Evening star., 1951-01-12
Big Saving Seen
If Virginia Uses
B|ueP|aiinsPIani
Engineers Study Due
To Reveal Economy
From D. 6. Facility
By jones Birchfield

the District disposal plant at Blue
Plains.
This was indicated last night
by Robert w. Cox, Arlington
County Board member and chair
man of an interim committee to
study the Virginia sewage prob
lens. Mr.. Cox was a member of
a panel discussing disposal prob
lens at the winter meeting Of the
Interstate Commission on the
Potomac River Basin in Alexan-
dria.
While Mr.. Cox gave no esti-
mates of possible savings, he said
the committees recommendations
for an engineer study of Virginia S
disposal problems was based on
the belief that savings would be
made.
Won't PubliciZe "Guesses."
He said the committee preferred
not to make public any "guesses'
as to possible savings, because
such estimates should come from
competent engineers.
Other sanitary engineers, how
ever, have estimated that the
Virginia communities might save
up TO $4,000 a year in operating
costs by an arrangement with the
District to treat their sewage.
Mr.. Cox said the committee has
no desire to delay the program of
pollution abatement in the Wash
ington Metropolitan Area. He
said that, while the easiest and
quickest" thing to do would be
for each community to go through
with it's own disposal program
that might not be the quickest
long-range solution"
"A study will require only go
days. Mr.. Cox said, land will cost
approximately $4,000. That
seems a small sum to insure that
we are right in spending SIC
million"
Must Study Every Phase.
Alexandria City Manager w
Guy Ancell said government Off
cials of the Virginia communities
would be derelict in their duties
as administrators if they failed to
study fully every phase of the
problem.
II am sure" he said, "that if
Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria
were one city, this city would not
think of building three separate
sewage treatment plants"
Strengthening the argument in
favor Of the treatment of Virginia
sewage in the District plant, Harry
Shaw. deputy chief engineer of
the Washington Suburban SAM
tary Commission, described a CO.
operative program between the
commission and the District that
has existed since the commission
was organized in 1918.
1--WE have found" Mr.. Shaw
said. shat It will be cheaper for
us to abandon our treatment plan
on the Anacostia and to bring all
of our sewage into the District
lines than it would be for us tr
improve our plant to give full
treatment"
Question Laughed Off.
A suggestion that Congress
might use Virginias dependence
on the District for sewage treat
ment to obtain concessions from
Arlington County was laughed of
the floor.
1t was pointed out that Airing.
ton County and Falls Church nov
obtain their water supply from
the District. E. A. Schmitt, heac
engineer for the Corps of Engi
neers Water Division, said plan.
, have been made for Washington!
water supply up to the year 1000
He said that, while under the Law
Arlington's water supply might bt
cut off. that would be morally
impossible.
Ralph E. Thurman, superin-
tendent of the District disposa.
plant, describing plant improve
ment plans, said the District
hopes to provide complete treat
ment by 1857. The plant now
provides secondary treatment
which removes about 33 percent
of the pollution from the wastes
He said the charge to Virginia
for sewage treatment would be
about S6 per million gallons now
and that this cost would rise te
about $14 per million gallons
when secondary treatment is pro-
vided.
Damage Exceeds S500,000.
Potomac Commission Chairman
Harold A. Kemp said the annua
damage from domestic pollution
in this area now exceeds $500, 900
More than half of this damage, h
said, is preventable
Mr.. Kemp said the Potomac il
the Washington area would be
come septic during such, Low
water. flows as were experienced
during the summers of 1880, 1913.
and 1882. Even under norma
flow. he added. the river probabl,
will become septic in 1854, if thu
Virginia communities do not taxi
steps to correct their pollution
Last nights discussions wer'
led by j. Maynard Magruder
member of the House of Dele
gates from Arlington County ant
sponsor of the legislation in th'
House creating the Virginia Wate
and Sewer Authority Act. E
Blackburn Moore, speaker of th'
House of Delegates and chairman
of the Virginia Water Contro
Board, attended the meeting as al
observer.
Wurnke Reelected
William E. Warnke has been re-
elected president of the Decatur
u