424 Minneapolis Sezver System 



inch sewer was begun on Central Av. to drain the area bounded 4th 

 Av. S. E. to 2d Av. N. E. and back to Division St. The outlet of this 

 Central Av. sewer was later changed from a direct discharge into the 

 river to emptying into the mill race of the Pillsbury A Mill at 4th Av. 

 S. E. Another East Side system was likewise begun in this same 

 year from the foot of 10th Av. S. E. and running up that avenue to 

 drain the district bounded by 5th to 16th Avs. S. E. and back to 

 Spring St. Thus in 1882 3i/^ miles of new sewers were constructed, 

 Including the large trunk sewers for the new 11th Av. S. 4th St. S., 

 Central Av., and 10th Av. S. E. systems, comparatively making a 

 large amount of work as against the total 2^^ miles up to that date 

 from the beginning in 1871. 



For the next 6 years the sewer construction was the extension 

 of the branches of the systems already enumerated. But as yet only 

 the central, south and southeast quarters of the city had been pro- 

 vided with trunk sewers. Some plan had to be begun for North and 

 Northeast Minneapolis. 



As the city supply of water was then pumped from the two pump- 

 ing stations at the falls and on Hennepin Island it was not safe to 

 empty sewerage into the river above the falls. This situation, to- 

 gether with the low elevation of the Bassett's Creek valley in North 

 Minneapolis, determined the plan of starting a tunnel from the foot 

 of 8th Av. S., below the falls, going up to 2nd St. thence diagonally 

 to 6th Av. below Wash., up 6th Av. S. to 4th St., up 4th St. from 

 6th Av. S. to Hennepin Av. and thence diagonally to 5th St. and 4th Av. 

 N. This tunnel, begun in 1S89, was 8' in size, thru the sand rock 

 beneath the limestone ledge, averaging 81 ft. beneath the street surface. 

 Up 4th St. it followed a seam in the rock from which much water 

 came into the tunnel. But by inserting in the masonry over 1000 

 seepage pipes from 1 to 8 inches in diameter, this flowing soon prac- 

 tically all ceased. At the 1st Av. N. shaft a fault was struck in the 

 lime stone ledge, from which a large amount of water was pumped. 

 Owing to those unexpected difficulties the contractor, who had under- 

 taken the job, failed and the city then continued and completed the 

 tunnel, as it had for five years been building its sewers, thus carry- 

 ing thru the 1.37 miles of tunnel at a cost of about $202,000, or $28.— 

 per foot. 



From the end of the No. Mpls. tunnel at 5th. St. and 4th Av. N. a 

 large 7 ft. sewer was built up 5th St. to 8th Av. N. at Bassett's 

 Creek, where it divides into two branches. The smaller branch con- 

 tinues out 5th St. to 10th Av. N., thence turning to Wash. Av. where 

 it extends northward to beyond 20th Av. N. By the aid chiefly of a 2 

 ft. sewer out Plymouth Av. this river section of North Minneapolis 

 up to 20th Av. N. is drained by this N. Wash. Av. branch. 



The larger branch of the 5th. St. N. 7 ft. sewer turns out 8th Av. 

 N. to Dupont Av. N. thence south (for three blocks below the bottom 

 of the straightened Bassett's Creek) to Ontario Av, and turns over to 

 Lyndale. By dividing down Hennepin and Harmon PI on the one 

 hand and out Hennepin and Lyndale on the other hand it drains the 

 north slope of the bluffs out to Franklin nearly to Nicollet, and 

 the slope towards the bluffs down as far as 13th St. A 4 1-3 ft. sub- 



