The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-21
POLLUTION TO CEASE.
All Obnoxious Buildings at
.Charlotteburg and Else
where to Be
Destroyed.
PROMPT ACTION NEXT WEEK
East Jersey TO Bear the Cost of
Any Possible Litigation
Board of Works Action.
especial to "The Jersey city News

water taken by DR.. r. N Connolly, in the
Pequannoek Valley shall have been COM
pleted, City Counsel Price and the Board
of Health will take steps TO have all the
possible sources of pollution found re-.
moved That of course applies to prop
erty located outside the city reservation
at Charlotteburg, where the work OF pur-
ification will commence next week.
With regard to the outside sources OF
pollution, it is expected that the East
Jersey Water Company will be asked to
have them removed. In acting, the wa
ter company win exercise the power con-
ferred ON the city under the law quoted
in 1.-THE News acting as it did in exer-
cising the city's, right of eminent DOMAIN
where condemnation proceedings We're
necessary to obtain right of way for the
pipe line and water rights. This would
save the city the cost of possible htiga-
tion, and the only expense entailed Will
be that occasioned by the cleaning out OF
the Charlotteburg reservation.
Next Tuesday Commissioner Van Duyne
and Engineer Sherrerd will visit Char
lotteburg with a force of men, who will
tear down and burn all the buildings on
the tract except the house occupied by
Hennion and the one rented for summer
boarding house and two barns. Then the
contents of cesspools will be removed and
buried in trenches near the Hamburg
turnpike. The entire tract will then be
cleared of rubbish and offal of all kinds
and disinfeeted.
The house occupied at present by Hen
nion will probably be set aside for the use
of ]. 7. Briggs, an employe of the East
Jersey Water Company, who at present
lives on the opposite side of the Ham
burg turnpike, just outside the city prop
erty. He will be permitted to occupy the
house rent free in consideration for car
ing for the tract.
The summer boarding house will be held
for use as a school instead of the present
school building, which is located on the
east side of the road nearer to the stream.
The board may not permit the location of
a school on the tract at all, but if it
should a water-tight privy vault would
have to be constructed.
Engineer Sherrerd, DR.. HeroId, DR.. Dis
brow, Health Officer Chandler, Bacteriolo-
gist Connolly and Inspector Freeman, of
the Board of Health who remained at
Newfoundland to continue the investiga-
tion of the watershed, returned without
having discovered any possible sources
of pollution than those already described.
The Ozier farm near the Macopin intake,
they considered dangerous, and said the
barn, privy vault land and pigsty there
should be removed without delay.
Mr.. Sherrerd visited the Standard Oil
pumping station, and found that the oil
which reached the Pequannock River at
that point did not come from a leak in the
pipe line, but from the pumping station
Water is pumped from the Pequannock,
used in condensers and returned to the
stream, carrying with it a quantity of CYL
inder oil. Mr.. Sherrerd suggested that a
tank be used for the waste, instead of
conveying it directly back to the stream.
BY that method the oil could be SKINNED
off and nothing except the water would
return up the stream.
The waste water and oil at present rum
ming into the stream is hot and for a
short distance gives it the appearance OF
boiling spring.
The resolution and motions providing
Or action looking to the publication of
&he Pequannock watershed, and especially
were adopted by the Water Committee of
the Board of Works yesterday afternoon,
were later given full force, as they were
unanimously concurred in by the board in
regular session II accordance with the
ection taken the buildings at Charlotte
burg will be destroyed, with four excep-
tions, and the ground put in proper sani-
tary condition. The Assistant Engineer is
charged specifically to make careful ex
aminations of the watershed each month,
and to spend a week at time II neces-
sary and submit monthly reports, and the
City Counsel is authorized to take steps
to have nuisance abated on private
property.
In explanation OF resolution offered
by President Stainsby at the Water Com
mittee meeting, calling Colonel Price to
account for alleged discourtesy in per-
mitting the publication of an opinion be-
fore it reached the board, the City Coun-
his attention had been called to it yes
terday ''The only foundation for it, y
Colonel Price went on to say, was an
energetic reporter of an energetic paper
asked me one day about the laws concern
ing the pollution of water, I cited the law
of '97, but never intended 1T as an opinion
II l had done SO would have been guilty
of unprofessional conduct. have always
given my opinions to the board first, but
did not understand that l was to have
given a written opinion here today, and
an examination Of the minutes will not
show that I was SO instructed.
The City Counsel proceeded to relate
the difficulties that had been met with in
attempts to prevent pollution when he
boards of Newark and Jersey City some
years ago. The conditions We're changed,
he added under the law OF 1897, and now
It was possible to strike directly at the
root of possible evils.
what / object to-" said the President,
lis the premature publication of official
communications to this Board. 1t seems
that we get most of our communications
through the Newspapers first. While
Mayor Seymour may know the proper
thing to do, 1t does seem to me as though
IN official letter to a municipal legislative
body should not be opened or shown to
anybody until 1t reaches this desk. An
was the trifing manner in which you
spoke of this pollution matter. That ar
ticle quotes you as though 1t was mere
bagatelle to stop pollution, but TO my
knowledge, Mr. Sherrerd has been trying
for two months to get an opinion on the
subject"
ssMr. Sherrerd never asked me for my
opinion on any subject but Browns cess
pools" said Colonel Price in return. H e
has talked to me several times on the
subject but not to solicit an opinion. /
regret though, that my remarks have
been construed by the President as an
i.saGii Health oficer Chandler was somewhat
surprised to learn that wherever he was
Investigation Of the city property on
which was read at the meeting Of the
Board OF Works held Thursday, he was
made to say."No source Of pollution
Mr. Chandler said that with reference
to two OF the privy vaults found he did
say that in their present condition they
q : heavy rainfall. As 70 some Of the