The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-10-07
FOR SURFACE WATER
The New Sewer on North Sixth
Street is Completed.

The first surface water sewer con-
structed in Oskaloosa was completed
Monday afternoon and it is a credit
able piece of work. 1t is not long
sewer nor an extra large one, but it
is planned to care for the surface
drainage over considerable area. 1t
is to dispose of the surface waters
that collect at the intersection of A
avenue and Sixth street. Following a
rain the waters flow to this point from
a territory along Sixth street as far
south as Third or Fourth avenue, as
far west as Third street on First, High,
A and b avenues, and as far east as
Seventh and Eighth streets along
First, High, A and B avenues. A
hard shower sends a torrent of water
to this natural gathering point, which
is frequently enough to float boat of
considerable size. 1t flows north on
Sixth street between A and B avenues
and enters a natural drainage way at
the foot of two long hills descending
from both east and west. The vol
ume of the water that comes down
this single block has defied all efforts
at control. 1t has washed out side
walks, countless loads of cinders rock
and brick, and has rendered useless
cement cutters that have been planned
and laid to carry the flood. The i'm
provement of the street was impossi-
bile with the existing state of affairs.
The secret of successfully caring for
storm water or surface drainage is to
divide the accumulated water as fire.
quently as possible and dispose of it
by means of underground pipes or
sewers to natural outlets. The nat
ural drainage of the part of the city
included in the above drainage district
forbids the carrying out of this plan,
without a system of surface water
sewers complex in construction and
expensive. The water has therefore
been permitted to accumulate, block
after block. Streams were turned
around corners and retarded in flow
until the flood is gathered together in
one great body of water that sub
merges street and sidewalks and
makes for the time being a great
stream or lake several feet in depth
that effectually interrupts all traffic.
The city council to make disposition
of the conditions that have been en-
dured since the paving of this part Of
the city, voted recently to construct a
block of storm water sewer in the eff
fort to put below the surface this
great flood which annually assumes
greater proportions. A great catch
basin or man-hole has been construct
ed at the west side of Sixth street and
north of A avenue. The water that
comes down the east side of SiXth
street is received in catch basin
placed on the north side of the avenue
and is conveyed to the man-hole
through big tile. The water is
thence conveyed in the new sewer to
the outlet on the north side of r
avenue. The tile of which the sewer
is constructed is twenty-four inches in
diameter. 1T has been laid with the
greatest of care. The joints are all
calked and filled with cement and
then wiped on the interior so that no
resistance is offered to retard the
flow of the water Particular atten-
ton was paid to the laying of the tile
exactly true to grade. On looking
through the line of pipe from its be-
ginning on A avenue to the outlet
though drilled through one solid piece
of material and is as true as a gun
barrel. The top of the pipe will be
about three feet below the surface
when the street is brought to grade.
The man-holes and open CRATE en-
frances to the catch basin with NOV
able lids provide ample means for the
clearing away of any heavy or clog
ging drift material or debris that may
be carried along by the force of the
stream. The CRATES are self-cleaning
with a stream of ordinary size. The
street between A and b avenues is
yet in an unimproved condition, but
it is to be filled and brought to grade
within a short time The filling will
be done with the dirt taken from the
excavations OF the new Third street
paving. AS soon as the street is
brought to it's proper grade the per-
manent sidewalk will be laid. The
work is to be done this season.
The building of the sewer was I'M
der the personal supervision of City
Engineer Earle Bridges, who made the
survey in compliance with the orders
of the council. The grade of the sew
er has sharp fall, which will permit
the pipe to carry vast quantity of
water, much greater than If ii had
only a slight grade. If for any reason
the sewer should prove inadequate a
similar sewer may be constructed on
the east side of the street, dividing the
drainage district and reducing by pos
sibly one-fourth. the quantity of water
to be carried by the sewer now con-
structed. The outlet as planned is