The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-09-24
SEWAGE WATER
AS FERTILIZER
Being STUDIED
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE CON
QUOTING EXPERIMENTS TO DE
TERMINE VALUE AND COST OF
INSTALLING SYSTEM.

Gainesville, Sept. 23-In order to de-
termine the value of sewage water for
irrigation and fertilization on the sandy
soils of Florida, an experiment is being
conducted at the University of Florida,
under a cooperative agreement between
the Bureau of Public Roads. United
States Department of Agriculture, and
the Florida Experiment Station. While
such system of disposal of sewage has
been successfully practiced by towns and
institutions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania
and California. both sandy and clay
soils. this is the first experiment of its
kind in the south.
When Mr.. S. III. McCrory, chief of
Drainage investigations, was looking for
a place where such an experiment could
be made, Prof. P. II. Rolls, director CT
the Florida Experiment Station, offered
a field on the experiment station grounds
and an arrangement was made whereby
the sewage from the university buildings
could be used
The general objects of the experiment
are to determine:
The value of sewage water for irriga
ton and fertilization on the sandy soils
common to Florida:
Cost of installation, including ma
terials. labor, power of operation. and
maintenance:
Efficiency of equipment;
The value of irrigation in the time of
drouth;
The fertilizing value of sewage;
Crops most suitable for sewage irriga-
ton;
Capacity of the land for sewage dis
posal during wet season:
And to observe the operation of auto
matte valves to regulate the distribution
of water.
The experiment will be of particular
interest to institutions in utilizing the
waste water. Also to inland towns con-
fronted by sewage disposal problems by
reason of having no stream of such size
as to sufficiently dilute the waste.
Often such towns are surrounded by
agricultural land, which, by reason of the
nature of the soil, will readily absorb
the water and give larger yields because
of either the irrigation fertilization or
both.
The field used for this experiment con-
sists of about three acres of rolling.
light, sandy land. The water is conduct
ed across narrow valley to collecting
basin by means of terra Gotta pipes,
then pumped to the top of the hill where
1t Is discharged and flows back over the
field. The field is divided into plots.
some of which receive this water and an
equal number which do not Cane is
Planted on the land. and when harvested
viii be weighed and a comparison made
CT the irrigated and unirrigated plots
The system was designed by the Blu
reau of Public Roads. United States De-
partment of Agriculture, and construct
ed under the direction of f. r. Staebner
end A o. Kay, engineers of that de-
partment- Some time ago Mr.. Staebner
was called to New Jersey for other work.
and Mr.. Kay. having now completed the
system except for a few changes in the
method OF releasing the water from the
float valves. has returned to the East
Coast and the Everglades. where he q
conducting some drainage experiments
Except for an occasional visit to observe
the progress of the experiment. Mr. Ksy
win give the system at Gainesville no
further attention.