The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-08

and the adjacent lands did not develop
anything more favorable as to drainage
/ Some nine or ten years ago ditch had
been dug up through this swamp for per-
haps a mile, but it was of insufficient d.
mansions to drain it. From subsequent
neglect and inattention this ditch has be-
come densely overgrowu and. in places,
almost entirely filed up. At the
time of our visit we found the
water covering the swamp for a
greater part of it's width and the adjacent
| lands DOGGY and miry. Above this ditch
in the old rice felds-and on up to the
divide, nearly a mile and a half, the
swamp and contiguous lowlands were in
| a worse condition than below.
As Musgrove watershed includes with
| in its limits part Of the city and the
adjacent country to the northwest, west
| and southwest from one and a half to
! three and half miles beyond the cor
! porate limits, and as Ii has-compared
| with the areas of other watersheds near
| Savannah-much less drainage done with
/ in its limits, in our opinion, the speedy
| completion of its drainage system on the
| plans adopted by the board of county COM
| missioners in 1891, or others similar, would
conduce most to the healthfulness of the
| city, as well as the section drained, be-
| sides improvi1b the truck-farming lands
under cultivation and developing an ex-
|
| less for want of drainage.
MALPIN WATERSHED.
This small drainage area hes to the west
of and adjoining the Vale Royal system
and extends from the Savannah river
| southwark nearly TO the Augusta road.
! The county canal and bitches dug in it
are ample for the main drainage of it's ter
ritory, provided they are kept in a clean
working condition We found them, as
n
| densely oVergrown with rank vegetation
and choked up in places by deposits of
mud.
Drainage channels in such condition are
not only very unhealthful, but thu utility
| is destroyed. as it is impossible for them
to render anything like effective service.
! MIR. Beebe, who cultivates a truck farm
i'm that section, Informed US that the coun-
~ authorities had done nothing on these
drains in the last fifteen or sixteen
months, and that ne had been compelled
| TO move his family into the city much
earlier than was his custom, on account
| of sickness brought on by the noxious
condition of the drainage.
In this section we also observed several
pools of stagnant water, which might be
easily drained by short bitches.
DUNDEE WATERSHED.
This watershed adjoins McAlpin and
Musgrove on the west, and includes an
area Of about five square miles. It's main
| canal is from one and a half TO two and
a quarter miles from the city limits. AS
originally projected it would be some
| thing more than three miles
in length of which only a little over two
have been dug. All of the laterals COM
ing into it north of the Augusta road-for
about a mile and a quarter-have been
| more or less dug TO completion. The
laterals south Of the Augusta road as well
II. Il l..uvl
| not been dug and the consequence is that
the swamps and lowlands in that part are
| in an uncultivabe and unsanitary con-
| dition.
At the time Of our visits we found the
! canal from the Augusta road towards the
river, also the side bitches and laterals,
obstructed by vegetation and very much
| in need of cleaning out. We were inform
| ed that the dredge in deepening the canal
had dug away in many places the foot of
| the banks and a several of these they
| had s.oughed in at the bottom. We were
also informed that for a considerable dis
| tance the banks had not been built up TO
the requisite grade and were consequently
subject to overflow in times of storms and
extraordinary high spring tides.
TO the south of the Augusta road and up
TO the point where work on the canal had
been left off we found the channel and
side bitches much more INSTRUCTED by
vegetation and deposj is of sediment. The
swamp was soggy We were informed
that as no opening bad been made, at the
time of construction, for the admission of
the water of the North Fork swamp
(Which comes down on the west
about qua rter of mile
south of the Augusta road, and the area
of which is equal in extent to that of the
main swamp above their confluence II
overhows the lowlands on the west and
has finally cut its way through the bank
into the canal.
The main swamp above where the canal
was left off and on up south Of the Louis
vile road TO ibs head beyond the Ogee-
chez canal, Is particularly i'm a very bad
condition with many ponds and pools OF
stagnant watelf and wet, DOGGY lowlands
| adjacent. The drainage of this, as well
| as the North Fork swamp, which ex-
| tends out and heads just south Of the
| Louisville road beyond the five-mile stone,
| is very IMPORTANT, both as a sanitary
| measure ana for the development OF a
large area Of truck farming lands.
THE OGEECHEE CANAL.
This canal we found in a very bad con-
| dition-oVergrown with vegetation and the
waters IN it stagnant. We were informed
that at point where It crosses the Dun
dee swamp a small trunk had been in
serted I'm its north bank and the water
there Is being discharged into the unditch-
ed swamp below. This, ia our opinion