Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-09-26
Captain Beach Makes an Exhaustive
Review Of the Subject.
PRESENT NEEDS OF THE SYSTEM
Sanitary Dangers That Surround
the Defective Discharge.
w II A Il IS w A n T E D

pipe sewer and 22,:j922.JS feet of concrete
sewers were built. This makes a total
Ter 9Th OF pipe sewers, twenty-four inches in
diameter or smaller. In the District 270.2S
miles. and the total amount of brick or
concrete sewers 77.65 miles.
The work has been done almost entirely
at those localities and upon those lines
Which would produce the greatest proper
tiorate benefit upon the public health; .he
very rare exceptions being where a few
lines were built under the permit system
upon deposit by the land owners who de-
sired the sewer to advance the building Of
houses. The limited amount available for
suburban sewers only $1,000, permit ed
the construction of only trunk or main
sewers from this appropriation. leaving all
pipe sewers outside of Florida avenue to be
bLllt under the assessment or permit
sewers and most of the larger sized pire
sewers were built from the appropriat ion
leaving only the smaller sized pipe sewers
to have half the cost of their construction
charged against abutting property.
Figures Explained.
report to Congress- says the captain
concerning the length of unsewered streets
within the city, having apparently been
misunderstood by large number Of citi-
zens. and the figures given therein quoted
as an argument against the extension of
sewers to the suburbs and outlying dis
tficts. the explanation which accompanied
the figures of the report is given to re-
move many Of the false impressions which
seem to have arisen from a knowledge of
the figures merely.
In accordance with resolution of the
Senate asking that the Commissioners of
the District of Columbia furnish the Sen
ate with the names of all streets, avenues,
alleys and reservations in the limits of the
cities Of Washington and Georgetown
which are partially or wholly unsewered
with the estimated cost of fully improving
the Same. the captain says that there are
in all a54. 4:D lineal feet of streets and
avenues without sewer facilities. This,
however. includes the streets east of the
south end of the James creek canal, also
streets In the extreme eastern part Of the
city. several of which lie in the swamp
bordering the Anacostia river.
OF the portions of Strea,5 and avenues
in the more thickly built portions OF the
city which without sewer facilities ne
says that in his opinion it IS not believed
advisable to provide Them with sewer facili-
ties in advance of The demand fer the
same or at a faster rate than permitted
| Ey the estimates Tor seWc-s sent to Con-
| gless by the Commissioners. The reason
| for this Is that IN many case; corners I'M
| provided with sewers appear uI'on the list
| OF streets running; north and south ana
| also upon the list of streets running cast
! and west. 1t is inalr:sabie TO furnish both
| fronts Of such corners with sewers in adj
vance of the constru cTion Of buildings upon
| the same, fer it is more than rroba lie
| that in a majority of cases the sewer
| would be needed upon frontage only
and until the buildings are erected il is
| impossible to tell which front would need
the sewer. He says further that alleys
are not included in the list, as it is inn
possible 20 tell what alleys will need
| sewers until all grades have been estab-
| lished by the surface department. He es-
| Inmates that from 70.W0 to 5000 feet of
the now unsewered portions will never need
| sewers.
| Irregular Alleys.
Capt. Beach speaks of the irregular man
| ner in which the alleys of Washington
have been laid out. and the consequent diff
! Guilty in providing an adequate sewer sys-
| tenn for them. He says that the work of
| building relief sewers was practically COM
| pleted during the year. This work con-
| sisted in replacing pipe sewers, which had
| been built twenty years and more ago and
| made Of a size insufficient to carry off the
| water at times of heavy rains. The work
| of replacing sewers which had become OBJ
| structed by tree roots has gone On steadily.
The captain includes a list of sewers
| built prior to 1874, which, on account of
| defects of grade and alignment, and also
| on account of distractions, will need to
| be repaired within the next few years.
The list foots up an estimated cost of SlUl.-
| 600. He says that it is not believed ad-
| viSable to undertake the replacement of
| all these sewers during the coming year.
| but to replace them when it is found that
| the cleaning and repair gangs cannot
| longer keep them sufficiently open. The
| estimate for replacing sewers Tor the COM
| ing year is s25,MO. Captain Beach states
| that the methods of construction and
| cleaning followed in the department have
remained practically the same as last year
| Speaking of the necessity for 2 Low sew
| erage disposal system, Captain leach says:
| 1T was hoped that an appropriation
| would be secured for beginning the work
Of the sewage disposal system or That au-
thority would he granted by Congress to
| the District to issue bonds for the purpose
but beyond an appropriation of $2.,~W fer
| beginning the r street portion OF the r
| street and Easby's Point intercepting
| sewer, and of s'D,0,D for continuing the
| lower Rock creek intercepting sewer. no
| money was received. 1t was particularly
unfortunate that the fund appropriated
| for the Rock creek sewer was not large
enough to permit its completion. This
| sewer when finished will intercept all sew
age now flowing into Rock creek and throw
it temporarily into the Potomac at 9th
and G streets. The b street portion of this
line will. when completed. carry the sewage
| to the foot of New Jersey avenue.
THE condition of Rock creek is some
thing which. it is believed, the people of the
| District are not in general aware of. 1t is a
small stream, about fifty feet wide, closed
| by dam at its mouth. This dam destroys
] all current for a distance of over mile
back from the Potomac. The sewage of a
| larger portion of Georgetown and all that
| portion Of Washington north of B street
and west of 18th street is thrown into this
staghant water. The result upon the health
Of the community is thus worse than if the
entire city Of Alexandria would use the
creek for dumping the waste material q
| that city. What the action of the citizens
| would be should Alexandria attempt any
such thing Is not hard to predict. but since
| the material now deposited there Is brought
| there fnvisibly. there seems to be no APP
probation of the bad conditions resulting
and the necessity for remedy.
Menace to Health.
"A somewhat similar condition of affairs
| exists along the Anacostia river. where the
| various sewers from the eastern portion
| of the city discharge their contents into the
| shallow stream. these being carried at
high tide over the wide flats bordering the
shores. and being left there at low tide de-
| compose, and are most detrimental and
| dangerous to the health Of people dwelling
| along the banks of that stream and for
| some distance back from it. An examina-
ton of the medical statistics Of Anacostia
| or Of the hospital records at the navy yard
will furnish abundant proof of this state
| ment
1.-The Importance of beginning the sewage
| disposal system promptly and with suffi-
cient means to carry it far enough to put
| 1t in proper condition is such that every
effort should be made by both Commission