Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-08
Feasibility of Change From
Combined to Separate Meth
cd to Be Weighed.
SANITARY ENGINEER SEES
IT AS EXPENSIVE JOB
Would Affect Plumbing in All
Homes and Apartments in Ter
ritory, Gordon Says.

The District Sewer Department dur
ing the coming fiscal year viii under
take survey OF the watershed Of Piney
Branch, a territory of about Az square
miles, to determine the feasibility Of
changing the sewer system in that area
from the combined to the separate sys-
TEN. An appropriation of $4,000 was
sought in the current appropriation bill
for building the first section Of sewer
in the Piney Branch Valley which
would take both sanitary drainage and
storm water down the valley to the
junction with Rock Greek north Of the
National Geological Park. The appro-
priation was to be the first Of a series,
estimated to amount to $500 900 in all,
to complete the job. Congress, how
ever. did not appropriate the fund
pending the survey of the feasibility of
changing the sewer system in that area.
According to Sanitary Engineer j. B.
Gordon, a change of the system Of
sewers In this section would be an enor-
mously complicated and expensive job
and would take long time. It would
mean changing of the plumbing In
every house and apartment in the area,
and in the case Of row houses and
apartment houses would mean cuts
through the easements, all of which
would have to be done at the expense
of the property owner. Connections
from the household sanitary drains, the
downspoutS from the roof and the yard
run-off drain are now made direct to
the combined system sewer, in which
storm water and sanitary sewage are
now carried in a single conduit. A
change to the separate system would
first mean the building Of two sanitary
sewers, one on each side Of each ex-
isting combined system sewer. Then
the connections from each house would
have to be separated so that the storm
water from downSpoutS and yard drains
would go TO the storm water sewer and
the sanitary drainage to the sanitary
sewer. In the case Of q detached
house, this would often be a fairly
easy problem, but in the case Of row
of houses it would probably mean cut
ting through the easements of an
houses except the end houses. In the
case of apartment houses, the problem
would be immensely dificult. Most Of
these are constructed now with the
downspouts from the roof led inside
the building, and to change these would
in many cases mean the tearing out Of
walls in the building.
Plumbing Department to Aid.
The survey will be made in co-opera-
ton with the District Plumbing De-
partment, which will furnish estimates
for the reconstruction necessary In typ
ical detached, semi-detached, row and
apartment houses. These estimates will
then be multiplied by the number Of
units in the area and the aggregate
figures deduced.
According to Mr.. Gordon, the expense
to the municipality also would be very
large by reason of the enormous NUM-
Der of cuts in the pavement necessary
for the installation of the extra sanitary
sewers.
There has been considerable agita4
ton Of late directed toward removing
sewage pollution from Rock Greek. Ac-
cording to the present system, sewage
from the District gets into the creek In
combined system sewers is too great for
the intercepter sewers that line the
creek, and sanitary sewage is carried
past the intercepters along with the
extra storm waters A system could
be devised, Mr.. Gordon said. large
enough to carry all storm waters and
sanitary sewers into the intercepters in
times of heavy rain, but this would
take away much of the rainfall that
result in a substantial decrease in the
level Of the creek.
Potomac Survey Probable.
Another survey in connection with
District sewerage matters that will
probably be made within the course of
few years is an examination Of poll
luton in the Potomac River below
Alexandria The Commissioners intend
to ask for an appropriation of $7S.00O
for this purpose in the next budget.
If this should be granted the money
would become available in the 1888 rs
cal year. The survey will be made by
the United States Public Health Service.
The District now emptieS its sanitary
sewage, after screening treatment, into
the Potomac River at q point opposite
Alexandria. If the survey should show
that this results In undue pollution In
the stream below this point, then some
system for treating the sewage before
1t is allowed to get into the river viii
probably be devised,