The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-24
SHOULD GO INTO THE RIVER.
COL. wARING EXPLAINS HIS PLANS
FOR HOUSE DRAINAGE.

| the sewage ut Hand, However.
Can Carry 1t Across to Hutchin-
sons Island, If Observation-Disclosures
WyIIy Objects to the Use of the
River-The Cost of the system Es-
timatcd at 100000 to $1sO,OOO Ex-
elusive of the Cost OF the outlet.
A system of house drainage is one of the
things which the immediate future appears
TO hold in store for Savannah. The men,
| bers of council generally favor the under
taking of this work. and though there are
| individual differences of opinion, the dis
| position is to decide the disputed points
promptly and to proceed with the work
as rapidly as possible.
Col. George E. Warning, the eminent
sanitary engineer of New York, arrived
in the city yesterday afternoon, and held
a lengthy and satisfactory conference
with the drainage committee of council at
the city exchange last night, other MEM
bers of council and city officials being
present and taking part in the discussion.
Among those present were Aldermen
| Wylly Davis and owens of the drainage
| committee, Mayor Meldrim, Aldermen
| Charlton, Smith, Guckenheimer, Reid and
| Hun, ex-Alderman w. G.. Cam, Chairman
James M Dixon of the water commits
sion, Commissioner of Public Works Will
link, City Engineer Winn, Supt. Lotion
of the water works, Assistant City Engi-
neer j. deBruyn Hops, Mr.. Herbert Tate
of New York, and a Morning News repor-
ter.
The conference begun at $50 o'clock aft
er Col Warning had been introduced to
the gentlemen present. Col. Warnings
views on the subject of house drainage
were fully brought out during the con-
ference.
Col. Waring is not a stranger to Savan-
nah, nor to the subject which occasioned
his visit here having made a survey and
submitted a plan for this purpose in 1885,
and having visited the city at other times
since.
Mayor Meldrlm presided as chairman,
and opened the meeting with brief re-
view of the conditions here and state
ment of what it was desired to accom-
plish. He then called upon Col. Waring
to give his views upon a system of house
dUainage for the city.
CO.. Waring said that he had been called
here for the same purpose in 1885, when
he went carefully over the situation, and
pIGpdEGu d pan embracing All lIldL pOI-
ton of the city between the river and
Anderson street, East Broad and West
Broad streets.
The outlet under this plan was to be,
as near as he remembered, at the termi-
nus of the Bolton street sewer, at the head
of the BHbo canal. The idea in view was
to run a sewer from that point to Tim
Der Landing creek, to carry off the sew
age. The estimated cost of the work at
that time was, for sewers, $685.
00O, and for outlet $4,000. The city
had grown since, he said, but there had
also been a reduction in the cost of mate
| rial and contractors had gained in expert
| ence.
The idea in providing such a system of
sewerage, he said. should be to reach
practically every house in the city. His
former estimate of the length of sewers
required was twenty miles, and on
rough calculat ton, embracing the eastern,
western and southern sections of the city,
he thought such a system would now re-
! quire forty miles of sewers.
! The average cost of laying the large sew
| ers, he said, would be about $500 a mile.
! For forty miles this would be $4,000. The
cost of an outlet to Timber Landing creek
| would be somewhat less than formerly
| estimated, he said. This, however, Col.
! Warning said, was point which he wished
| to Investigate further.
| Alderman Davis sprung the point at is
sue when he inquired of Col. Warning what
! were the objections TO emptying the sew
age into the river,
Entirely sentimental" replied Col.
| Warning, somewhat to the surprise of some
| of those present. Being questioned furth-
| er upon this point Col Warning said:
IF l owned the town 1 would empty
| the sewage directly into the river. OF
course, in carrying out a plan of this
| kind such objection might be raised to
disposing of the sewage in this manner
| by people who have other ideas on the
subject that 1t would be wiser to select
! some other outlet rather than TO endanger
the success of the scheme"
This expression of opinion brought on
a discussion Of some length during which
a number of questions were put TO Col.
| Warning.
''The sewage could be emptied into the
river with perfect safety" said Col. War
ing in answer to question. THE system
| could be SO arranged that should it ever
become necessary to take the water sup
| ply of the city from the river an inter-
| ceptiug sewer could be built to carry the
sewage in another direction. The sew
| erage Of New Y ork city goes out a the
ends of the piers all around the city, the
| sewerage of fully three and one-half mil
lion people being emptied into the river
The water is perfectly unobjectionabe TO
sight or smell, and the best
Illustration of this is that
the favorite bathing PAGES in New York
city are the ends of the piers. If, how
ever, ii is ever intended to again take the
water supply from the old water works
the river should not he used for this pur-
pose, as the river water would be contain
mated by the sewage"
4 general discussion ensued on the
points as to whether it was probable that
the city would ever have to revert TO the
river for its water supply and whether in
any case the turning of sewage into the
river would mot make that stream often
sive
Col. Warning combatted the latter idea
forcibly, stating that the Savannah river
was stream capable of carrying off the
sewerage of the city many times the size
of Savannah. In fact he said, it would
have no perceptible effect. Under the sys-
TEN which he proposed using, he saio
the sewage would be thoroughly disinte-
grated. and Immediately upon its entering
into the river would become diluted to an
unlimited extent. In fact. it would not
be perceptible 100 feet from the point Of
entrance.
Some of the aldermen We're inclined to