Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-27
CAPITAL SEVER SYSTEM
BEHIND CITY'S GROWTH
appropriations Inadequate to Finance
Improvements Needed in Ne,U
Sections ard Suburbs.

The sewerage system of the Ma
tiona1 Capital has not kept pace with
the city's rapid growth and develop
ment of the last few years. This has
been no fault of the District govern
ment, but is due to the lack of sufti
cient money. appropriated By Con-
Gress.
Homes, apartment houses, office
buildings and suburban developments
have made their appearance in large
numbers in every section of the city
and have. placed great deal of strain
upon the present sewerage system.
This is SO in number of newly de-
Neloped sections and nearby suburbs.
This is the finding of the annual re-
port and A special report of the
Washington Board of Trades commit
lee on sewerage, under the chairman
ship OF Asa e. Phillips, which points
out many bad conditions with respect
10 the sewerage system of the Dis
trict.
Other Factors Stressed.
The report brings to the attention
OF the board that the development of
he sanitary and storm drainage of
the National Capital is also an inte-
grail part of the development of the
PARIS and reservations of the city
At the same time it points out that
increased appropriations have been
made for this important work and
states: These increases will doubt
less meet the more urgent local de-
mands of the various sections of the
District, and should relieve somewhat
the stress that it has so long endured.
Particularly the extra current year
appropriation for service sewers laid
under the assessment system should
nbviate the demand on property own
ors for the deposit of large sums to
pay for local sewers"
In discussing some of the conditions
in the annual report presented to and
adopted by the Board of Trade the
committee states:
Condition of Piney Branch
Your committee desires to again
direct special attention to the condi-
ton of Piney Branch throughout the
present Piney Branch parkway. where
this stream continues to be utilized as
an open sewer during every rainfall
and is grossly polluted with the sew
age of several thousand population
contributing to the sanitary drainage
Of this valley. The section affected
extends from Rock Creek upstream 10
where the Tiger Bridge crosses the
valley at Sixteenth street There the
lO-foot-diameter Piney Branch sewer
has a temporary outlet just within
the parkway and overfows into the
stream.
This storm sewer drains the entire
valley of Piney Branch, including Ia
koma Park, all of Petworth and very
considera bic portions of Mount Pleas
ant. Recently this area has been
unanimously developed with a CORE
spending great increase in the VOL
ume of collected sewage; at the same
TIME the increase in the extent of
paved streets and roof areas has re-
suited IN more rapidly augmenting
the run-off from rainfall; so that the
conditions as TO drainage in this val
ley have been radically changed since
these works were originally con-
Structed.
At that time the upper valley of
Piney Branch was largely undevelop-
ed and the sewage flow was very
small There were few, if any, paved
streets and very much of the area
was still devoted OF agricultural uses.
while many dwellings, were unpro-
Flded with sewer connections Near
me outlet of the main sewer the dry
weather, or sewage. flow was diverted
10 a small intercepting sewer which
extended down the parkway as far
as ROCK Creek Park, where it drained
INTO the Rock Creek Intervening
sewer and thence through the sew
age disposal system. But during every
rain the main sewer DISCHARGED its
How into Piney Branch.
improvements Now Urged.
AS long as the volume of sewage
was small and the drainage that of
open fields, this was not seriously
objectionable, but at present, with
the large and increa sing volume of
sewage and the drainage from close
~ built-up areas, such as are rapidly
developing. the conditions are so
changed as to demand that steps be
taken to improve this portion of the
Piney Branch drainage system by the
construction of properly designed
waterways to prevent the offensive
pollution of the stream now so evil
dent as well as the destruction of the
stream banks during excessive storm
discharge
These drainage improvements are
believed by your committee to be
vital preliminary to the long deferred
developmene of the Piney Branch
parkway between Rock Creek and
sixteenth street. They should be so
designed and executed as to leave