The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-05
ONE OF THE BIGGEST
FEATS OF THE TIME
An Understandable Description OF Chi.
csgo's Great Drainage Canal
WILL BE FINISHED ERE YEAR 1900
Enough Rock and Earth Excayated TO
Make Pile Mile square and
Forty-eight Feet High--NoveI and
Powerful Machinery Used to Cut
Out the Channel--Cost of the Work.


stead of as now through the Gulf of
st. Lawrence into the Atlantic. Then,
at some unknown epoch and for some
unknown cause, the Detroit and Ma
CARA straits were opened and Lake
Michigan fell about thirty feet. Its
southwestern outlet gradually filled up
with mixed deposit, and the dry bed
OF what Is known as Mud Lake Is the
only remaining representative of the
once great waterway. Chicago lies on
low fiat waste of sand and clay,
which was once a part of Lake Michi-
gan's bed. From it's topography the
drainage of the great city has ever
been a problem difficult of solution.
The waters of the Chicago river have
had their outlet into the lake, but so
slow and sluggish is the current that
the river became fetid, foul, and dis
se-breeding. The sewage of the city
flowed into the lake. Two miles from
the mouth of the river the city had
sunk the "crib" which supplied the
whole population with water for all
purposes through two eight-foot under
ground and sub-aqueous tunnels.
Frequently-and particularly at the
time of spring freshets-the city's sew
age flowed out as far as the crib, where
the suction carried it into the tunnels,
and it was pumped into the homes of
million and g. half of people Ty-
phoid fever became epidemic at these
times, and it was apparent that some
thing must be done. Pumping works
were established several years ago in
the southwestern part of the city, on
what is known as the South Branch of
the river The pumps at this station
lift 10000 cubic feet of water a minute
from the river over a ledge of rock
known as "the Divide" into the old
Illinois and Michigan canal through
which 1t ran into the Illinois river
Pumping works were established at the
North Branch, and water" from the
lake, brought to the river by an un-
der-ground conduit, was forced into
the river there. A current was thus
established, and the Chicago river be,
came PARTIALLY purified.
THE CANALS INCEPTION.
This plan did fairly well while the
city had half or three-quarters of a
million inhabitants but it did not sue
cessfully dispose of the city's sewage
and the immense quantities of offal
from the stock yards which daily
found their way into the rivers slug
glish depths. The pollution of the
water supply became a greater and
greater menace to the city's health,
and the task of cleansing the Chicago
river by means of a canal which would
cause flow of vast volumes of pure
lake water through it was determined
upon. The Chicago Sanitary district
was formed by an act of legislature,
which also provided for a board of COM
missioners, nine in number, to be elect
ed by the people. Means to defray the
enormous expense were provided by
levying tax of one-half of per cent
on the property in the drainage dis
trlct-all of Chicago north of Eighty
seventh street, and including two
country towns which will benefit by
the drainage. So, by the work of
skilled engineers, the hand of man will
compel Lake Michigan again to turn
In its bed and lie with it's head to the
north and its foot to the south, as in
untold ages ago.
The canal-the main channel-will be
tWenty-eight miles long, 1t will be 16O
feet wide and carry a stream of water
IL feet deep, with a current of two
and one-half miles an hour. The
channel will be deep enough for the
largest lake vessels; but it is not prob
able that they will navigate it. be-
cause the locks will not be large enough
10 accommodate them. Mississippi
steamers may readily come up the can
al 10 chicago, and light -draught gum
boats easily pass between the lake
and the Mississippi.
WORK BEGUN.
work was begun on Shovel day."
Sept 3, 1892. on the rock cut below
Lemont, and today the canal is finished
from the Chicago river at Robey street
TO Lockport. The total amount of ex-
cavation involved in the construction
or the main channel is 26, ,261, 1856 cubic
yards of glacial drift, which comprises
top soil, earth, muck, sand, gravel
hardpan, boulders, fragmentary rock
displaced from it's original bed. and
any other material which oyerlies the
bed rock, and 12,006, 1884 cubic yards of
SOLID rock, or an aggregate of 32 26S. .799
cubic yards. To this must be added the
material eXcavated from the river di-
version: Glacial drift, 1,SO6.O74 cubic
yards; solid rock, 258, 669 cubic wards.
total, 2.O64743 cubic yards. The grand
total is 4O,333, 542 cubic yards. To pro-
tect the canal from the overflows of the
Desplatnes river, which runs parallel
with 1t for q number of miles, it was
round necessary to build controlling
works, which consist of gates, or NOV
able dams, by which the flow of the
water from the main channel into the
tail race, which Is to deliver the outflow
into the Desplaines river, can be con-
trolled. Huge retaining walls of ma
sonry were built for this purpose, the
number OF cubic feet being 1884, ,95S The
eXcaVated rock is broken up and is
breaking about so per cent, and there
fore the volume of the rock spoil
banks is about 22,07S,0O0 cubic yards.
The whole volume Of spoil, including
earth, glacial deposit and rock, would
If deposited in New York bay, in forty
feet of water, make an island one mile
square, with its surface eight feet
above the water line.
The largest amount of material ex-
caVated in any one month since the
work began was in August, 1894 when
,29I 1888 cubic yards of glacial drift
and 4l3,164 cubic yards of solid rock
were taken out. The largest estimate
returned was in June, 1895, when 959, ,O74
yards of glacial drift and $3.50 yards
of solid rock were excavated, and l3, 1893
cubic yards Of solid masonry were laid
in cement. During July, 1894, 1900
cubic yards of solid rock We're removed
by the contractors on section 8, a rec
ord which, up to that period, had prob
ally never been equalled in all the
ages since man began to quarry stone,
but the record was broken in April,