Evening star., 1955-11-08

VlolatlOn OF tne reguiationS.
Nicholas orem, jr., commits
Is studying several Of "the mo
the Illegal drainage Of rain water
into pipes designed for sewage
fiow.
The commission has stepped
UP its survey OF plumbing mall
feasances and. during the past
year. has mailed out sis notices
of illegal plumbing in suburban
Prince Georges and Montgom-
cry Counties. During the year
the commission has reported that
1856 Of these have been corrected.
Heavy hurricane rains this
year not only flooded large sec
tions Of low-lying suburban COM
munities but resulted In an influx
Of letters from frantic house,
wives" complaining Of sewage
regurgitations. Mr.. Orem said.
The letters. he added, described
Horrible conditions IN base
ments where sewage surcharge
had deposited waste liquid l8
inches deep.
Suit BY Owner
The commission has been
threatened with litigation and.
In one instance. q Takoma Park
property owner has fled suit
against the commission. The
suit charges the sanitary agency
with failing to take action
against nearby homeowners
whose Illegal plumbing connec-
tions were credited with causing
the sewage overflow.
Threatened with court action
from that source, the commits
sion also faces the outcry Of
residents ordered to correct IL
legal conditions. In many cases
the blocking Of D prohibited
drain win cost the home owner
3 considerable sum Of money.
Many Of the home owners re.
Gently put on notice that sur
face water drains into sewer lines
must be cut on declare angrily
the drain has been In existence
for 90 or 80 years.
A typical situation exists In
Mount Rainier. where q group
Of disgruntled residents VIII
bring their protests Friday to q
meeting of the Mount Rainier
Citizens Association.
In all, SO property-oWners In
Mount Rainier were given so
days to correct prohibited drain-
age conditions. Commission ofii-
cials calculated that the neces-
'sary changes in all cases IN both
counties would entail plumbing
work costing from 50 to $4,000.
Right Disputed
The commissions breakdown
on the prohibited surface water
drains win cause hardships, Mr..
Orem admitted. However,, be
added:
There Is no question that the
honneoWner has no right 10
maintain m Illegal connection,
even II It was legal when in
stalled. =
The commissions report on
violations and letters ordering
corrections dates hack to August,
1854 Notices were mailed Iii
August and November, 1854, ana
june, 1855. at an increasing pace.
Among the areas in which
violations were reported are
HyattsviIle. Chevy Chase, Brent
wood. Landover. Takoma Park.
Silver Spring. Riverdaie. West
moreland Hills, Rogers Heights,
University Park. Woodacres
Decatur Heights. Cottage City
Colmar Manor and Chilium.
Commission ofiicials declare
the chief reason for the plumb
ing breakdown Is to stop the
overflow Of sewage. Another
reason cited is the impending
sewage disposal charges that
will be levied against the COM
mission BY the District
Connections with D. c.
In the commissions sanitary
district west Of Georgia avenue,
sewer lines connect with Dis
trict disposal facilities at tive
points. According To Harry
Shaw, chief engineer for the
commission. WsSC engineers
and District authorities recently
agreed to install meterine de-
vices to measure the dow.
Some time In 1856. Mr.. Shaw
said, the WSSC sewage lines In
the Anacostia Valley system lin
which there are over SIS 900 unit
connections1 viii be funneled
into District disposal facilities.
The commission will be charged
for disposal on the basis Of
measured how.
Under 9 1851 Maryland Law
the commission charges for sew
age disposal on the basis Of me-
tered water use. The Illegal sur
face water that finds its way
into sanitary lines would not be
reflected In charges paid BY home
owners but would be charged
against the commission when the
"