surface water to the 'outfall sewer is
| accomplished by means Of strong high-service
| pumps, capable of overcoming the pressure
| due to q lift Of CO.'S feet and the head due to
| friction of pipes and entrance.
| 1.-The low area comprises something less than
| eight hundred acres, from which the surface
| water and sewage will be pumped. When the
rain is excessive the storm water with sewage
| from this area will be pumped by means of
| centrifugal punps directly into the river.
| uIGH-LEvEL ISTERcEpToRs.
1.-THE storm water from high area is collected
| by means Of high-level interceptors, and before
reaching the low area an excessive amount OF
| il IL carried to the river by means of weirs or
overhows that are provided at advantageous
pointa
The e street sewer to the north and west
and the Tiber creek and New Jersey avenue
| sewers to the north and east Of low area are
| high-level interceptors.
] with u drainage area within the city limits
/ to the south of Boundary street of about 1850
acres, or an equivalent discharge for q pinch
rainfall of 3,275 cubic feet per second 600 be-
49, tx~AA n. -