The record-union., 1897-11-06

the most interesting and valuable pa
pers read was that on 1.-The Collection
and Disposal of Sewage" by G. E.
Grunsky, the well-known civil and san
itary engineer. 1t is here printed in
full:
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Sanitary Boards are directly concerned
in those problems which relate to the
maintenance of dense population on rel
atively small areas without undue men
ace to health and comfort.
Not least among these problems are
those which deal with the disposal of
waste Of all kinds.
The collection and disposal of sew
age, a class of refuse and waste, di-
1uted with water, is to be briefly no
ticed in this paper.
1t seems to be generally accepted
that water carriage >of sewage proper,
including excrement from the human
body, offers the simplest and best means
for a collection of this material, and it
Is not necessary to now reopen discus
sion Of the question whether it does or
does not, particularly as the same never
became an important issue with us.
bUl IL Is we'll lO iilcat ILLS
question of dry or wet treatment was
discussed with some acrimony in Eu-
rope, and that there are still many,
even large cities, such as Glasgow and
others, in which much Of the fecal mat
ter is collected in special receptacleS
and carted away at night.
It will suffice to say that water car
riage is with us almost universally In
trOduced just as soon as the. water sup
ply will justify.
Sewage, then, is the water carried
waste, from the human body, from the
kitchen sinks, from industrial establish
ments and the like, and this, as in the
case of other offal or waste, such as
garbage should be collected and dis
posed of in some way that shall not
only render it harmless, but that shall
give the least possible offense, not only
to the community producing it, but to
its neighbors as WELL
The quantity of sewage proper pro-
duced in any town or city, or in any
selected district of any city is limited.
1t is generally determinable, with fair
degree of approximation, from the wa
ter supply of which a large proportion
after use in cleaning the human body.
the utensils in and the surroundings of
our establishments and homes, becomes
the carrier of the waste.
The degree of dilution is not always
the same. it depends upon local condi-
tions, not least of which is the water
supply, and it varies somewhat for the
different times of the day. But these
are all minor matters Of comparative
ly small import when compared with
the two main questions to be answered
in connection with the sewage prob
lem presented by every populous dis
trict: How shall sewage be disposed
OFF" How shall sewage be collected?'
The disposal of sewage should be such
that there will be the least possible
danger of disseminating or propagat-
ing disease germs and that the least
possible offense will be given to the
senses.
A delivery into the ocean, provided
winds and currents are such as to pre-
vent the fouling Of the beaches and OF
low fat areas, is entirely unobjection-
able, but in the nature of things very
few cities are so situated that sewage
can thus be disposed of.
The delivery into rivers, no matter
what their volume Of flow, nor how di-
lutte the sewage, should be considered
only a temporary eXpedient. Such de-
livery is always to be considered a
fouling of waters which should be kept
as pure as possible. This method OF
disposal is particularly Objectionable
when the river IS a source of water
supply for communities below the point
at which the sewage is discharged into
them. Nor should the fact that the
State itself thus disposes of the refuse
of some of It's institutions-as at the
Folsom State Prison-be held to justify
other localities in treating the use OF
the river as a sewage recipient, 9TH
erwise than as a mere temporary ar
rangement. to be modified as soon as
sewage increases in volume sufficiently
to make the fouling perceptible to the
senses, or as soon as demanded by any
locality whose water supply may there
by be contaminated.
Mar-ysyille. on demand Of Sacramen-
to. should be compelled TO dispose OF
its sewage otherwise than by dumping
it into the Yuba River; the State on like
demand should modify its system OF
sewage delivery into the American Riv-
err at Folsom; Stockton and SacTamen-
TO should be restrained from pumping
sewage into the San Joaquin and sac
ramento Rivers on demand of any resi-
dent on the river banks below These
cities.
But If this restrained. then what2
This question of what to do with sew
age i'm cases where its delivery into riv-
ers is Objectionable and no other place
of outfall seems available, has pro-
yolxed most careful inquiry and has re-
ceived careful consideration by many
scientific boards. 1t has occasioned
much discussion, and has led to re-
markable and most welcome progress in
sanitary science. The Rivers Pollution
Commissions of England and the Mas
sachusetts state Board OF Health have
been foremost in making the necessary
scientific Investigations. and ii Is
through their efforts that clear un-
derstanding has been reached of what il
Is necessary to do TO accomplish the de-
sired end.
In the first place It seems clearly es-
tablished that q mere dilution of sew
age such as results when il IS delivered
into river of large flow. does not de-
stroy disease germs. 1t merely dissent