The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-09
WON'TPOLLUTE NEW YORK BAY
EXPERTS SAY OF THE PROPOSED
PASSATC VALLEY SEWER.
WIN Eventually Dump $50, OOt'. 0esc Gal
Ions Daily Into the Water Near Rob-
bins Recf--Fisures Quoted 10 Show
That Ebb Tide VIII Garry or Refuse.

! Valley District Sewer Commission IL not
I likely to begin work upon the trunk sewer
! until the opponents of the plan are heard
from, although the Commissioners feel
that their position is particularly strong
80 far IA the question OF possible pollution
of New York Bay and injunctive litigation
resulting from this possibility are con-
cerned.
Before asking the Governor and the At
torney General for permission to 60 ahead.
as provided IN the statute, the commission
consulted several experts and the opinions
of these men were plainly against any
possible chance of pollution. All the
opinions returned stated that the volume
of sewage to he discharged was insignificant
compared with the tidal forces at the point
of the outflow and with the other condi-
tion s which would operate to dispose OF
the sewage. that there could be no ques-
ton that the plan could be carried through.
and the system maintained without the
danger Of creating nuisance.
! The opinions, which were submitted
| to Gov. Murphy in full, are from Gen. Henry
NJ Roberts Of the United States Engineers,
Gen. George s. Green, once member of
the Dock Department Of New York; f. W.
| Harrison of Hudson county n. j., Rudolph
Hdoring. J. j. r. Cross, William II. Brown,
Lieut.-Col c. W. Raymond and others
Gen. Roberts, in his opinion, says
! The present population of the Passaic
| Valley sewerage district lis nearly 100000
| and the sewage to be disposed Of daily
amounts to about l07 600 900 gallons. on
! the liberal basis Of a daily average Of 2l0
gallons per inhabtant. The plans pro-
vide for eventually disposing Of three times
| this quantity Of sewage, or nearly $50 900 900
| gallons daily, accommodating population
! Of more than 500 900
The proposed point of dischage is in
| New York Bay, about three-quarers Of
mile north of Robbins Reef Light, where
there is a depth of about seventy feet of
! water and good current. 1t is proposed
10 place the outlet pipe forty feet below
| mean low water. This arrangement will
| diffuse the sewage before Is arises To the
| surface.
| AN the sewage enters the trunk sewer
! above the main pumping station and is
| thorC ughly screened before being pumped.
| This will insure the removal of floating
| matter. II is also understood that means
! will be taken To keep out Of the sewers n
/ large amount Of the silt removed from the
! street by heavy rains.
! As a result Of all these measures, the
sewage will probably be more nearly free
| from all impurities and Objectionable
| matter than the average sewage OF Ameri
! can cities, and will be discharged into New
| York Bay at the depth of forty feet, where
the water lis deep and the current strong
The average e bb tide Of the Hudson
; River at 1hirty-ninth street is about T.
! 900 600 600 cubic feet, and the ebb tide at
/ the Narrows, which Includes the Fast River,
! il about l3S0O,OOO,00O cubic feet, or twice
! as much as the Hudson alone
f,,,I =
system is about $50 900 600 gallons. or about
A 900 600 cubic feet. The sewage will not
! be evenly distributed over the twenty
, four hours, and so, to be perfectly safe,
| let us suppose that the total amount OF
daily sewage has to be disposed Of 10y one
ebb tide and that tide equal to the ebb
tide OF the Hudson River at Thirty-ninth
| street.
-We would then have A 100000 cubic
! feet of sewage TO be carried away by 1000
900 900 cubic feet Of water in the ebb tide,
which would certainly be ample to prevent
| the sewage from proving nuisance.
an this connection il may be well TO
notice the fact that New York Bay now
receives more than double the amount
/ of sewage that the proposed sewage sys-
| TEN can possibly discharge into the Bay.
! and that If the proposed plan were to-day
to the sewage now discharged into the
waters of New York harbor."
In conclusion Gen. Roberts writes that
| il il his deliberate opinion that the dis
! charge as proposed will not pollute the
waters of the bay within the jurisdiction
! of the State Of New York to such an extent
az - cause a nuisance to persons or property
| Mr.. Green, taking the maximum amount
: of sewage to be discharged at the outfall
in the future. according 70 the report,
/ contrasts il with the amount of the ebb
at points along the bay.
/ According 10 Il report of the United States
: COast Survey as to the tidal nowage in New
| York harbor for one day, June %, 1885,
! the excess of the ebb over he food in the
East River, at Nineteenth 81 rect, was AL,
7B1 ,5sl cubic feet; in the Hudson River. at
Thrty-nnth street. 1882 1858; in the Kill
Won Kull, at West New Brighton, 77,8SS 0l0;
in the Narrows, i,ll8,2TS, 1893.
From the same report it Is gathered that
| the total fowage into and out of the upper
| harbOr through the Narrows, is about
| IL, 800, OOO,OOO cubic feet daily or a total Of
| 27,6OO 100000 cubic feet q day.
AS the discharge or outfall of the sewage
| is to be on the westerly side of the main
channel" says Mr. Green, "and as there
will be no sufficient force to push the sewage
across the current of the channel, il is not
proper to consider localities above the
Narrows, this total volume Of the water
passing in and out of the Upper Hsrbors
as that available for dilutng or dssipating
the sewage,
-The North or Hudson river flowage may,
however, fairly be- taken as available for
such purposes because the main, II not the
total volume Of such fowage, passes directly
by the outfall or discharge pipe, and as the
water of the ebb tide consists in large part
of the water of the flood tide, only the
fowage of the ebb tide Ia taken into
account.
"The volume Of flowage Of the North River
as given above on the ebb tide is about
1000, 100000 cubic feet, or $4,000, 00O, 600
cubic feet per day, into which the sewage is
to be discharged
-The volume per day Of sewage discharged
being 48,OOO,0O0 cubic feet. and the volume
of fowage per day being 100000 600
cubic feet, the sewage is 0O32s OF the volume
of the howage; in other words less than
one-third of / per cent, &c.
at IL obvious, | think, that such small
amount of sewage in so large an amount
of other water can have but little effect,
If any, that Is perceptible to the senses"
Mr.. Green quotes authorities TO show
that ordinary sewage consists OF 99Ssparts
water, one part mineral and one part or
ganic matter, and calculates that the pro-
port ion Of solids would hc much less in the
proposed system by reason Of the treat
ment To he prov ided.
"If it is considered the same" his report
continues, that is, one part in 1000 of each
mineral and organic material, the daily
discharge of the sewage would contain
40 900 cubic feet of mineral or solid matter,
which. spread evenly over the bottom of
| 900 acres, would make n Ia yer about ii 900
of foot thick or 326- 900 of a foot per
wear