SE\VERAGE. 



475 



reduce the expense of their maintenance. Similar 

 experiments have been tried in many English towns 

 with very satisfactory results. The general conclu- 

 sion, however, has been reached that none of these 

 enterprises can be made profitable and that they 

 must always be viewed as sanitary rather than eco- 

 nomical undertakings. 



In Great Britain more than 150 towns have intro- 

 duced the system of sewage disposal by sub-surface 

 irrigation, and the same system has been successfully 

 introduced in the United States though not on a 

 large scale as yet. At Pullman, 111., with a popula- 

 tion of 9,000, most of the sewage is disposed of upon 

 a farm of 140 acres, and the same system has been 

 applied at Lenox, where there is only a small perma- 

 nent population, and at a number of public and oth- 

 er institutions, as at Lawrenceville, Princeton, and 

 Morristown, N. J., at Sherborn, Danvers, and Wor- 

 cester, Mass., and at Bryn Mawr, Pa. It has also 

 been utilized at Orange, N. J., and in other places, 

 to drain detached villa residences, and under most 

 conditions has given satisfactory results. It is now 

 proposed to adopt the irrigation system on a larger 

 scale at East Orange, N. J., Brockton, Mass., Los 

 Angeles, Gal., and at Providence, R. I. The latter 

 undertaking will cost in the neighborhood of 3,700,- 

 000, and the result of the experiment will be awaited 

 with interest. 



The Sfinitary Engineer sum!) up the advantanges 

 and disadvantages of the irrigation system as follows : 

 "It would seem that the application of sewage to 

 land, under proper precautions, is the least dangerous 

 and most useful way of disposing of it ; that precipi- 

 tation processes are in some cases useful and even 

 necessary preliminaries to the land filtration ; that 

 the disposal of sewage can rarely, if ever, be effected 

 without expense ; and, especially, that each case is a 

 problem of itself, to be worked out by a skilled and 

 experienced engineer." 



Where a number of towns are situated along a 

 river and discharge their sewage into the stream 

 which is also used as a source of water-supply, as in 

 the case of the Hudson and Passaic rivers, there is 

 great risk of pollution of the drinking supply. A 

 commission appointed by the State of Massachu- 

 setts in 1885 has recently presented a plan for drain- 

 ing the valleys of the Mystic, Blackstoue, and Charles 

 rivers, and at the same time protect the water-sup- 

 ply of Boston and adjacent towns and cities. The 

 scheme of a united system of drainage for several 

 neighboring towns is considered here for the first 

 time in this country, and it is therefore of special 

 interest. Wherever practicable the sewage is to be 

 carried by intercepting sewers to Boston and dis- 

 charge into the main drainage system of the latter. 

 For towns too remote from Boston and too far apart 

 to warrant any combination for a sewage disposal, 

 separate areas for intermittent filtration are recom- 

 mended. 



Among the sewerage works constructed of late 

 vears in American cities are the following : At 

 Memphis 40 miles of sewers planned by Col. Geo. 

 E. Waring are now in operation at a total cost of 

 8275,000. Pittsbnrg, Pa., is said to have over 100 

 miles of new sewers. At Charleston, S. C., 8230,000 

 is to be spent on 43 miles of sewerage. At East 

 Orange, N. J., a nearly equal amount is to be ex- 

 pended. Omaha, Neb., has expended 898,493 on sew- 

 ers. New York City has increased her sewers within 

 A very few years from 360 to 414 miles. Boston has 

 200 miles of sewers, just double the area of 1869, 

 and has spent 82,000,000 upon a great intercepting 

 sewer, which is a model of engineering. The city 

 of Providence, B. I., is considering the expenditure 

 of a large sum for drainage works, upon plans pro- 

 posed by City Engineer Gray. The Chicago drain- 

 age and water-supply commission reports that an 



outlay of more than $30,000,000 will be required, 

 and an annual expenditure of $2,000,000, to meet 

 the needs of its growing population. Newark, N. J., 

 has spent $550,000 on a new system of sewers. Al- 

 bany, Trenton, Newport, New London, Norfolk (Va.), 

 and Baltimore, are all contemplating taking sim- 

 ilar action or have actually begun the work. Bar 

 Harbor, Coney Island, Nahant, Atlantic City, Cape 

 May, Asbury Park, and other summer "resorts 

 have wisely made provision for drainage and water- 

 supply. 



Domestic Sewerage. Within a few years, and chiefly 

 since 1879, an entire revolution has taken place in 

 the methods of domestic sewerage, and the greatest 

 advance in this direction has been made in the 

 United States. This has been due to the wide dis- 

 cussion of sanitary questions in the press and in 

 official reports, at sanitary conventions and public 

 health associations, and on the lecture platform, to- 

 gether with the interest created by repeated out- 

 breaks of disease traceable to bad drainage, which 

 have sometimes assumed epidemic proportions. It 

 has been -accompanied by the passage of laws, in 

 many States, regulating the manner in which plumb- 

 ing should bB executed in new buildings in all large 

 cities and towns, and also requiring that plumbers 

 shall be licensed after passing an examination as to 

 their qualifications. These regulations were first 

 adopted by the cities of New York and Brooklyn, 

 but they have since been widely copied in other 

 places, and as a result great improvements have 

 been effected. A plan of the drainage in all new 

 buildings must now be submitted to the local board 

 of health, and be approved before the work can go 

 on, while the work itself must be subject to inspec- 

 tion during its progress and after completion. As 

 a result, there has been a notable advance both in 

 the quality of the plumbing recently executed and 

 in the intelligence and skill of architects, builders, 

 and plumbers alike. 



Hitherto most of the plumbing, especially in 

 buildings in large cities, has been performed un- 

 der contract for speculative builders and in a reck- 

 less manner ; such parts of the work as are vis- 

 ible may be properly done, but the hidden and most 

 important portions are usually scamped, so that 

 sickness and death frequently result from the es- 

 cape of sewer-gas into the dwellings. 



Among the most common defects to be found in 

 ordinary dwellings, even of the better class, are the 

 following : Brick or earthenware drains laid under- 

 ground with imperfect joints, BO as to leak in'.o the 

 soil and create foul odors which are liable to rise 

 into living rooms. 



Soil pipes constructed of lead instead of iron, so 

 that they sag or are eaten by rats or corroded 

 by sewer-gas at bends or angles; or on the upper 

 side of pipes when laid horizontally, so that foul air 

 may escape without there being any leakage to in- 

 dicate a defect. 



Soil pipes of iron, but with defective joints or 

 lacking in ventilation to the outer air. These pipes 

 are often used as rain-water leaders, and when 

 gorged with rain they cannot serve as ventilators, 

 and foul air. is forced into living rooms. Again, 

 they may be connected with chimney flues with a 

 view to securing an upward draught to assist ventila- 

 tion. In such cases there is danger of sewer-gases 

 penetrating through the cracks in the chimney into 

 living rooms or of a down-draught when the chimney 

 is cold. 



Soil pipes connecting with unventilated cesspools 

 or sewers, without any barrier to prevent back press- 

 ure. 



Insufficient or improper traps, which either be- 

 come so foul as to be miniature cesspools or lose 

 their seals by siphonage or evaporation. 



