The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-24
WANT MORE SEWERS
PROPERTY OWNERS PREPARING
TO PETITION COUNCIL.
BETTER DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Is DESIRED BY THOSE WHO HAVE
SUFFERED FROM HEAVY RAINS.

Property Owners Have About De-
cided TO Ask the City to Increase
Its Facilities for Draining Streets.
Because of the Inadequate supply
of sewers to Carry OF the Water
Cellars Have Been FIOOded-This
Only After Almost Unprecedented
Rains, However.
A number of the property holders
whose properties are in the central
part of the city are preparing to pc
tition Council for a better and more
complete sewerage system in the central
section of the city.
The complaint has been rather gen.
eral, and it is claimed that consider
able difficulty is met with in renting
or selling properties, owing to the fact
that every rain of any great extent
floods out the Easements of the houses.
The district concerning which there
is the most complaint is that running
west from Drayton street to Jefferson,
and north from Liberty street to State.
THE recent rains could not be carried
off by the present sewers, and in many
cases the cellars were badly flooded"
said one property holder. Il have been
unable to rent two of my properties
owing to this cause, and others with
whom l have consulted have told me
that they were experiencing like diff
culties.
During the harder rains of last week
the water lay in pools at some of the
street corners, and in many places
children were sailing miniature boats
in the pools and large number. when
the rain ceased improved the oppor-
tunity for wading. At one time
the water reached the sills of
Vests store at Liberty and Whitaker
streets, and there was scarcely a base
ment along Whitaker street, between
Oglethorpe avenue and Liberty street,
which was not more or less flooded.
This section of the city is what is
known among property holders as the
BASIN owing to the fact that it Is
somewhat lower than the other portions
of the plateau on which Savannah
stands. Originally this was of some
what swampy nature, and though all
trace of the former condition has dis
appeared, yet the lowness of the Sec
ton remains.
TO Go to Council.
There is but one small sewer that
drains, or is supposed to drain. this
entire section. The property holders
have been talking the matter over and
there is a movement forming to present
the matter to Council in the near future
in the form of petition, asking that
larger and more satisfactory drainage
system be installed. The petition will
call attention to this constant flooding
of cellars after every rain and the in
convenience and possible loss that may
result. Residents of this section, who
have been approa ched have stated they
would give their hearty support to the
petition and would do all that they
could to secure better system.
The constant paving OF the streets
increases the needs of further drain
age Before the streets were paved the
present sewers were laid and even at
that time they were not more than suf-
ficient to carry off the surface water
from the streets, At that time consid-
cradle of the rain that fell was alb
sorbed by the earth and the drainage
sewers saved this much of their burden.
Larger Drains Follow Paving.
ION the paved streets, how
ever, the greater part of this water
that was formerly absorbed must be
carried off in the sewers. While the
asphalt and vitrifled brick pavements
allow some of the rain to work its
way through to the earth, this amount
is far below that which was absorbed
when there was no paving. At pres
ent the water follows the drops of
the streets until it reaches one of
the catch basins to the drainage pipes
and then seeks to be carried off by
them. The present small pipes and
their scarcity, however. renders this
impossible and the backing-up of the
water follows.
THE paving of the streets is u great
saving to their condition and prevents
the great washing away which always
follows a rain before the asphalt and
brick were laid. There is no dispo-
sition to oppose the work of paving,
the only desire of those interested in
the matter, being to secure the laying
of the larger sewers before the re-
pairs now being made to the streets
are completed"
Property Holder Talks of Needs.
One of the property holders stated
that the movement for getting up a pc
tition to present to Council had been
talked over and that it was probable
that some action would be taken short
ly in the matter. I'VE have simply got
to have something DONE" he said, 'or
we are bound to lose considerably on
our properties and this cannot mean
anything but a loss to the city. My
residence is back about eighty feet from
Whitaker on Liberty street, and yet
during the last rain the water came
very close to getting into my cellars.
All of this was Whitaker street back
water. We are forced to do something
and will probably petition Council"
Would Break the City.
A member of Council stated. when
asked about the matter, that the trou-
BILE complained of is only experienced
when there is an unprecedented rain
fall and that the same trouble is ex-
perienced in other cities. why, IL
would simply break the city were we
to put down mains to carry off a vol
ume of water that we seldom have. -
In the section of the city referred
to particularly there is some little trou-
BILE with the openings from a few OF
the catch basins into the sewers. This
trouble we intend to remedy. The
openings from the catch basins into
the sewers proper are not quite large
enough in several cases. The city
knows that in cases of unprecedented
rains the sewers have been unable to
carry off the water as fast as il fell
The tide, too, plays a part in the drain