Evening star., 1935-01-20
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
PLANS DEFENDED
D. C. Officials Present Merit
of $4,000, 900 Proposal
to Senate Group.

OlSCrlcC OLuclalS QelenoeQ tnelr
plans for the proposed $4,0G0,000
sewage disposal plant in a two-hour
executive session with a special sub
committee of the Senate District
Committee yesterday.
Chairman King announced the sub
committee would hold another con-
ference sometime tomorrow to hear
members of a Board of Trade COM
mittee, which prepared a report that
took issue with the plans of the Com
missioners and proposed a different
method of treatment.
Complete Plan Discouraged.
Senator King said Engineer Com
missioner Sultan explained it had
been regarded as unnecessary to build
Immediately complete treatment
plant, costing $8,000,00 as originally
contemplated. The Senator said the
Engineer Commissioner also stated
there are developments in the treat
ment of sewage which might call for
modification of the plan later.
The Commissioners, Senator King
said, considered chemical treatment,
but had not regarded the evidence of
the development of chemical treat
ment as sufficient to warrant its
adoption here, at least at present.
After careful consideration" Sen
ator King continued, "the Commis-
sioners concluded that primary treat
ment would meet the demands for the
present and for many years to come,
that that would cost s4,000,000 or
less and would care for all the sewage
and so treat it that whatever return
flow goes to the river would be prac-
tically free from deleterious sub
stance"
Engineer Questioned.
The Engineer Commissioner told
the committee that the District pro-
poses to build a basic plant, includ-
ing such features as the power plant,
that would be necessary or useful
in later years if it should be then de-
cided to adopt chemical treatment.
Senator King said members of the
committee also showed interest IN
starting also as soon as possible what
ever additional projects are needed to
protect Rock Creek from pollution.
The project is to be financed by
P. w. A., 10 per cent to be paid back
by the District.
At the District Building it was said
the Commissioners believe they acted
wisely and economically in adopting
present plans and they have asked
Controller General McCarl to consider
their decisions as final.
The plant, as now designed, would
provide primary treatment based on
sedimentation, the sewage passing
through a series of grit chambers, d.
gestion tanks and other machinery,
the solids to be shipped to District
penal agencies for farm fertilizer.
Treatment Held Thorough.
While a scientific statement Is that
the treatment would be only 80 per
cent, District officials say this ap-
plies to the oxygen demand and in
sist that after the plant is developed
q chemical analysis would be neces-
sary to find any sewage in the river.
It is claimed there would be no danger
to fish or other marine life.
Chemical interests are contending
use of chemical process would be
cheaper and that 100 per cent treat
ment could be possible, within the
sum of S4,000,000. Much of the plant
as now planned would be necessary
with the exception that chemical
tanks would have to be added and
machinery for incineration of por-
tions of the sewage. The digestion
tanks could be eliminated, it Is ar
gued.
Costs Are Estimated.
Figures in the hands Of District
officials convince them, however, the
operating cost Of such plant would
run to $3.50, 900 for operation for only
six months while the operation cost
of the present primary treatment
plant would be but $4,000 for a
whole year.
Further, they argued, there is a
question Of whether a suficient
amount of chemicals could be pur-
chased from time to time within q
reasonable cost.
The most important reason ad-
vanced for the decision of the District
against chemical type Of plant now
is that to date no chemical plant
of a size anywhere near as large as
that needed for Washington has been
in operation.
'"The District Of Columbia does not
care to gamble 100000 upon a
treatment process which has not dem
onstrated its efficacy in plants of
comparable size, but which at present
represents merely q hope or posi-
bility of success" the Commissioners
have written to Controller General
McCarl.
Potomac to Be Safeguarded.
It is further argued that the Dis
trict does not no " need complete