The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-10-13
STOP POLLUTION.
Representatives Of Munich
palities Meet to Discuss
the Passaic.
THE RIVER PROBLEM
Committee Appointed to Draft
Plans for Disposing of
the Sewage.
Especial to .'The Jersey city News."l

PASSAIC, Oct. 13, 1900-Two steps for
ward in the effort to rid the Passaic
River from pollution incident to the drain
ing OF sewage into it were taken Wednes-
| day at the meeting of the Mayors and
| engineers, or other Representatives of the
several Passaic municipalities affected,
held at the City Hall here
Mayor Hinchliffe, of Paterson, presided
at the meeting, which he had called as
requested at similar meeting held in
the office of the State Sewerage Commits
sion in Jersey City last May. Before
Patersons chief executive had been call
ed to the chair yesterday, he had ex-
planned that "the object of the meeting is
to exchange news and determine, if posi-
BILE, the best system of disposing of our
| sewage other than the present method of
| emptying it into the Passaic River" He
| said that one of the Newark members of
the State Sewerage Commission was of
the belief that joint trunk sewer would
| be a good thing provided that the cost
was justly divided.
| Newark was represented by Mayor Sey-
| mour, Commissioner Joseph S. vinson,
Chairman of that city's Board of Works
| Sewer Committee, and Ernest Adam, en-
| gineer of the Department of Street and
! Sewers; Passaic, by Mayor Howe, Thomas
I R. Watson, Chairman of the Finance Com
mittee of the Common Council; Frederick
c. Streckfuss, its president, and Council
man William Greenlie; Paterson, by
Mayor Hinchliffe, and H. j. Harder. City
Surveyor; Belleville. by Percy Jackson,
who is member of the Newark Board of
I oil
| by j. J. Thompson, Town Councilman
Montclair, by C. A. Baker, it's engineer
H. c. Hallenbeck, Chairman of the Town
Council; Councilman G.. Crawford and
Town Attorney Edwin G. Adams; Orange
| by Frederick t. Crane, city engineer;
Rutherford, by Mayor E. ]. Turner; Kear-
! ny, by A1derman-at-Large William Bard
| sley; East Newark and Harrison, by c.
| M. Borrie. DR.. James A. Exton, of Ar
lington. was also present. East Orange
and Glen Ridge were not represented.
| Newark's engineer. Mr.. Adam, was the
| first speaker. He observed that in read
| ing the report on the Passaic River pollu-
tion prepared by the commissioners ap-
pointed under the act of April q 1885, he
noticed that Belleville, Orange, Montclair,
Bloomfield and East Orange felt that the
best thing to do was to joint Newark in
constructing joint sewer.
After Mr.. Adam had pointed out how
much cheaper it would be to join Newark
in building a trunk sewer, Passaic's en-
gineer, MIR. Wise, was asked as to Pas
saic's views.
I'VE have consistently opposed the
trunk sewer idea,'' he said. "Al the sys-
TENS of sewage disposal have been dis
cussed by us. The two that seemed most
feasible were by land disposaI-one of the
areas to be found in Bergen county, the
other east of Rutherford. If the Bergen
project is decided upon, Clifton and Pat
erson could join with US in carrying it
into effect
| 'Will Mr.. Wise say which he regards
as the better for the purpose, the trunk
sewer or the disposal works?" asked Mr.
Adam.
'I favor the disposal works" was the
answer. 'T can appreciate Newark's pc
sition in the matter, however,
"As to Paterson" remarked Mayor
Hinchliffe, 1--WE have no land on which 20
| treat the sewage by sand filtration. We
would have to seek it in an adjoining
county, and I don't know if the authori-
ties there would tolerate the plant. We
feel that a trunk sewer built by the united
action of the municipalities to be bene-
| fitted would be cheaper in the end From
it the sewage would be discharged into
| the Kill Won KuIl. The stream is very
rapid at the point of the proposed dis
charge, and would easily disintegrate the
sewage.
Sewage beds In the land disposal meth
cd are generally neglected and become Of
fensive, and especially is this true where
through politics, there is bad management
of them. trunk sewer will care for us
once and for all. The first cost of it will
be greater than the other method, but it
will not be perpetual cost"
Montclair. its engineer, Mr.. Baker said
favored a joint trunk sewer. He held that
there were strong objections to even the
best of purification works
Mr.. Adam raised point that in adont
ing the plan of petitioning the Sewerage
Commission to create sewerage districts
it would delay the election of the neces-
sary district sewerage boards for whole
year. Part of that section of the act deal
ing with the selection of these boards pro
vides that latter the creation and estab-
hsA4heAt VI any sewerage district a 5
aforesaid an election shall be held therein
at the same time as the next annual cleo
tion for members of Assembly shall be
held throughout this State. At
such first election the legal voters resi-
dent in said district shall elect five per-
sons, resident in said district, to be mem
bers of and compose the sewerage board
of district No. - as the case may be;
and annually thereafter. at an election to
be held at the same time and place. and
by the same officers as the election for
members OF Assembly, shall be held and
conducted, the legal voters resident in
district shall elect one person, resident
in said district, to be member of said
sewerage board, TO serve for the term of
five years, as hereinafter provided
'If we all agreed to it, said Mr.. Jack
son, in reply to MIR. Adam, I'VE could get
the Legislature this winter to amend the
act so as TO provide for the election of the
district sewerage boards in the spring.
Mr.. Jackson was anxious to proceed un-
der the district sewerage board, because
such body would be empowered to carry
out and effectuate the objects and pur-
poses for which It was created-to con-
struct the sewer. purchase lands, Insti-