The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-03-05
REPORT ON
SEWERAGE
The Sewer Commission Presents
a Comprehensive Report
Of Its Operations.
A PRACTICAL SEWER PLAN

The board of alderman held a spec
ial session last Tuesday evening to hear
the report of the Sewerage Commits
sion. Aldermen Mowery and Meslar
were absent. The members Of the
Rear Admiral Cooper, 9.
d. M. Cole, f. Hurtzig and E. S.
Burke were present, also number of
citizens. Mayor Bennell introduced
Admiral Cooper as the spokesman for
the commission. The latter called at
tention to the sewer map of the town
which was hung on the wall, also to
the great amount of detail in the re-
port of Williams, Proctor & Potts, the
engineers the commissioners had
secured.
The report was as follows
To THE HONORABLE
THE MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDER
MEN OF THE Town OF MoRRIsTowN.
GENTLEMEN
The Board of Sewerage of the Town
of Morristown, appointed by His Hon.
or, Abram Q. GarretSon, Judge of the
Circuit Court of the County of Nor
riS, under and by virtue of an act of
Legislature of the State of New Jer-
sey, entitled ''An Act to authorize in
corporated towns to construct, operate
and maintain system of sewers. or a
system of sewers and drains, and to
provide for the payment of the costs
of the construction, operation and
maintence thereof" approved April
3rd, One Thousand, Nine Hundred
and Two and Amendments thereto,
hereby reports under the hand of it's
Chairman and Secretary its determi-
nation.
The members of the Board. having
duly qualified according to law, met
on the 18th day of April, 1906, and or
ganized by the election of Rear Ad-
miral Philip III. Cooper, as Chairman,
and Eugene S. Burke as Secretary.
Willard w. Cutler, Esquire, was APP
pointed Counsel to the Board.
MorriStown has reached a point in
its growth where sewerage facilities
are absolutely necessary to its general
health and prosperity. There are to-
day ceSSpoolS under buildings in Nor
ristown which have to be pumped out
from the cellar through the building
to vehicle i'll the street.
Furthermore, the streams flowing
through the Town are daily polluted
by private drains and oyerflows from
cesSpools 1.-THE engineers estimate that
more than thousand people are so
polluting these StreamS) SO that when
tney are at a low stage, especially in
the summer time, the raw sewage thus
turned into them cannot be assimi-
lated by dilution and an intolerable
nuisance results therefrom.
The Town is fully warranted in
making the necessary expenditures,
for aside from the necessity of con
sidering the health of the people it is
an indisputabie fact that the intro
duction Of a system OF sewerage will
very greatly enhance the value of
real estate in the Town and add 10
its prosperity. This matter being of
SO much Importance to the community
it is to be hoped that every tax payer
will carefully consider this and the
Engineers report.
After its organization the Board set
out to determine the system of sewers
ilOou anu iOI OllC DCSb
interests of the Town.
Finding the maps, plans, estimates
and data at its disposal entirely in
adequate, the Board, after extensive
INQUIRY respecting the different Sani-
tary engineers who had been under
favorable consideration, voted unani-
mouSly to employ Messrs. Williams,
Proctor 81 Potts, of New York, to pre-
f,pff
prehenSiye SeWering of the Town,
with a recommendation as to the best
method of disposal. The Board of
Sewerage, in submitting report Of
its work feels that that the eXhaus-
tive and excellent report of these en-
gineers, herewith submitted, makes
it unnecessary TO state more than a
few facts relating to the subject un-
der consideration, which do not pro-
perly belong in the Engineers report,
but which may serve as an introduc-
tion to the same.
While the necessary surveys and
plans were being prepared by these
Engineers, the Board inquired into
various methods for the disposal of
sewage, considering first connection
with the Joint Outlet Sewer at Sum-
NIT.
The Joint Outlet Sewer, completed
in July, 1908, was built by eleven
(II separate municipalities in Essex
and Union Counties, and runs from
Summit to the Arthur Kill, a dis
tance of twenty-three (23) miles. 1t
was intended in the construction of
this sewer TO provide sufficient capaci-
ty for Madison, MorriStoWn and Nor
ris Plains Estate HoSpital), the extra
capacity being taken by Summit
with the idea of selling it to these
when ready TO connect
with the sewer. Summit, however, is
now unwilling to sell enough space
for both Madison and Morristown,
and, as the State Hospital has recent
ly renovated its disposal system and
will not entertain any proposition for
connection with the Joint Outlet
Sewer, the entire expense of connect
ing with the sewer would have to be
borne by MorriStoWn alone, ii it,
should now adopt that system.
connect with the Joint Outlet
Sewer at Summit, Morristown would 4
have to construct about fifty thousand
(50,000) feet of open cut sewer, and
either thirteen thousand (13,000) feet
of tunnel under Hobart Hill, or eS-
tabliSh pumping station at this
point to pump the sewage over the
hill. There are so many objections
to the establishment and mainten-
ance of the pumping station that the
Board could not consider it except as
a last resort. The tunnel is feasible,
but, owing to the uncertain charac-