Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-03-05
RockvilIe's Public improvements.

The work on Rockville's public improve
ments is progressing rapidly and satisfac-
factorily. The disposal-plant contractor and
the sewerage-system contractor each had
six months, exclusive of Sundays, legal
holidays and bad-weather days, from De-
cember l, 1914, in which to perform his
contract, and the indications are that he
will finish well within the prescribed time
limit.
Each owner of house, or other i'm
proved property. will doubtless be urged to
install sewer pipe from main sewer line
(about four feet off center of street, to
line of his lot while the ditch containing
main sewer is still open at the "Y" branch.
which will be put in for his use. The
ditch will not remain open at such point
very long. because the contractor will be
doing from 400 to 500 feet of trenching
per day, laying the pipe and Y branches
and filling the trenches as he pro-
ceeds. By following such course as he
will be urged to pursue. the property owner
can secure particularly advantageous price
per lineal foot for his sewer connection Of
four feet off center Of street to his property
line, and even as far as the foundation
wall of his building. He can, moreover
have the assurance that the work and
material he gets have been supervised by
trained men. Furthermore. the time when
the town streets can be resurfaced or other
wise improved will be fastened, because it
would be manifestly wasteful to improve
streets and thereafter mar them frequently
and at close intervals with the humps or
hollows that invariably follow ditch cut
ting, not to mention the probability of in
jury to sidewalks and cutters by inexperi-
enced laborers tunneling under them from
time to time without the presence of a
competent supervisor.
Plumbing regulations are being fOrmu-
lated, and into them are being put such
provisions from the plumbing codes of
Baltimore and Washington as are neces-
sary or desirable in the interest of the
sanitary, economical and efficient operation
OF all sewerage connections and appli-
ances. An unsanitary appliance, or work
done in an unsanitary manner. may easily
render house-sewerage system or appli-
ance menace rather than a benefit. It
is highly advisable, therefore. to start out
with and adhere to a standard.
Plans for improving and increasing the
town water supply are being prepared.
it being the aim of the town authorities to
provide an abundance of water that is as
near to pure as it is possible to get it. 1t
is too early to state definitely just how
that aim will be achieved, but it seems
likely that an additional well will be located
on some hill in the vicinity of the present
pumping station, and the water forced
thence by compressed air to a large stor-
age tank at the power plant, being pumped
thence to the stand-pipe. If the water
from such additional well should prove to
be pure, a second additional well can be
located on some other hill in the vicinity
and the water emptied from it by COM
pressed air into the storage tank. Should
the water from the two additional wells
prove to be pure and of sufficient volume
for all the towns needs, the use of the
present wells can be dispensed with. By
this arrangement the present power sta
ton would be retained and the present
machinery would be ample, as it would
have very little, if any, more to do than it
has at the present time. In fact, about all
that would be required at the power station
in the way of new appliances would be
a storage tank. two compressed-air tanks
one to pump water and the other to pump
sewage from east of the railroad to a point
in front of Welsh's store. and small cleo
trio motor to compress air for sewage
pumping when the gas engines are idle.