The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-17
4ItH|UT
P[QUANN0CK POLLUTION.
Extra Efforts Made to Re-
move Sources Of Con-
tamination.
a PERSISTENT cLERGYMEN
East Jersey Had to Burn Down
a House to Keep
Him Out.
Especial to "rhe Jersey city News."l

<Nl& v <NAkA va 49, W. - w
meeting Of the Board of Health of this
city, James Gibson Of Paterson, a special
inspector, delegated by the board, but in
reality employed by the East Jersey
Water Company, to root out all possible
sources of, pollution in the -Peauannock
water shed, made a report to the board in
which he stated that many of the nuis-
ances complained Of mad been abated, or
the work of the abatement was under
way, except as to five cases, and legal
notices had been served in these five
cases requiring action within thirty days.
If no action is taken legal proceedings
will be instituted. The notices were SER
we'd two weeks ago and the thirty days
will expire on May q.
About three months ago, at the request
Of the East Jersey Water Company, he
Newark Health Board delegated Inspect
or Gibson to undertake this work. For
mer City Counsel Joseph Coult was also
engaged as special counsel to prosecute
any cases hould occasion arise. The
work was undertaken as the result of the
agitation last year when the buildings on
the city's Charlottesburg tract were de-
stroyed. Inspector Gibson report to the
Board of Health on Wednesday last means
that all the worst cases complained OF at
the time of the agitation last year nave
been suppressed. The five cases mentioned
are somewhat remote from the Newark
works, and it is believed that steps will
be taken for the suppression in these five
cases before the expiration of the thirty
days. The serving OF legal notices is said
to be only a formal step to bring the mat
ter properly before the parties concerned:
One of the worst spots complained of
last year was on the Osier property right
at the Macopin intake reservoir. The nui-
sances complained of were suppressed
buildings on the Osier tract were de-
stroyed so that there Will be no further
trouble from this source. The Osier place
was on the north sid of the Newfound-
intake reservoir. There was a small
house and one outbuildings on the prem
ises a small stream of water ran across
the property directly into the Macopin
intake. There was a pig-pen on this
stream and a water closet directly over it.
boil within 200 feet of the reservoir, and
both draining directly into the reservoir.
The East Jersey Water Company got
title to the property nearly ten years ago
from a man named Ferguson, who held a
sheriff's deed secured under foreclosure.
Osier was in possession and refused to
vacate. Dispossess proceedings were in
stituted. This was in 1890. But a man
named Vreeland, a retired clergyman,
who lives at Newfoundland, filed a bill
to redeem the property, claiming title.
This suit dragged along until last winter,
when the Bill was finally dismissed. Steps
were then taken TO proceed with the suit
for eJectment against Osier. About a
" IA tSO D2[S1 c61SCo - 50 ~ VI N4C
LIST of May. and ne was directed to turn
over the possession of the property to the
gate-keepef at the Macopin intake reser-
voir. This Osier said ne would do. The
g~ate-keeper was instructed to Immediate
ly remove the doors M windows from
the house, SO as to make it uninhabitabla
It was the intention of the East Jersey
Water Company to remove the buildings
on the property. All OF them were old
and dilapidated. The house was a small
frame structure, and in the rear were two
or three ramshacSle sheds.
Last Saturday was the day liked for
Osier'S departure, n he packed up his
goods and left the premises. as he said he
would. Blu before he had fairly gotten
out the Rev. Vrceland appeared on the
scene. prepared to move some articles into
the buildings, with the intention of taking
possession OF the premises, against the
lights of the East JerseyWater Company.
The gate-keeper at Macopin intake reser-
vier, to whom possession of the property
was to be delivered, was determined that
nothing of this kind should occur, so he
slipped into the house and set ire to It,
The structure was very quickly burned to
the ground. The sheds in the rear of the
house We're also ~destroyued.
Another source of pollution was at
Browns Hotel, Newfoundland. On the
Brown premises was a large pig-pen. A
brook ran through the pig-pen.
The brook was a tributary of the Per
~quannock. The pig-pen not only drained
directly into the brook, but the pigs could
wade and root in the brook at will. In
addition to this the system Of cesspools
constructed for the sanitary arrange
ments at the hotel. also drained through
blind ditch into the ditch. Browns Hotel
is a large building and provides accomrao-
dations for a large number of guests. In
the summer time the hotel is crowded
At that season the streams in the Pc
~quannock are very low, some of them are
dry, so that the sewege from the ~cesspools
composed a very large percentage of the
water that flowed in the brook, into which
the blind ditch emDtied.
The pig-pen on the Brown premises had
been removed. and there is now no danger
of drainage from 1t into the river. Changes
are being made in the eesspocl system.
blind ditch has been closed and about
seventy-five feet from the ~cesspools on
all sides, a trench three feet. wide and
several feet deep has been dug. This
trench is being filled with clean, loose
stones much larger than coarse gravel.
The bottom of the trench is a foot below
the bed of the brook into which the blind
ditch from the c~esspools formerly drained,
and at the nearest point the trench is
seventy-five feet away from the brook.
The expectation is that the liquid matter
in the cesspools will filter through the
ground surrounding the eesspools. If it
reaches the trench that has been dug it
win settle in the bottom of that and filter
away in the surrounding soil. as the bot
tom of the trench is lower than the bed
of the brook. This Improvement is now
to be we'll under way.
There are a number of sources of pollu-
IIp tIfdt lldfCH DCSiI iN1iCi oQtlC q a.
with and some of them are said to be inn
portant. Still action has been taken look
ing to their suppression and the under
standing is that they are to be removed.
Mr.. Coult. acting as special counsel fol
the Board Of Eealth, has prepared a
form of legal notice to be served IN VIC
lators of the law. The notice calls at
tention to the violation complained of and
directs that unless within thirty DAYS
the nuisance is abated proceedings will
be Instituted under the statute. Then
follow extracts from various parts of
the laws bearing or the question. 1t Is
said that there is considerable feeling
among some of the people in the Pequan-
mock watershed in regard to the reports
that nave been circulated ABOUT nuisances
existing there. The people there claim
they are only too glad to comply
with all reasonable requests and point to
their action in a number of instances as
evidence of their good faith.
AT the time of the outcry last year over
the pollution matter, Carrot A. Hobart,
one of the active men in the East Jersey
Water Company personally requested DIR.
j. L. Leal. Health Physician of Paterson.
to go to the Pequannock watershed and
make a report as to the conditions there.
with regard to possible sources
of pollution. Mr.. Hobart said he desired
to know what the conditions were. 1t was
on the strength of this report that the