Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-02-13
oRINNELL,s EXPERIENCE IN
SEWAGE DISPOSAL HAS
TAUGHT MANY LESSONS.
CITY PAYS THE BILLS
WHILE ALL IOWA BENEFITS
Disposal Tanks Without Filters Found
to 30 insufficient - State Engineer
For Health Board Makes Report of
Interest to Every city-Faults Being
Corrected -Experienee Costly.
Special TO- Times-Republican.

Spec1a1 TO I1mee-ttepupllCau.
Des Mcires, Feb. 13-Health and
city officials all over the state will be
deeply interested in the improvements
planned at Grinnell for sewage dis
posai, especially in connection with a
history of this plant. Lafayette Hig-
gins. state civil and sanitary engineer
OF the board Of health. has just COM
pleted an investigation of the situation
there ard has made report to the
board, us follows:
"In 1892 the city of Grinnell Installed
a sewer system. At that time little
had been done looking toward the puri-
tication Of sewage in the state OF Iowa.
No publication plant YVES installed.
The outfail or discharge of the sewage
was into a farm ravine. The expected
result followed. Farmers thru whose
farms this discharged sewage found
its way entered protest and finally ap-
peaIed to the courts.
'To meet the emergency the city took
steps to install a disposal plant. Pro-
fessor Marston Of Iowa State College.
designed a disposal plant consisting of
a disposal: tank and sand filters. In
1901 the city installed the disposal tank
but omitted the filters. This disposal
tank performed about the usual duty
required Of such tanks. namely: par
tial publication, possibly 80 per cent
publication. The sewage thus partly
purified was still a nuisance and
menace to the people down stream.
Suit was brought against the city by
a farmer for damages. The city won
this suit It was appealed to the SUI
preme court and sent back for a new
trial. On the second trial the city was
beaten, the supreme court affirmed.
and the city paid the damages of about
$1,000.
City Adds Filters.
The city then took steps to finish
the dispose; plant by adding the filters
as originally designed. At this point
the city had an unfortunate experience.
A contracting firm that had installed
number Of septic tanks convinced
the city council that the disposal tank
could be rebuilt in such manner as to
purify the sewage, without the addi-
ton Of the filters, and this firm was
employed to rebuild the tank. This
was done in 1906. In a short time il
became evident that the rebuilding at-
complished nothing. The effiuent was
practically the same as before. The
original cost Of this disposal tank was
about $4,000 The rebuilding Of the
tank cost about $4,000. BY this time
the city council necessarily had little
faith in disposal tanks or in the state
ments OF men who pretended to know
how to rebuild them. The bad condi-
tons continued, the farmers down
stream continued to protest, and finally
In 1910 another suit was brought by
farmer for about $500 damages. In
this suit the city lost, but only nominal
damages (s1) We're allowed.
Built on Wrong Principles.
TT developed at this trial. on expert
evidence. that the error made by the
city OF Gr!nnell was not one Of neg
ligencs on their part, but had been oc-
casioned by incorrect and unprofes-
sional advice on the part of the con-
tracing firm, by which the city had
been deceived. 1t was further settled
by the evidence that no disposal plant
consisting Of a disposal tank alone
could be expected to purify sewage
more than so per cent, and that a sys-
tenn Of subsequent filtration is abso-
lutely necessary to complete the pun
ficatjon Ct the sewage in a satisfac-
tory manner. 1t should be remembered
in this discussion that Professor Mar