Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-07-22
CAUGHT IN QUICKSAND
W. J. PentIand, jr., and Thomas
Lynch Rescued by Workmen
calsson at End Of Sewer Near chair
Factory sank out of Slght-New Plan
for Sewage Disposal Adopted.


for Sewage Disposal Adopted.
Ouicksand caused a sudden halt Satur-
dav on plan number one for the abate-
nent of the sewer nuisance near the fac
tory of the White River Chair company.
Not only did the quicksand swallow up
nearly all the superstructure which
had been built for a big cesspool near the
old bank of the river, but it almost
claimed William j. Pentland, jr, who
is in charge of the plumbing end OF the
work. and Thomas Lynch chief mogul of
the digging department. Both men sank
i'm nearly TO their waists, and they had to
be pulled out by their fellow workmen'
The plan which they were working on
called for a big excavation below the
present level of the water and about 81
feet from the old river bank where the
sewer empted formerly. A big crib made
of plank was sunk into the surface sand
and a double section of round boiler was
sunk in the middle to serve as caisson
within which the digging might go on.
All went well while the men dug out the
first five feet and they had reached
denth where Mr. Pentland could reach
down in the sand and water and touch
the old sewer pipe. About this time the
uuicksand began to show and the potion
of the casson began to shift and move
about. The men kept on shoveling Wig
began to fill up, the shifting sand rising
from beneath. In an hour the surface
had risen about two feet in spite OF their
efforts While they were working the
Rrmer crust outside gave way and ooth
men were drawn in. Mr.. Lynch had
narrow escape from losing his Ire. En-
pineer George Pearson, who is In charge
of the work then called the plan off sum-
narily, as he concluded that it was inn
possible to excavate enough to put the
sewer back into commission at that point
To understand the situation relative to
the sewers in that locality one must re-
member that there are three lines OF pipe
there The one on which the men were
at work was the one which runs from
South Main street across the land of the
chair company, a few rods north OF the
factory. under the Vernon street highway
and the railroad track Formerly this
line ran out into the river, but some time
ago, for some reason of which those now
in charge of the work have no definite
knowledge the discharge end was taken
IN for a distance so feet back from the
river. A trench was dug from that point
to the river and the sewage was left to
flow from the end of the pipe through
the trench to the river. High water lev
eled the trench and covered over the end
of the pipe For a time the sewage soak
ed into the ground, but later the pipe be-
gan to fill and then leak occurred. Re-
pair work was begun last winter, but II
was not completed, and for several weeks
mast the trouble caused by this sewer and
the others in that locality has mad the
attention of the town and village authori-
ties. the Connecticut River Power com
many and the state board of health To
remedy the trouble caused by the South
Main street sewer it was decided to build
a cesspool at the end of the pipe. nut
when the work was well under way 1t
was found that the pipe was in bed OF
quicksand and when that was disturbed
the real two - began.
"o'ow the South Main street sewer IS
pipe which formerly was used by the
chair factory. 1t is entirely independent
of the South Main street line. When the
dam was built at Vernon the water set
back into the factory sewer. rendering IL
unavailable and flooding the basement OF
the plant In order to obviate the trouble
the power company built a pumping STA
ton still farther south and new line OF
pipe was run from the factory to the sta
ton the pump forcing the sewage INTO
pond formed by water which set back
from the river, but it did not flow OH
satisfactorily.
Another plan was worked out MONDAY
for the proper disposal of all the sewage,
and this is being put in operation this
week This plan is to connect the South
Main street sewer with the old sewer
from the chair factory by running line
of pipe a few hundred feet down Vernon
street Under the new plan this sewer Is
to be reopened and used for an outlet for
the South Main street sewer as well as
the present factory sewer, pipe line be-
Ing run from the pump north to the old
factory line. In times of low water the
sewage will flow through the pipe with
out trouble. but in times of high water
pump will be used to force 1t along.
Valves will be installed which will pre-
vent the back flow of the water and sew
age into the factory. In opening the old
factory sewer Monday morning an inter-
esting experiment was made. In order TO
see whether the sewer was free from
sand or other material an opening was
made in it near the factory and fire
hose was attached and 1O5 pounds pres
sure from a nearby hydrant was turned
on. Before the water was turned on
quantity of analine dye in dry form was
placed in the hose and it was the inten-
ton to watch at the outlet for the APP
pearance of the colorng matter. Mr..
Pentland in a motor boat guarded the old
entrance to the sewer, far out in the pre-
sent lake and Mr.. Pearson watched at
the shore where a small hole had been
opened into the pipe. Both were watch
ing intently for the first sign of the color
when the workmen shouted that the eN-
pertinent was over as the ditch had caved
in and half buried one of them. Nothing
more was attempted in the way of eX-
pertinent until back pressure valves could
be installed.