The record-union., 1894-04-13
Sewage Syatenls.

reason why comparisons should be MADE
between Woodland and Sacramento's s
sewage system. AS well compare Sacra-
mento TO San Francisco, New York City
or London. Woodland has advantages
by her location which we do not and cam
not enjoy. even if all her III. Ds. are not
trained and skilllul civil engineers ana
specialists on sewage disposal. learned III
all legal lore pertaining to the poilutIoh
OF streams and contamination OF rivers,
and claim the right to hire experts, run
surveys. construct precipitation Woihs'
condemn lands for public improvements,
build sewers o. *. the bills ana pass
them on to the Finance Committee OF the
Board of City Trustees, to have warrants
drawn by the City Auditor
Woodlands sewage system is simply
this: They run a drain one ana naiI
miles ont from town. with fall OF SIX
teen feet. to an old slough, and there they
let it go-almost as primitive as the sys-
tenn in vogue in Timbuctoo and other
towns in the Dark Continent, but effect
i've and answers the purpose. Sacra-
mento has no available old slough except
that at Ninth street. which, unfortunately
also for sacramento. Is nearly always tuH
of water. 1t is also unfortunate Tor Sac
ramento that we cannot get tall OF SIX
teen feet in a mile and a half, but must
satisfy ourselves with being a little over
six feet above tide water. In W oodland,
during heavy rain, the water can mo-
ander off anywhere; but IN sacramento IL
comes pretty nearly 10 dead STOP on the
level streets, which prevail nearly all
over the city, even daring TO stagnale on
the crown OF our newly improved N
street. When the rain waller does run
from our streets it Is corraleo Dy the
leyees south and north OF the city. Of
course this does not happen IN " oodIaho.
Sacramento receives many millions gall
Ions OF Sipage daily from The river. 1hlS
does not happen in Woodland. The water
on the outer side of our levees IS often
much higher than the streets OF the resi-
idence portion of our city. Such at no
time is the case with Woodland.
Suppose the city could lmpound lis
sewage proper in tanks at low lever,
says, twenty feet below the bed OF tho
river, SO that the residents at InlTtleih
and { streets and Oak Park could use
them as well as those situated on Front or
i streets, how will the contents De got
rid OF? The fact is. no portion OF The
matter taken from these tanks could pe
discharged into the river without poilut-
ing it.
Doctors will dlsagree on these points as
they have disagreed Oh others. They
seem to be willing TO keep tbs sludge.
anu expect farmers Will ue more tnan
anxious TO take it away. They ought 10
be: bat will they? II we can be pre-
vented from pumping our sewage INTO The
river, then the eXponcnts OF TINS system
can also be enjoined from pumping any
portion of the sewage from the tanks. 1t
seems to me il we could only Tx our
tanks or levees to Le9p the storm ana
spage wafer out, " oouIand would hot
be in il with sacramento.
reference has been made TO Colonel
Maring-his reports anu works IN other
- oil fftcr ti4.st ftf q
following is an extract from tie 'Descrlp-
ton OF tue Memphis Sewerage System"
prapared under the direction OF the City
Lngiiieer, Miles Meriweather, NJ by james
Ii. Elliott, Assistant Engineer.
During The yellow fever epidemic Of
1875 ana los9 tile question OF sewers was
agltalel, resulting i'll the adoption OF the
separate system as recommended by
Colonel George Z. Waring, Jr., of New
port, X. |. Mr.. Waring Was III charge OF
the works for about two years as Design
ing and Consulting Engineer The fol-
luwli. is Il description OF the system
furnished by Colonel George h. Naring
al the limo as carried out at Memphis:
'.1he unit OF the system is sewer of
yitriued pipe six inches III diameter,
with tight joiuts, laid in the streets Tor III
the alley between the streets where SAID
alley exists, having at the upper end
'Rogers' held flush TANK with dis
CnarSlil. ca 5teiLy vi L. SdAiOho. AL IHo
houses on Uotn sides oI the sewer are con-
necled with it by four-inch pipes OF the
saline material. The house connection
drains enter The sewer ut ali acute angle
ami by Il iunnelshaped branch piece,
Which delivers the house waste at the
bottom OF the sewer, and which venti-
laies it at The top. The house connection
drain has no Top, and 1t is continued by
all untrapped soil pipe four inches in
diameter, which continues above the roof
of the house. Therefore, every house
connection furnish free ventilation to the
sewer. The water-closets, SINKS ana
other vessels i'll the house are separated
from the soil and drain each by Its own
trap. The flush tank Is fed by d con-
stai,t small stream from the water works,
only sufficient to I'LL it once in twenty
fonr hours. When fulI the continuance
of the small stream causes its auto
matte syphon to come into action, and
the entire contents OF the tank are ols-
charged directly into the head OF The
sewer in froni thirty-six to forty seconds.
This rapid discharge OF such volume
flushes the sewer completely. At the
lower end of the sewer, near lis junction
with the river. there is fresh-a!r Inlet TO
supply the upward draft through the
soil pipes OF the houses.
'"Ihe six-inch sewer, after receiving
not to exceed 800 house drains, discharges
u
inches diameter or more. and The sub
main discharges into the larger drains.
The sizes of the subinains and mains are
eight ten, twelve, nlteen and twenty
inches diaineters.
1.-THE greatest flow of the tWenty-inch
main sewer, ABOUT 5000 houses being con-
nected, is about nine inches deep. Porous
subsoil drains are laid in the same trench
with the sewer TO uDderdrain the ground,
and these discharge into Bayou GayoSo."
Such is the system of Memphis. as de-
scribed by Colonel George 4. Waring
himself, and quoted by our NJ. DIS as
standard for our city's system.
Experience has demonstrated that the
six-inch pipes were too small; that "a
fungus growth from half inch 10 an
inch ana a half thick could only be re-
moved by pushing steel brushes through
tie pipes, the usual flushing OF the sewers
not being able TO detach the growth or
prevent its accumulation.
That as high as 269 stoppages of the
pipes occurred in one year, with the at
fendant Inconvenience and costing
thousands of dollars to the city to put in
working order. Memphis under the War
ing system had no manholes. Now they
are built at every intersection, or
about $50 feet apart. Figures show that
IN leaiiding "A system OF sewers, such as
Colonel Waring planned for Memphis,
and our local NJ. D. are plnnlng their
faith to, that it is only question OF time
when the cost of and maintenance would
either force the building OF manhoIes or
abandon the system.
No, my dear doctors; not the Memphis
system designed by Colonel Warlng
for Sacramento. Read some recent works
on sanitary engineering and get posted,
as doubtless the professors of civil engi-
neer1ng III the medical colleges from