The morning times., 1896-09-27
MANY NILES OF Sewerage.
Report Made by Captai i Beach
Of Work in HIS Charge.
INTERESTING DATA GIVEN
Suggestion Made That Sewerage
should Not be Supplied TO LOcali-
ington's Irregular Alleys-ROck
Creek Sewer Nuisance.

:
Capt. Lansing H : Beach, assistant en-
ginecr commissioner, wLo has In his charge
ltie supervision Of sewers, examination OF
plans for plumbing and inspec, ion, and Otier
important duties, has submitted to the Com
missioners his annual report Ter the fiscal
year Just closed.
During the year, he says. 1S.273.26 feet
OF pipe sewer were reialQ, ab0 b3 ,a6 8. 10
fee. OF new pipe sew er ana ~ ,5S2.e6 feet
OF brick or concretc sewers, were built.
This makes the total length of pipe sewers
that is, sewers twenty four inches in
diameter or Smaller-iD the District to lie
1,427.U7e feet. Or S7O.xs miles, and the
total length Of brick or concrete sewers,
4US ,992 feet. or 1885 miles.
WHERE MOST NEEDED.
This work has been done, Capt Beach
says, almost entirely at these localities and
upon those lines which would produce the
greatest proportoDate benefit upon tie pub
lie health.
"A report to Congress" )" sa US Capt Beach,
CONCERNING the length OF unsewered streets
within the city, having been snisunder-
stood by a large number OF cigiZens and
the figures given therein quoted as an
argument against the extension Of sewers
to the suburbs, the explanation which ao-
conipanied the report is repeated TO re-
move many OF the false Impressions
which Seem to have risen from knOwl-
edge of the figures merely"
That explanation is TO the effect that
there are 334 ,4aO linear feet OF streets
and avenues without sewer facili ties.
This, however, includes the streets east
or the south end of the James Creek
Canal, and also all streets in the extreme
eastern part OF the city, several OF which
lie in the swamp bordering on the Ana
costa River.
WORK OF THE FUTURE.
Capt. Beach says he does not deem it ad-
visable to provide these streets with sewers
in advance Of the demand or at a faster
rate than permitted by the estimates for
sewers sent to Congress. One reason for
this is that corners unprovided appear upon
the list OF streets running north and south,
and also running east and west.
Ii is advisable. the captain believes, 10
furnish both fronts Of such corners with
sewers In adv ance Of the construction Of
buildings upon the lots.
ut is estimated that from O,0O0 to eO,-
900 feet Of the now unsewered portions
will never need sewers, and IL is believed
that from thirty to fifty years will elapse
before sewers in all of the remaining 2bU,-
900 feet are necessary.
Ht dIltSs OI NdSHlUSttu dIc dDOut
as irregular as 1t is possible to make
them the report continues. Most Of
them We're laid out before the time when
sewers were built, and the advantages or
necessities OF regular alleys for economi-
cal sewer construction anu efficient house
drainage was something unknown.
There seemed to have been a fancy upon
the part of someone in authority for
laying out blind alleys, and as the grades
var r,.tS. l.ar hx.
result has been to cause apparently dupli-
cate systems in many cases and TO GER
lainly inflict a greatly increased cost upon
the District.
RELIEF SEWER WORK.
THE work of building relief sewers
was practically completed during the year.
This work consisted in replacing pipe
sewers which had been built twenty yea rs
before, or longer, by the board of public
works, and made of a size insufficient to
carry off the water at tin. es of heav rains.
Not a case has been known in the pres
ent season OF q sewer falling on account
OF Lack of size to carry off the water
Speaking OF the sewers built prior to
1874, Capt. Beach says that, on account
u defects of grade and alignment, and
also on account OF root Intrusion due to
open joints, many will Iced TO be repaired
within the next few years.
There are many Oh tue list watch SHOULD
be replaced without delay; others can re-
main for one, two or three years, de-
pending ON the amount OF sewage they
carry and more or less activity OF the
tree roots within that time. The list foOts
up an estimated cost of $1O1 600. The
estimate for replacing sc wers for the com
ing year is $50, 600, all OF which wiz be
necessary.
ut was hoped" Capt. Beach explains.
that an appropriation would be secured
for beginning the work of the Sc wage dis
posal system, or that authority would be
granted by Congress to the District to
issue bonds for the purpose, but beyond
an appropriation of $25. 900 for beginning
the + street portion OF the F street and
Easby's Point interce pting sc wer, no money
was received.
1T was particularly unfortunate that
the funds appropriated for tue Rock Creek
sewer were not large enough to permit its
ROCK CREEK NUISANCE.
"The condition of Rock Creek is some
thing OF which, it is believed, the people
OF the District in general are not aware.
II is a small stream about fifty feet wide,
closed by u dam at its mouth. This dam
destroys all current for distance OF over
a mile back from the Potomac. The
"a
and all that portion of Washington north
OF G street and west of Fourteenth street
is thrown into this stagnant water. The
result upon the health OF the community
is thus worse than if the entire city OF
Alexandria would use the creek for dump
ing the waste material of that city.
"a somew what similar condition Of af-
fairs exists along the Anacostia River,
where the various sewers from the eastern
portion of the city discharge their con-
tents into the shallow stream.
1T Is recommended tnat legislation, II
possible, be secured this winter to the
effect that the District receive the whole
benefit of the water fund, as there seems
to be no good reason why the citizens OF
the District should be compelled to con-
tribute to the na tional government before
he can have frozen water pipe repaired
or stopped up house sewer cleaned out.
The cost Of permits is now ST each, and
Capt. Beach recommends that the Tee lie
reduced to so cents"
The whisky You Drink.
There sa deal init, badness, goodness, and
'.cussedness," too. See that the whisky