The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-26
THE SEWAGE OF THE CITY.
Health officer LeHardy Opposes Dis.
charging 1t Directly Into the River

Health officer LeHardy Opposes Dis
charging 1t Directly Into the River
Oct. q, 1S9S.-Edtor Morning News: AS
citizen greatly Interested in the future
progress of Savannah, as a physician and
sanitarian of long experience, permit me
to occupy place in your columns and
to place in your homes some correspond
ence about a sewage outlet with the chair
man of the committee on drainage, that
you may take therefrom whatever may be
of interest to the citizens or an advantage
to the city.
The disposal of sewage is perhaps the
most important feature of house drain
age system. Millions of pounds of human
ovdure have TO be disposed of every year.
If removed where it can do no HARM the
separate system of house drainage is the
greatest sanitary boon that can be given
any city. If on the contrary the sediments
are allowed to accumulate near centers of
population this kind of drainage may prove
great curse Witness the beautiful city
Of Havana, where the yellow and other
pernicious feVers are endemic on account
OF accumulations of filth in her harbor and
within the city See the millions that
have already been expended by the city of
Boston to get rid Of sewage deposits in her
harbor! So important has this question
been considered here that our city fathers
and many of out best citizens, ever since
1885, have spent lots of time, made many
surveys and reports in order to find an ELI
gible place for this outlet Col George
Z. Waring, Jr, in 1885 made a survey,
plans and specifications for a system of
house drainage; he recommended the Tim
berland creek, about three miles east of
Savannah, as the proper spot for the out
leT ON n AZ h. Oh,
jected to have it in the Savannah river
Sanitary Engineer Herring presented three
outlets all of which far down, east of
the city, City Engineer Col. VIM always
opposed the discharge of sewage In the
river. Health officer Drummer condemns
it most emphaticaly; most of our physi-
clans oppose it. The great mass of SAM
tary engineers of any renown condemn the
discharge of sewage in tidal streams, near
cities, on account of the sedlmentation
which goes on all the time, principally at
the slack of tides In his writings Col
Warlng himself strongly objects to the dis
posal of sewage in tidal streams. On page
rs of his work on sewerage and land drain
age will be found the very thing l am now
recommending:
Delivery at the immediate wharf or
shore of a town, where the water into which
sewage is discharged is moving back and
forth at every tide, is sure to be or In
time To ICCDule ODJGcLlOHA ole, ana one OF
the first suggestions for Improvement is
TO construct an intersecting sewer which
shall carry everything to a more distant
point of discharge. A most notable in
stance of work of this character and an
example of first rate work is the lin.
proved sewerage" of Boston. The sew
ers of this city formerly discharged direct
~ into the river at the back of the house
lots. Boston was practically surrounded
by a deposit of sewage filth"
A sewer has been constructed which
takes this sewage well down the harbor
A project is now on foot 70 take the sew
age of Providence, r.. l., to a point on the
shore some miles distant. 1t was there
fore a great surprise to me to find the
report he made In 1896 to d. G. Purse &
Co (when covering Bilbo canal was on
the tapis). that he recommended the dis
charge of our sewage directly into the
river at the Bilbo canal outlet, then be-
fore the city. When called upon to ex-
plain in answer 10 my letter. he said IT
would perhaps be necessary to rid the
sewage of its coarser ingredients by the
use Of screen or through beds of rocks
but should it prove obnoxious later on
the iron pipe could readily be extended
to some point upon Hutchinson's Island,
and the sewage used to fertilize the soil
Just imagine three or four million gall
Ions of this stuff daily spread over those
five or six hundred acres right across our
narrow river in this hot climate! Only
those who live near the Bilbo canal can
give an idea of what our good citizens
would have had to endure had the pro-
)ect been successful.
And what can we say Of man express
ing himself as quoted above, to come to
this city, and managing to convince the
majority OF our city fathers that there is
no harm in sewage in This particular riv-
err induces them to adopt plans where