The record-union., 1894-09-24
CONCERNING THE SEWERAGE PLANS.
Civil Engineer Miller Criticises tine
Committee.
He Thinks the Plans Submitted by
Him Preferable to Those of New
berry and Bassett.

M. *. Miller, the Oakland Engineer,
who was one of those that su omitted sew
erage plans to the City Trustees, has
written the following letter to the board
reviewing the recent report of the Exam
lining Committee:
OAKLAND, Sept. q, 1894.
To the Honorable Board OF Cuy I3'uS-
tees, dcrdnlento.-GENTLEME In the
columns of the DAILY RECoRD-UNIoN,
under date of September 10Th, is printed
the report on sewer plans by the Exam
lining Committee. / believe that your
honorable body is desirous of arriving at
the true facts, and are disposed to render
fair and impartial decision on the re-
spective,merits of the plans I therefore
Deg leave to call your attention to several
errors in the committees report on my
plans. The report specifies several de-
1ects which have absolutely no foundation
In tact. 1t will require no more than five
minutes examination of the plan itself to
verify this assertion. On page 20 OF my
descriptive matter state that the figures
shown on the plans are in all cases eleva-
ton for lnvert of sewer and a uniform
grade is to connect the points which are
marked, etc.
An examination of the plan will show
this to be the case. SO much for the
isolated grades" The committee con-
siders the omission Of plans for the pump
Ing machinery a fatal defect. My
views on this point are clearly stated on
pages 10 and IL. The advisability of not
accepting any one mans or firms design
Tor pumping plant for so important
proposition when you can secure several
designs for the asking from firms COM
peting with each other, and therefore
aroused to their best efforts, seems to me
to require no argument. My plan de-
llvers the sewage and storm water into
receiving tank from which it is directly
And to nFiN Ehnr aotn hn
conjecture about this. MIR. Bassett sub
stantially agreed with me on this point,
yet In his case the omission does not ap-
pear to have been fatal.
The Seventeenth street ditch according
to my plan is not a necessity, and there
fore not a defect My recommendation
to leave it in present condition was TO
merely have it for use in case of extreme
emergency. The report states that the
portion OF the city east OF seventeenth
street can not properly be severed: that
is that the sewers are not deep enough
ln'the ground, this is clearly matter OF
opinion. i have had an extended eX-
perlence in construction of pipe sewers,
and l studied this particular case care
1ully and thoroughly.
According TO the grades fixed by me
the sewers are ali perfectly safe from in
jury from causes liable TO disturb them,
and the depth is sufficient to give good
house connections. The lateral sewers
throughout were purposely given the
greatest grades possible in order to secure
the greatest possible efficiency. In this
case this means as well smaller pipe and
greater velocity, less digging and less ex-
pense all around. The whole territory,
according TO my plan, can De severed
with economy, perfect safety and etfi-
cheney.
fully explained my position to your
honorable body as to the territory east of
Fl of fhn
sewer on Twenty-third street is especially
liked with view of extension into this
territory, and due allowance is made for
sewerage for the whole area, but no man
could consistently outline the sewers
without having the data which is lacking.
On rainfall basis of one inch in fifteen
hours, instead OF one inch in ten hours
which L allowed, the plan as designed
VIII also drain very comfortably this ter
rItory of storm waller. Also the territory
south OF ) street Eleventh to Nineteenth)
could be drained of storm water and
sewage without changing the plan. /
mentioned this, since Mr.. Bassett's storm
water calculations were on basis of one
inch in twenty-four hours, and seemed
to be satisfactory TO the examining COM
mittee.
L would particularly call your atten- |
tlon TO the TACT that my main sewer and |
pumping plant has a capacity of 10000 |
gallons per minute as against q, 900 gal |
Ions proposed by Mr.. New berry, l do !
not catch sipage water through the sewers, |
and admit my plant would be inadequate |
during storms greater than at rate one |
inch in ten hours, thereby requiring |
reservoir at the lowest point of natural |
drainage to provide for storms greater |
than one inch in ten hours, which will |
surely occur.
on the other hand, Mr.. Newbery pro- |
poses to pump all sewage and all storm |
times and keep even with the flow with |
a pump OF 1000 gallons per minute |
capacity. / submit to your honorable |
body il this is rational proposition. If |
his sewers and under-drains catch all the |
storm water, l can safely assert that a |
pump of 100000 gallons capacity per |
minute would not Go the work. What |
then IS necessary? a reservoir of at least |
two acres in extent is imperatively neces-
sary, and the natural location for 1t is on |
the low ground called Sewage Lake. The |
property-ownerS In this vicinity must !
reconcile themselves to this fact There |
is no other solution for this sewer prob
lem, If the cost is kept within reasonable |
limits.
The report states that on Twenty
ninth street sewer of II, Is, Is and 20
inch diameter emptles into a Pinch |
sewer. 1t is hardly necessary for me to
say that this is an error in figures. and
one SO plain and self-evident that the
radical structures given on account of it
are hardly justified. No sane man
would design a l2-inch sewer for a dis
tance of two blocks 10 act as connection
link between a 20-inch and 24-inch
sewer. 1t is very plain that the l2-inch
should be a 22-inch pipe.
AS to water for flushing purposes, the
quantity required is so small that it will
cut but little figure in connection with I
requirement of the city water pump.
The report says: 'In very extensive
and elaborate report the chief point in
which the citizens of this city are con-
cerned has been passed over and wherein
consists the chief difficulties which con-
front us has in singular manner es-
capped solution"
l confess that this is unanswerable. T
discussed, as far as limited space would
permit. all the points involved in the
problem, as they occurred to me. and
many of which were not mentioned by
the competing engineers. [ would re-
quest more light on this paragraph. and
in conclusion respectfully ask for moth
ing more than fair and impartial de-
cision in the end. Yours truly.
Nj. *. MILLER,
4S4 Merrimac street. Oakland, Cal,