The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-01
MUST MAKE CONNECTIONS.
NO FAVORs TO DE SHOWN LARGE
PROPERTY OWNERS.

OF small lot MakAhE AOn-
nections With the New Sewer sys-
tem-Chief object of New System
Would BE Defeated should Vault
System Be Allowed to COntInue-He
Explains the Changes to BE Made
in the House Drainage Plan and
the Reason for Making Them.
Mayor Myers does not favor the view
expressed by Alderman Thomas in dis
cussing probable changes in the present
house drainage plan that owners Of
houses of a less value than $500 in the sec
ton to be drained into the river at the
foot Of West Broad street may he relieved
from the requirement Of making connec-
tons with the new house sewage system
within a term Of years.
THE last Council. in providing for the
house drainage system said Mayor Ny
ers, adopted some resolution, under
stand, to the effect that owners Of small
houses of less value than $500 should be
allowed two or three years, 1 do not re-
cali the exact time, after the completion
OF the system in which 10 make connec-
tons. think the house owners win be
lucky If this concession is allowed to
stand. The time for making connections
win certainly not be heightened with my
approval and l have not the slightest idea
that the owners of such properly In Yama-
craw Will be exempted indefinitely. There
would be little advantage in going to the
expense of constructing a modern house
sewage system if the small houses, OF
which there are such large number IN
Savannah and which almost all have
he Ghp4lfA allowed
continue the use of vaults. As you state
in your editorial this morning one of the
main objects in constructing new sys-
tenn of house drainage was 70 provide for
the disposal of the sewage from the nu-
merous small houses using the vault sys-
TEN, the majority of the larger houses
already having sewer connections"
1T is true" said Mayor Myers, THAT the
making of these sewer connections will be
an item of considerable expenses 20 those
who own a number of these houses. Prob
ably there will be 5000 house connections
10 be made in the entire city and at an
average cost of SIS each. the total expense
TO the property owners will nearly equai
the cost of the system TO the city. To
the ma jority of property owners owning
only one or two houses each the cost VIII
not be great and even upon the large
property owners the burden will not fall
all at once, as the connection viii he made
pleted and this work viii probably extend
over TWO OF three years
1T is true" said Mayor Myers, that the
connection Of the numerous small houses
In Yamaciaw with that portion Of the sys-
TEN enptyIng az the foot of West Broad
street viii empty more sewage there than
we would like 10 have. At the same time
it is a choice Of TWO evils. AL sanitary en-
gineers are agreed that the present vault
system is unsanitary, while the engineers
who drew the pans and have charge Of
the work have given it positively as their
opinion thatlhere will be no risk incurred
in emptying the sewage in The river direct
~ IA from of The city. In Difference to
public sentiment which regards this view
with disfavoT, and in which practically al
the members of Council share, We have
cndeavored 10 make such alterations in the
plans as il was practicable 10 Go without
mourning unrea soma ole exp use so that the
bulk Of The sewage may be disposed OF as
far down the RIVER as possible, and the
smallest possible amount empued into the
iiver in front Of the city. During my pre-
Sious administration this subject was CIV
Ell special attention and a commission of
gentlemen. some Of whom had made
special study of the subject. for years. was
appointed. Serious cons deration was given
the subject by this commission, and the
only reason no definite conclusion was
reached was that there was no practicable
way Of dsposlrg of the sewage except by
putting Il into the river and the members
OF the commission were unwilling to re-
commend this step on account of their
deeply grounded apprehe nsion as TO the
risk TO be incurred.
when the last Council took the matter
under consideration, il promptly accepted
the dictum of Col Waring, that the sew
age could be emptied directly into the
river without danger, notwithstanding the
fact that Col. Waring he'd only a few
years previously strongly condemned such
a method of disposal When the matter
was under consideration recently by the
special committee appointed for the pur-
pose, Mr.. w II. Chapman, the supervis-
ing engineer, was asked if there were any
other city whose situation was similar 90
that of Savannah, which had such a sys-
TEN OF sewage and replied that there was
not. There are other cities which empty
sewage directly at their wharves, but
they are either nearer TO the ocean and
empty directly into salt water or so far
removed from the ocean that there is no
tidal flow TO bring the sewage back along
che city front. Savannah is situated on
a fresh water stream, with a tide flow,
and hence we have problem entirely our
own.
THE work having progressed too far to
permit of the adoption of a new plan or
any extensive alteration of the present
plan except at very great expense the
committee 70 which the matter has been
referred is OF the opinion that it is advis-
able that the main outlet should be car
ried as far down the river as can be
conveniently done, and that as much of
the sewage as possible from the western
side of the city should be disposed Of
through the eastern outlet The expense
to be incurred in making this change Is
not great, and will probably not exceed
$4,000. An important feature of the al
tered plan, to which special attention has
not been called as yet, is that should our
apprehenssons prove to be well founded
and the emptying of the sewage in the
river prove unsanitary, a pumping station
can be established al the main outlet
and the sewage pumped from that point
some three miles further down the river
This would involve considerable extra ex-
pense, but one which would be justified
should the Waring plan prove unsatis-
factory"
Mayor Myers said that he felt that the
members Of the committee some of whom
had made studV Of the subject for