The Iola register., 1901-10-18
MARVIN ON SEWERS
An Interesting Interview With the
Accomplished Sanitary En-
gineer


School of Engineering of the State
University, and who is also Consult
ing Engineer for the State Board of
Health, conferred with the city council
Friday with reference to sewerage
matters. In an interview with a
representative of the REGISTER he was
esked what he thought of the neces-
ity for sewerage in lola. In reply, he
said;
"There is no question as to the need
that lola has for sewerage system,
and that speedily. The present city
water supply undoubtedly furnishes a
better quality of water than is likely
to be found in most wells, especially
in the more thickly settled portions of
the town or where adjacent to cess
pools, the use of which, under the con-
ditions of a gravelly, porous subsoil.
such as exist here, is to be condemned.
Sewerage is needed especially then for
two reasons: first, to add to the COM
fort and convenience Of the daily life
of those using copious supply OF
e'ty water by furnishing the means of
quickly carrying away the wastes and
the matters that are dangerous to
health; secondly, as preventive of
soil pollution which always follows
the crowding together of people in
towDs. The sewers not only carry of
harmful matter but also result IN an
improved underground drainage, the
underfow tending to follow the sewer
pipes, though flowing outside of
them"
"Should the surface water be taken
care of by the sewerage SYSTEM"
"No, for the cost of construction
would be prohibitive. If the sanitary
sewerage is taken care of, the storm
water flow can be cared for on the sur
face for many years to come, except
perhaps at the lower levels of the town
where the flow would be congested.
Then too, IL the sewerage must be
treated before it is allowed to flow
into the river, as seems to be the case,
the publication part of the plant
would of necessity be much more
costly and difficulty to maintain with
storm water admitted than with the
flow limited to the sanitary sewerage"
"Do you regard it as necessary to
treat the sewerage before discharge
into the river?"
"All sanitarians and sanitary engi-
neers agree that it is bad practice,
and dangerous one, to discharge
sewerage into streams that are or may
he used as source of water supply; also
that, in the case of small streams,
where their flow is not at least l40 times
the sewerage flow such discharge is
likely to result in a nuisance, even If
the water is not used as source of
supply. Reverse the conditions here
by supposing Humboldt to be above
you and that you would be drinking
its dilute but unpurified sewerage and
you have the kernel of the nut that
lola has to crack"
"But, Professor, can sewerage be so
treated as to render its discharge into
a river safe?"
Eyes, comparatively so. There are
many ways of treating sewerage, some
OF which remove only enough of the
obnoxious matter TO avoid creating a
nuisance, while other more perfect
schemes produce an effiuent that 1
would drink with much more conf
dence than the water from some of
your wells"
"What scheme would you advisefor
use here?"
Some form of the bacterial process,
The combination of the septic tank
aud filtration beds. Use is made of
several species of bacteria, which are
simple, very small, low forms of plant
life, that attack the organic matter,
break up all organic solids and turn
it all into the harmless mineral form
o. nitrogen. The septic tank is n
water, light and air. tight masonry
basin through which the sewage is
continuously flowing. In this are
found conditions favorable to the
rapid growth and development of vast
numbers of those bacteria that first
attack the solid organic matter, break
it up and put itinto solution. Paper,
faces, vegetable and animal refuse
all disappear with only very slight
deposit on the bottom of mineral sub
stance or highly resistant organic
matter. The efiluent from this tank
is free from solids but strongly foul
and impure and needs further treat
ment by the filters. These are simply
beds of sand, gravel, clinker or other
coarse material, about four feet thick
through which the tank eiiiuent slowly
passes These are usually made in
groups of threes, so that one may be
hlling one emptying and one resting.
These are used internationally, because
the bacteria cultivated and used here