Papers ox Medicine. Puboc Health axd Saxitatiox 97 



laws the Sanitary District of Chicago, the North Shore 

 Sanitary District, the Decatnr Sanitary District, and the 

 Bloomington and Xormal Sauitaiy District, have been 

 formed. 



SAXITAEY DISTEICT OF CHICAGO 



For many years Chicago discharged sewage into Chi- 

 cago Eiver and Lake Michigan. The amount of sewage 

 chscharged became very great and as water from the 

 lake was used for a public water supply other means of 

 disposing of the sewage became necessary. In 1889, 

 imder the provisions of an act to create sanitary districts, 

 and to remove obstructions in the DesPlaines and Illi- 

 nois rivers, the Sanitary District of Chicago was or- 

 ganized. The law provides that whenever any area of 

 contiguous territory within the limits of a single county 

 contains two or more incorporated cities, towns or vil- 

 lages so situated that the maintenance of a common outlet 

 for the drainage thereof will conduce to the preservation 

 of the public health, area within the limits of the cities 

 incorporated towns or villages and within three miles 

 thereof may be incorporated as a sanitary district. 



Any 5,000 legal voters resident within the limits of a 

 proposed sanitary district can petition the county judge 

 to cause the ciuestion of organization to be submitted to 

 the voters. The law pro\ides for the creation of a board 

 of trustees of nine members, which board exercises all 

 the powers and controls all the affairs of the district. The 

 board has power to pro\'ide for the drainage of the dis- 

 trict by laying out, establishing, constructing and main- 

 taining channels, drains, ditches and outlets, with neces- 

 sary adjuncts, for carrying off and disposing of the 

 drainage (including the sewage) of the district. The law 

 provided for the levy and collection of taxes for corpor- 

 ate purposes the amount of which in any one year should 

 not exceed one-half of one per centmn of the assessed 

 valuation of the taxable property, and for the issue of 

 bonds. Indebtedness could not exceed five per centum 

 of the valuation of the taxable property within the dis- 

 trict provided this five percentum did not exceed the 

 sum of $15,000,000. 



