Milford chronicle., 1953-07-31
MORE ABOUT THE STORM WATER
SITUATION IN THE SECOND WARD

MIMI ADOOl lI1L QUINN WA len
SITUATION IN THE SECOND WARD
In the last issue of the Milford Chronicle
we printed an editorial calling the attention
of City Council to the problem created by the
new sewer system on Seabury Avenue. AS
was to be expected we have had both praise
and criticism following the publication of
the editorial. The favorable reaction has far
OVer0alanced the unfavOrable comments.
From one source, which we shall leave
unnamed at this time, has come the COM
plaint that "The Chronicle never praises
Council for the good that it does, but always
throws criticism at it for it's mistakes" May
be we are Old-fashiOned in our thinking; but
1t does seem to us that any group of men who
accept public office should not expect praise
Tor doing the right thing. That is what they
are put there for Following this line of
reasoning, it would seem to us that when mis-
takes are made then is the time to call atten-
tiOn to the error. That is Just what we did
last week-and what we shall continue to do
in the future when the occasion arises. There
are no personalities involved.
Another criticism that has reached our
ears In a roundabout manner is that we neV-
er make suggestions. Well, that just is not
true. Right here and now we offer the fol-
lowing thought for solving, in part at least.
the surface water problem confronting the
SeabuFy Avenue, Clarke Avenue and adia-
cent area of the Second Ward. We ask COun-
Gil, and the City Manager, to study the pOss-
lblllty of laying a storm water sewer from
the intersection of South Walnut Street and
Seabury Avenue south on Walnut Street to
Simpsons Branch" We want to make it
perfectly clear that we say storm water
sewer and not sanitary sewer. Certainly a
competent engineer can ascertain without too
much trouble whether there is sufficient ele-
walton to carry the water off. The sewer
would not have to be too deep and it would
follow an unimprOVed rOadbed for much of
the distance Should this plan not prove feas-
IDLE, then why not eXpOre the possibilities
OF carrying the storm water" sewer east to
Deep Branch" Possibly this plan might
work out better But the problem Of crossing
, railroad right-Of-way might be involved here
we cannot emphasize too strongly that we are
talking about a storm water" sewer only.
Sanitary sewers are not under discussion as
part OF solving the surface water problem.
Whatever the outcome and decision of
Council (and it should not be done under any
circumstances unless engineering "knOw-
how approves the plan) remedial action to
alleviate the flooding conditions caused by
.emptying the storm water into the sanitary
sewers on Seabury Avenue, Hall Place and
Lake View Avenue should be taken immedi-
ately. II no other plan is feasible, we be-
heve that City Council should Immediately
j take steps to cap the inletS on Seabury Ave
nue. until such time as a workable plan can
be promulgated. We are informed that the
Seabury Avenue sewer is of ten inch size.
The sewer on Hall Place is eight inches in
size, according to our information. By all
lines OF sound reasoning we ask, "DOes it
make sense to attempt to empty surface wa
ter and other sewage from a ten inch pipe
into a sewer of eight inches diameter?"
We -bpIinVn that (.itv CO11n0i1 boO j,,A,,
to see to it that no greater sewage load is al
lowed to empty into the Lake View Avenue
outlet until they make actual surveys to as
certain fully whether the pipes will carry
the increased load. The writer lives on Lake
View Avenue. Lest there be some. who say
that it is a matter of self-interest on our part
that causes this criticism, let us make it
crystal clear that our home has not been in
cOnvenlenced by the flood water conditions.
Such a problem was anticipated when the
house was built in 1912. We have no worries
along that line. But there are many homes
that had flooded cellars as a result of the
overload. At The L. d. Caulk plant severe
damage to valuable materials was averted bv
the quick action of employees who were called
back for the job of moving them early Thurs
day morning of last week. This business, we
feelycertain, will want to see the condition
corrected quickly.
Maybe we don't know all of the problems
confronting our City. We doubt that any one
person in the town does. But as an interested
citizen, we wonder and wrack our brain for
an answer to the question of just why sur
face water is run through sanitary sewers in
any sections of the City. It seems foolish to
us that this clear water should be put through
sewage treatment and then pumped in the
Mlspillion River That seems plain crazy to
US. Maybe if this is stopped, there will be
no need for additional pumping equipment at
tne sewage treatment plant. Maybe an an
proach along this line of thinking could come
up with plan which will allow our city IA
tners to solve our sewage problem and allow