The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-12-04

places loose floors OF plank and piles OF
debris give the warning. "Lonk out for the
hospital when the hole comes"
Those holes and caves look desolate and
f0rsaKen now. but day or two ago some
of them were the liyeliest places in the
city.
One Of them is ND at Clay and Baker
streets. where there was a natural wonder
when the rain was the heaviest on Friday.
There was regular geyser there. Along
Clay street TO Baker runs an old sixteen
inch pipe sewer. At the crossing is Sec
ton of new brick sewer three by Eve feet in
size running across the street. A large
area Is drained into this point
When the water all gets there ID goes on
down Clay street through an old sixteen
Inch pipe sewer, at least 1t Is supposed TO.
That is one Illustration OF the sen 80 used in
building sewers in this city in the past.
When the recent foods charged down on
this six.een-inch Clay-street sewer il was
soon choked Up. The waters kept pouring
in from higher points and the result was
that for hours it came tearing ont OF the
sewer openings. then for hours the four
corners of the crossing were artesian wells,
and the manhole In the center was a
veritable boiling geyser sending great
volume of water three aud four feet into
the air.
The flood poured on down Gay street
and soon got the pavement along one side
started. Then it went to dredging. When
the rain stopped there was deep gully in
| the street 100 feet long, in which the gas
| aud water pipes were exposed.
There were lots of such geysers in the city
| during the rains. Sewers got choked and
| the water boiled out at lower openings and
ran in rivers along the streets.
II was In the old sewers and the ones
that were built too small that the many
breaks occurred. A little obstruction would
| lodge 10 the pine; II would catch other de-
| bris, and the pipe would become partly or
| wholly chOked. The water. under great
| hydraulic pressure, would find weak points
| and tear openings through them or
burst the pipe where it was cracked
| or at all weak. As the water poured
| out into the sand 1t would find an under
ground channel and carry the sand along
| with IL. The surface would be undermined
| and there would be a cave. Perhaps the
water would boil up aud dig hole that
way.
The hill on Steiner street. where it slopes
| steeDly from Vallejo to Union, is badly
washed away as result of a sewer-break
| above. IL was this break that covered the
| Union-street cable tracks, half buried
| house. flooded some cellars and tore MP
things generally in that neighborhood.
On California street, between Fillmore
| and Webster, there is a long cave or wash
| out between the cable tracks ten feet deep
| as a result Of break In the sewer.
There are similar bad breaks and excava-
| tions at Van Ness avenue and Sacramento
street, Kearuy and Bush streets, Vallejo,
n.
| Scott and Pierce. Deyisadero, between Clay
| and Washington, Broadway, between Hyde
and Larkin. California between Steiner and
Pierce. California, between Broderick and
| Devisadero, Clay, between Broderick and
Baker. and at several other places.
These are all serious damages, in which
| the expense OF repairs will be greater for
the streets than the sewers. Some of them
resulted from bad and fraudulent construc-
ton OF brick sewers. In which the bricks
were thrown together with little mortar 70
| save profits.
One OF the most destructive freaks of the
waters may be seen at Alta Plaza, at Jark-
son and Scott streets. This little park was
the pride Of the neighborhood, aud consid-
cradle money had already been expended In
improving and beautifying ii.
Now 1t Is a wreck. Gullies are wash ed
through its recently graded surface, grass
| D, ats are destroyed, one Of the two concrete
bridges Is In ruins parts of the retaining
wall along one side are torn away and here
and there are great piles of NJ nd and gravel
| washed down by the floods.
All over the city plies of sand and clay
| are left in the streets. The sewer-breaks
mentioned are only some of the most i'm
| portant ones. There are sixty or seventy
| others Of smaller consequence. Yesterday
| there was perfect flood Of complaints reg
| istered at the office OF the Superintendent
! OF Streets. The total damage to streets and
| sewers exceeds that from any other storm
| for years.
| The new sewer commission Is energet-
icaily making hay. or something like that,
| since the storm. Commission ers Mansen
| and Grunsky. with Assistants w. w. Fogg
| and Hamilton Merton. were out inspecting
| the sewers at all the breaks that could be
| visited and gaining what information they
| could about them.
1.-THE breaks show defects of eyery pessi-
BILE character" said Mr.. Grunsky Yesterday,
mot alone OF construction, but OF original
| plans In most cases breaks resulted from
bad construction, but In many cases the
capacity Is insufficient for the drainage
area. One thing tho rain has done has been
| to remove foul accommodations, and they are
now in the beat possible condition for ex-
animation"
twill take a lot of money to pay for the
fun the storm had with the streets aud
sewers.