The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-02-04
DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE
Serious Problem is Confronting the
City of 0skaloosa.

| With its administration practically
at an end and without hope of getting
the answer, the city council has
tackled the solution of a mighty big
problem, trying to ascertain what to
do with the city sewage disposal. In
the beginning let it be understood
that the solution involves extended
procedure in which the state legisla-
ture appears as a quantity in com
| pick equation Moreover Oskaloosa
has not only one sewer outlet to care
flor, but several, some OF which are
demanding immediate attention
Some money is available in the dis
pOsal fund, about $13,00O00, but this
J IS not a drop in the bucket in COM
| parison with the amount that will be
required to do the work The cost
of the sewage disposal necessary for
Oskaloosa was estimated by City En-
gineer Bridges at Monday evenings
council session to be, at least figure,
! $3.50, 10000.
Here comes the legislature with a
! bill that will compel the cities and
towns 10 abandon emptying sewage
into streams and to adopt some ade-
quate system OF sewage disposal. But
so far, the legislature does not come
to the relief Of said cities and towns
| in showing how the Improvement may
be paid for.
If the Legislature is to compel such
AN expenditure, the assembly should
also provide way and permit the
municipalities to adopt a means of fl.
nancing the proposition, say through
the issue of fifty or seVenty-five year
bonds. In this manner the improve
ment might be paid for as it was be-
ing used and would be paid for by the
people who use it.. The impossible
ity of making the Improvement with
current funds is apparent Then,
too, bond issue must go before the
people. Suppose the people do not
approve and vote mo" while the leg
'islature compels some kind OF action.
But this is crossing the bridge before
we arrive thercat
The previous regular session of the
council appointed MessrS. Menden-
hall and Wells to accompany Mr..
Bridges TO Sigourney to make per-
SOhdl lllNtSJlSdLlOu Oi sewage as
pOsal system in operation at that
place. Mr.. Bridges went into the
work in close detail He made re-
port to the council meeting Monday
evening. He brought home a set OF
the plans of the Sigourney sewer sys-
tenn and disposal plants kindly loaned
for the occasion by the officials of
that place. He explained the work
ings of the Sigourney property and
compared it with what OskalOosa
would have to 90 along the same
line. There are more tappages on
either of the two lines OF sewer emp
tying on the Gibbs land northeast of
town than are taken care of in the
entire sewer system of the town of
SigOurney The Gibbs property dis
posal plant alone will require a filter
bed area of at least two acres to care
for present demands. not to mention
about caring for the in
crease Of the sewage But the Gibbs
place is not the only plant necessary
for the CITY. At least three other out
let's are crying for attention at the
present time.
Unable to arrive at any conclusion
concerning what should be done or
how to do it, the council let the mat
ter go over to the next meeting for
further discussion and in the mean
while the statement of the problem |
alone is worthy careful consideration. |