The evening times., 1896-05-08
PARIS AND ITS SEWAGE.
1t Hus Solved the Problem of How to
Make Its Dfsl,'sai Profitable.
Engineering

Very extensive sewerage works have been
in progress In Paris during the past few
years, and will 5be brought TO a conclusion
by the year 1899. The governing principle
has been in the first place to totally pre-
vent all untreated sewage entering the
Seine, and in tle second TO adopt in its com
petest development the system of water
carriage, whichs as-orign.ted in this coun
try some sixty Or seventy years ago, raised
the ire of German chemists, who complained
of the waste or manurial material, AT the
present moment thedischarge from the Paris
sewers amounts on the average TO 100000
cubic yards per day, though this value may
vary twenty per cent, more or less, with
out taking account OF exceptional storms
For purifying the sewage, irrigation farms
have been laid out the first of these, that
on the Peninsula OF Grenevilliers, dating
from 500.
Progress was then Interrupted by the war.
hut since then the area AT InIs SPOT treated
has been greatly extended andn now amounts
To very nearly2 200 acres. Theland treated
was originally an arid sandy waste, the
value of which is said to ha We been Increased
five-fOld by the process. being now ,cuti-
waited as kitchen g;adens. This land, IL
should he stated. does not belong to the
municipality. but to private individuals, to
whom the sewage is delivered on demand.
the flow to the land being entirely under
the contract of these propretors. All sew
age not required by them flows direct TO the
Seine. At an average these lands ut Creme
viliiers take about IT 900 cubic yards per
day. with minimum of 81. 900 in February.
and ma ximum of l 10 ,O0Oin June; the av-
eragc corresponds to covering the SOIL TO
depth of about ninc-siXteenths OF an inch
every day. The whole of the emaIning sew
age. amounting To about four-fi1ths or the
total. has up to the present been turned di-
rectly to the Seine. As regards frost' 1t
is stated that even during the heavy ana
long-continued frost of last year, the supply
in the land in February did not fall sensi-
bly, below the average, although during TINS
period only about onc-siXth of the area in
question was irrigated at any particular
time.
The success attained here has been 80
great that the Paris municipality deter
mined to extend the system. and acquired
powers for treating another 2.ooo acres IN
the Peninsula of st. Germain. This work
was completed i'll July OF last year. and
quantity of Sc wage amountingto fifty-three
cubic yards per acre per day is thus dis
posed OF. or about LOG, 900 cubic yards In
all An aqueJuct eight and one-haif miles
long was conducted specially for this work.
its dimensions being fixed with view 10
passing in the future nearly double the
present total sewage OF Paris, IL being
intended to prolong it to other irrigation
ia rms further on. The farm at st. German
belongs to the city. but is occupied ana
worked by private parties. who are SIMPLY
bound TO take not less than $4,000 cubic
yards per acre per annum. In this way
about half the present output OF the Paris
Sc ewers is satisfactorily provided for. and
during the next three years the remainder
will! he dealt with in a similar fashion.
Powers have been acquired for delivering
sewage 10 another 1886 acres still fur
ther down the vale OF the Seine.