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THE

MEMPHIS SEWERS

After Four Years' Use.

WITH

Remarks on the Similar System at Keene, N. H.

By Gkc£ r-fc. Waking, vl. Inst., C. E.

(Reprinted from the American Architect, July 19, 1884.)
NEWPORT, R. I.; 628,2
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Tip: MEMPHIS SEWERS AFTER FOUR YEARS' USE.

j In November, 1880, Mr. F. S. Odell, C. E., read a paper before
the American Society of Civil Engineers on the sewerage of Mem-
phis. Mr. Odell had been employed on the work, and he describes
jits details well. He closed his paper with these words:

I " With the results already achieved by this small-pipe system of
Sewerage, it seems safe to predict that a new era has been inaugura-
ted, and that the coming years will witness great modifications in the
jprevailing methods of sewerage."

j In the discussion that followed the reading, much was said that
would not be said now. It seems to me worth while to refer here
only to the criticism of the absence of man-holes, and to the general
disposition, prudently evinced, to await the result of a longer trial
pf the system in practice.

j The omission of man-holes was no part of the "system" — it was
Idue to the need for close economy. One result of this omission was
jthe adoption of a cheap and convenient means for inspecting and for
gaining access to the pipes, which seems to answer a very good pur-
jpose. There is much good sense in a suggestion made by Mr. Raw-
iinson when I told him of the hand-holes and stand-pipes that have
teen used in all the work done after the first few hurried months of
(construction, early in 1880. It was that these would answer an ex-
cellent purpose if, whenever it became necessary to dig down to use
one of them, a man-hole should be built at that point — because a
' second stoppage is very apt to come where the first one came. Of
one thing I am well satisfied: man-holes on small pipe sewers should
not open into the interior of the pipe. They should be used only as
a convenient means of getting at the hand-hole cover. There should
be no chance for the accidental or intentional introduction of things
which might obstruct so small a conduit.

All the man-holes built under my direction, and nearly all built
since, were on the main sewers, — some of them in connection with
overflows, made necessary, not as has been suggested by the intro-
duction of storm-water, but by the excessive waste of the public4

The Memphis Sewers after Four Years9 Use.

water-supply, sometimes to prevent the deposit of Wolf River mud
in the water-pipes, and sometimes to keep them from freezing. Thi^
waste was aggravated, it may be, by a desire to add to the pumping
expenses of the very unpopular Water Company.	j

Concerning these main sewers, where they have, at rare times^
been found to be too small, I would say that I was ordered to builc^
them on a basis of the discharge of forty gallons per head per da^
by the population that would use them within a few years.	<

The authorities of Memphis announced it as an important advan-
tage of the proposed work, that the cost of increasing this part of it
could be postponed to the time when supplemental mains should bej
found to be necessary. With clean water, and with reasonable pro-
tection of house-piping against frost, the mains would now be amplyj
large. This, however, is said only by the way. The size of the|
lower portion of the main sewers has nothing to do with the success*
or failure of the system of sewerage under discussion.

The four years that have elapsed since the first half of the Mem-
phis system was built, — during which time extensive works of the
same sort have been constructed in many other places, — may suffice
to show whether or not the methods there first adopted have proved
successful. These methods have been widely discussed, and their
application has been carefully studied. As a rule, the reports have
been very favorable. So far as I know, only one engineer, basing
his report on a personal examination of the work on the ground,
has expressed a specially unfavorable opinion, and his criticism
related only to novel features of the system which had been abandoned*
A few others have questioned the propriety of introducing this method}
of sewerage so generally as has been recommended; but with thq!
single exception above referred to, I think nothing that has been
reported concerning Memphis is so unfavorable as to controvert Mr.
Odell's anticipations.

In view of the frequent discussion of the subject, and of some con-
fusion in the details of different reports, it seemed proper to have
made a careful examination and an authentic report covering the
whole case. To this end, Wm. H. Baldwin, Esq., C. E.,— who had
conducted the inspections of the sewers of our principal cities, made
in connection with my work on " The Social Statistics of Cities of theThe Memphis Sewers after Four Years9 Use.

5

United States " for the Tenth Census; who had been employed on the
Memphis work in 1880, and who is well known as a skilful and
impartial observer,— visited Memphis in March, 1884, and reported
the exact condition in which he found the whole work. He was in-
structed to note especially all modifications of the original methods
made in the later construction, and all abandonment of novel feat-
ures, and to study carefully the sanitary bearings of the original and
of the later work.

It is true that Mr. Baldwin has been identified with my work almost
continuously since the spring of 1880. This, I am sure, would in no-
wise influence either his observation or his report. On his return he
gave me notes of his examination, accompanied by the following letter :

"Buffalo, N. Y., June 4th, 1884.

Col. Geo. E. Waring, Jr.,

Dear Sir: — The accompanying notes on the sewerage of Memphis are
derived from careful observation and inquiry made during a visit to that
sity in March last. I went to Memphis to satisfy myself about the practical
working of its sewers, and also to ascertain to what extent they had been
modified or reconstructed. I spent nearly a week in patient investigation
rad inquiry, examined the flush-tanks and the main and lateral sewers at
all available points, and questioned everybody connected with the work, or
who appeared to know or care about it. I could by no means find any evi-
dence that the sewerage works had been modified or changed in any essen-
tial feature, nor that any part had been reconstructed excepting some repairs
made necessary, usually, by settlement of the grounds on which the pipes
were laid. On the contrary, I found that a good many miles of pipes had
been laid, and the work is still being extended on the same principles as
originally designed. And I recognized the same workmen I knew in 1880,
and saw them laying pipe just as they were instructed to do at that time.
I came away strongly impressed with the amount of service that can be se-
cured from a system of six-inch pipes, and with the decided improvement
in the atmospheric condition of a city supplied with sewers, compared to
Memphis as I first knew it in the spring and summer of 1880.

Yery respectfully,	Wm. Henry Baldwin."

The following is the text of Mr. Baldwin's report:

"Notes on the Sewerage of Memphis,"

March 29, 1884.

" Outlet. When the sewers were laid, in 1880, a twenty-four-inch iron pipe
from the jail discharging into Wolf River was improvised as a temporary6

The Memphis Sewers after Four Years' Use.

expedient, intended only to be brought into use by means of a switch, when-
ever the river should be unusually high. For various reasons the construc-
tion of the permanent outlet originally designed to discharge into the
Mississippi River has been postponed from time to time, and now the
ground on which it was located is covered by buildings and railroad tracks
and it is not likely that an outlet sewer will ever be laid along this line.
The effect of discharging sewage into the Wolf River is not likely to be
appreciable upon the water-supply—the intake of which is a mile and a quar-
ter distant,—as the current is invariably in the opposite direction.

" Main Lines. The current of water in the main sewers is swift and
rapid, but not strong enough to carry along some heavy things, such as
brick-bats, bones, pieces of iron, broken glass and crockery, etc. These
have never been allowed to accumulate in sufficient quantity to cause a
stoppage. For convenience of their removal, man-holes have been built
along the main sewers, at convenient intervals, and it is customary to drag
a rope and steel brush through the main sewers, about once a month. This
applies only to sewers ten inches or more in diameter. No such cleaning
has been required upon the lateral sewers.

" Stoppages. These have occurred in lateral sewers only, (that is to saj
in sewers of six inches and eight inches diameter.) They are almost inva-
riably caused by a splinter of wood, a carpenter's rule, a bone, a bottle, o
some such thing a little longer than the diameter of the sewer getting cross
wise and holding back floating matter, paper and rags, until the sewer be-
comes stopped. These stoppages are grouped together on a few lines, and
are principally in the neighborhood of public schools, shops, etc., only a few
having occurred in localities occupied by the better class of residences. In
some places where such stoppages have repeatedly occurred man-holes have
been built for convenience of access. The whole number so built on lateral
sewers, is: Four on the six-inch line in the alley south of Adams street, ah
within a single block less than 700 feet in length. Two on the six-inch line
in the alley south of Market street, 300 feet apart, one above and the othei
below a public school; and two on the eight-inch line in Adams street and
Lauderdale street, 600 feet apart, where the sewer is deep, and it was
thought best to build [use ? J man-holes already made for another purpose
rather than take the risk of having to dig the sewer up again. The whol(
number of man-holes on all the lateral sewers in the city is eight, and tht
whole length of sewers on all these lines within easy access of man-holes is
less than half a mile.1 No sewer has yet become stopped by the gradual
silting-in of deposits, and no six-inch line has yet been known to run full
of water unless when temporarily obstructed. Even the longest lines
usually run only about one-fourth full.

" Extensions. Sewers have been extended, especially on the east side of

1 The whole length of lateral sewers is more than thirty miles.-

.—G. E. W., Jr.The Memphis Sewers after Four Years' Use.

7

the city, to a distance sometimes as great as two thousand feet from the
mains. Such extensions, and all recent work, are built in exact conformity
to the methods originally used, except that at intervals of one hundred feet
a pipe with an opening [hand-hole1] in the top is laid, the opening being
closed by a saddle cover that can be removed in case of need to examine the
inside of the sewer without breaking a pipe. This is a precaution deemed
by the authorities to be well worth all it costs, which is less than one cent for
each foot of sewer. No essential feature of the original toork has been
abandoned or changed.

" Flush-Tanks. These have done good service whenever water can be
secured to operate them. The muddy character of the water furnished by
the public works sometimes causes the supply pipes to become stopped. It
is believed that with clear water no such difficulty would be experienced.
The chief duty of the inspector is to clean out the mud so deposited. The
effect of the flush is not only to wash out the sewer, but also to force air
through the house-drains, which it has been frequently observed to do with
3onsiderable power.

"Rain-Water. The flow of water in sewers is perceptibly increased in
time of rain. The rise and decline are so sudden as to make it appear that
water enters directly from roofs or yards, rather than by seepage from the
ground. It is contrary to law for rain-water to be discharged directly into
he sewers, but this is sometimes done, notwithstanding the law and the
inspection of city officials. It should be considered that, with these very
small sewers, even a few infractions of the law would produce a marked
3ffect.

" Overfloios. During winter it has been found that a large amount of
water is wasted by leaving taps running to avoid freezing in the pipes. To
provide for such waste water, and for this purpose only, five overflows were
made, three on the east side and two on the west, discharging into the
Bayou. These overflows are built above the tops of the main sewers, and
only come into use when the mains are overcharged.

"Subsoil Drainage. The effect of the subsoil drains is very marked in
reducing the level of ground-water. This is noticeable in making house
connections with the sewers, in laying street pavements, and in the general
condition of the surface of the ground. It was specially observed in the
winter and spring of 1884, which was an unusually wet season, that the
streets did not become so bad, and dried away much more quickly, than
they used to do before the subsoil drains were laid.

" Sanitary Effect. The change in the atmospheric condition of the city is
very marked since the removal of privies and cesspools from back-yards

1 Every third hand-liole is carried up to within two feet of the surface, with a
stand-pipe.— G. E. W., Jr.8

The Memphis Sewers after Four Year's Use.

and alleys. The practice of throwing slops on the ground has been discon-
tinued to a great extent, since the sewers have afforded a more convenient
means of disposal.,, The contrast is very great from the condition conspicu-
ously observed before sewers were built.

" Neither in removing obstructions, in cleansing the main seioers, nor
in connecting house drains is the odor of sewer-gas ever observed."

Mr. Baldwin's report is sustained by the following certificate,
signed by all the city officials who have ever had anything to do
with the construction or care of the sewers since Major Humphreys
and I ceased to control them.

"We hereby certify to the correctness of the statements as made in
the above report.	Niles Meriwether, City Engineer,

Anthony Ross, Jr., Supt. Sewers,
J. F. Fischer, Asst. Supt. of Sewers,
A. J. Murray, Chief Asst. Engineer."

A recent communication from Major Humphreys to Engineering
News fully sustains Mr. Baldwin's statements. Major Humphreys
not only carried the Memphis work well toward completion, he made
plans for the application of the same system in a number of othei
places, and he had full control of the construction of the system in
Norfolk, until all its essential features were established.

On the whole, there is thus far reasonable ground for satisfaction
with the progress the system has made. In the discussion of the
Odell paper in 1880, I said : —

"I submit to the world as the best work of which I am capable this
system of sewerage, now working in Memphis. That it is by any means
perfect in its details, I do not pretend. That these details will not be
greatly improved by the efforts of others, it would be fatuous to sup-
pose. Had I had more money to spend in Memphis, some of them
would have been more complete than they are.

" At the same time, I am convinced that the main features of tha
system are strictly correct; that they afford the only relief yet devised
for the defects of the prevailing methods of town sewerage; these
methods being the outgrowth of traditions which ante-date the rudi-
ments of sanitary knowledge ; and that some of us will live to see the
day when the Memphis system shall have supplanted the storm-water
system as completely as the present development of the storm-water
sewer has supplanted the huge irregular culverts of thirty years ago."The Memphis Sewers after Four Years' Use.	9

While I do not claim especial credit for what I have done in this
case, I naturally desire to avert the effect of mistaken criticism. Re-
ferring therefore to the adverse comments already alluded to, I de-
sire to meet them by a more correct statement of the points at issue.

It was said: " Anyone, however, who has seen separate sewerage
systems as used in England since 1852 will not discover any novelty
in Memphis, except in quite unessential details. . . . The own-
ers of some houses manage to turn their roof and yard water into
them, to an extent which increases their flow very materially during
rains, and has compelled the building of special overflows from the
sewers into the creek or bayou in order to relieve them during such
rains; a common custom in England. . . . Stoppages have oc-
curred to an extent which made it necessary to build man-holes every
few hundred feet along the lines, likewise as generally recommended
in England. ... In two cases the city was even compelled to
build catch-basins along the line to prevent the constant silting up
of the sewers from the washing of certain stables. . . . No very
essential alterations have to my knowledge been made, but these are
sufficient to stamp the Memphis sewerage works as no longer being
a type of the patented 4 Waring System/ but of the English system
as nearly as could be expected of such works, which hardly ever en-
counter exactly the same conditions. The difference between the
two systems at the outset is in fact almost infinitesimal. . . .
While I consider the automatic flush-tanks excellent contrivances,
and have often recommended them, I do not think it is well to rely
on them entirely or to use them everywhere. English engineers do
not altogether depend on them, and the experience in Memphis I think,
likewise confirms the wisdom of this course. One person was engaged
for the exclusive purpose of looking after the 184 tanks of which he
inspected 50 every day, and regularly found several out of order."

The critic concludes thus: " The present o'peration of the Mem-
phis system while it is as good as any city or town suitable for its
application could wish it to be, is yet no better than it would have
been had it received its true name at once, and from the start been
built in exact conformity with English practice. Had not the man-
holes and overflows been added, the system would on the contrary
have given a good deal of trouble. The present successful operation
is, in my opinion, not due to any novel features but rather to their10

The Memphis Sewers after Four Years' Use.

subsequent abandonment, and to the careful and intelligent manage-
ment of the works at the hands of Mr. Meriwether, City Engineer;
Mr. A. Ross, the Superintendent; and Mr. Fischer, the General
Foreman of the sewers."

"We are distinctly told by the Memphis officials [just named], by
Major Humphre}^,1 and by Mr. Baldwin, that the overflows into
the bayou were built only for the purpose of relieving the mains from
the excessive flow caused at certain times by the wasting of the pub-
lic water. The relieving of the mains from rain flow was no part of
the motive. The amount of rain-water admitted is relatively insignifi-
cant : it might be and it ought to be stopped. Any attempt to flush
these sewers with roof-water, even to one-tenth the extent usual in
England, would cause the inflow of sewage into houses on many of the
lines, long before the main is reached.

Above the highest over-flow on the mains there is a large district,
much of it compactly built up, that is in no wise relieved by these
additions. A fair study of the system as working in Memphis should
be confined to this district, which has two main systems, one with 38,-
000 feet of sewers, and the other with 47,000 feet.

Along the lines on which stoppages have occurred, there are four
man-holes on one six-inch lateral within a length of 700 feet, and there
are two on another six-inch lateral 300 feet apart. Two others were
built on an eight-inch sub-main laid at great depth, at the time of con-
struction, and as a precaution. The first six of the man-holes con-
stitute an average of one man-hole to each 30,000 feet of the whole
system of laterals. This is the only foundation for the statement that
stoppages " made it necessary to build man-holes every few hundred
feet along the lines." The two others were not built for the reason
given.

The " catch-basins along the line " are not along the line at all, but
on private branch drains used under peculiar conditions.

In the discussion that followed the reading of Mr. OdelPs paper,
there was a general expression of opinion that the novel features of
the Memphis system ought to be carefully watched for a sufficient

1 Major Humphreys says: "Nearly all of the overflows that now exist were
"built while the sewers were in my charge, and by my direction; not at all be-
cause ot' rain-water in the pipes, but because, by an error in designing them in
not making sufficient allowance for waste, the 12-and-15-inch mains were made
too small for the service, and became overcharged during the waste of water in
winter."The Memphis Sewers after Four Years9 Use.	11

time to determine their value. Mr. Bogart said " should it prove
the decided success which is believed in and hoped for by many, we
may congratulate ourselves that this has been first accomplished in
the United States." Mr. Croes, who was very active in the discus-
sion said: " The flush-tank is the one feature in the sewers con-
structed at Memphis, which renders the system adopted practica-
ble; " and again, " these details are of so much value to those who
will have to pass judgment on the system as applicable to different
places, that it is hoped that some engineer will examine into them,
and report the facts; " also, " I do not understand that the entire
separation of sewage and storm-water which Mr. Waring advocates,
and which is carried out in Memphis, and recommended for New-
port, Stamford, and other places, has been practised anywhere in
England."

The Local Government Chronicle (England), said, speaking of some
details of the work, that this " can in no way affect the main princi-
ples of the scheme, which, now that it has been found a success, and
now that it has been publicly supported by two such authorities as
Mr. Rawlinson and Mr. Field, certainly deserves, and will probably
receive a fair trial on the part of the Local Boards." M. Lavoinne,
an Engineer-in-Chief of the Ponts et Chausees, familiar with English
practice said: "the propositions of Mr. Waring, setting aside the
systems of sewerage in usage, etc." Again, he recommends trials
"in the new direction indicated by Mr. Waring." M. Lavoinne
wrote me in 1880, that he thought the Memphis system solved the
sewerage problem of Paris. The work since done there has been in
pursuance of this gentleman's suggestion, and is largely due to his
interest in the subject. Mr. Rogers Field, at the meeting of the
Sanitary Institute of Great Britain in 1880, in the discussion of the
Memphis system said: " These conditions are altogether unpreced-
ented, and we can therefore hardly judge'of the works by the rules
applicable in ordinary cases." These expressions seem to me to sug-
gest marked differences from the English Separate System which
had been in use since 1852. These differences should have mani-
fested themselves to any observer who had the least knowledge of
sewerage works.

The statement that English engineers " do not altogether depend "
on the use of automatic flush-tanks might have been made much12	The Memphis Sewers after Four Years' Use.

stronger. Practically they do not depend on them at all. I am con-
fident that when the Memphis works were established, only one Eng-
lish engineer had used them at all on sewers, and that he had used
less than a dozen of them, and in no case as I used them.

The person referred to was not engaged " for the exclusive pur-
pose of looking after the 184 flush-tanks," but almost exclusively for
looking after the pipes by which they are supplied with water. The
tanks are fed by such a very small stream that the very unfit muddy
water supplied has a tendenc}r to silt them up and stop the flow. The
inspector had to open the cocks full way and blow out the silt.

It seems to me that no intelligent person could, after such an ex-
amination of the Memphis work intimate, as this observer does, that
it is now " in exact conformity with English practice."

Not one of the original features of my whole plan has been aban-
doned, except the fresh-air inlet, and this, which I abandoned myself,
was used only on the first few lines. Neither has any one of these
features been modified. As I devised and executed the sewers of
Memphis in 1880, so have they been carried out to this day; and all
of their success is due to the " novel features," there first introduced.

The extent to which the system first used in Memphis has
been, or is about being adopted in this country is sufficiently well
known to those interested in such subjects. A considerable experi-
ment with the system, including improved methods of house-drainage
was made in Paris in 1883, under my direction, and at the cost of
the municipality. This work is carefully described by M. Ernest
Pontzen, Civil Engineer, who was in immediate charge of the work,
and who regulated its details. I translate the following from his
" Conclusions " :—

" The first application of sewerage according to Waring's system,
made in Paris in 1883, in a quarter where all of the unfavorable condi-
tions are combined, has been a complete success.

"The establishments drained by Waring's system leave nothing fur
tlier to be desired in a sanitary point of view, and the ensemble of the
drainage works has not, during the five months it has been in operation
given rise to the least complaint. The water-closets in the court-yards
are no longer offensive, and their presence would not be suspected ; the
conduits of the system have never required any special cleansing; no
deposit has been formed in the collecting sewer in the Rue de Rivoli at
the mouth of the main, and the air in this main, constantly renewed andThe Memphis Sewers after Four Year's Use.

13

passing only over recent matters moving in a rapid current of water,
has no odor.

" The officers of the city and the members of the Municipal Council
more particularly interested in the improvement of the sewerage of
Paris have watched the experiment with interest, and I am permitted
to say that the good services rendered by the combined arrangements
introduced by Mr. Waring contributed largely to the influence which
led the Municipal Council to decide in its session of the 11th of April,
1884, that the preliminary official inquiry which is now to be made, and
which is the prelude of a definitive decision as to the method of
sewerage for Paris, should relate both to the direct discharge of house-
hold wastes into the existing sewers, and to their removal by separate
sewers.

" It seems certain that within a short time the entire suppression of
vaults and movable receptacles for faecal matter will be decreed, as
well those which receive and retain excremental matters as those which
attempt a division, and are intended only to retain tlie solid portions;
and that the immediate removal of all excremental matters and house,
hold liquids will be accomplished by their direct discharge beyond the
limits of the city.

"These substances will be discharged into the sewer; wherever the
condition of the sewers is suitable, they will be sent through the sewer;
that is to say, by special conduits located wherever possible in the inte-
rior of the large sewers, where their immediate delivery into the sewer
itself would not be admissible; these special conduits to deliver into the
sewer as soon as a point is reached where the necessary conditions for
the rapid and complete removal of the discharge of such affluents is
assured.

" This is one of the great advantages of Waring's system of sewerage
that it can as well be established in isolated sections, constituting an
auxiliary and an economical complement of the great system of sewers
suited to receive fresh faecal matter and household waste, as it can, by
itself alone, be extended for the complete drainage of whole quarters,
or of entire cities.

" Whatever may be the extension of a series of sewers according to
Waring's system it retains always, by reason of its exclusion of storm-
water, the great advantage of requiring only small diameters and rea-
sonable inclinations in which the volume of flow undergoes only slight
variations, and for the cleansing of which relatively small quantities of
water suffice.

" The establishment and maintenance of a system of sewers according14

The Sewerage of Keene, N. II.

to Waring's system has therefore in all cases the advantage of being
economical.

" Paris, May, 1884."

the sewerage of keene, n. h.

I made plans for the sewerage of Keene in 1882. The work was
executed in 1882-3 by contract with Drainage Construction Company,
under the immediate personal direction of John Bogart, Esq., C. E.,
of New York. The inspecting engineer employed by the city was
L. M. Muzzey, Esq., C. E., of Boston.

In response to inquiries made by the committee on the sewerage of
Stamford, Conn., the following replies were sent from Keene : —

(1882)	"So far as completed it worked well. No arrangements were
made for carrying off surface water, this took the old channels. . . .

Our town is very flat, our greatest fall being 4 inches in 100 feet, our
lowest fall 1-10 of an inch in 100 feet, and this line was nearly two miles
long. . . .

"We contracted with the Drainage Construction Co., of Boston, and so
far as completed the work done is perfectly satisfactory. . . .

(1883)	"Has worked with perfect success like clock-work. There has
been no trouble with the flush-tanks, the water in them has not frozen."

The following have just been received from the Keene officials: —
Mayor's Office, Keene, N. H., July 17, 1884.
Colonel George E. Waring, Jr. : —

My Dear Sir,— It gives me much pleasure to report to you that the sys-
tem of sewerage completed for this city about one year ago — consisting of
upwards of 61,000 feet of varying sizes — appears to be working very satis-
factorily to our citizens.

There have been already about one hundred and fifty connections,, and
there will probably be as many more made this season. One large tannery
disposes of its waste in the eastern main, which to appearance relieves
Beaver Brook of all its impurities where it runs through the populous part of
the city. I think the city was fortunate in adopting Waring's system. The
pipe is particularly adapted to our slight grades.

It seems to me, also, that the construction of our sewers is as nearly per-
fect as can be, from the fact that no impediments to a steady flow have
been discovered from the beginning, and I have not heard that any one of
the forty-four flush-tanks has failed at any time to perform its duty with
accuracy.

In brief, I think if a vote were to be taken now a large majority of our
citizens would say that our sewerage system, and the manner of its construc-
tion meet with their full approval.	Very truly yours,

H. Kimball, Mayor.The Sewerage of Keene, N. H.

15

Keene, N. H., July 17,1884.

Oolonel George E. Waring, Jr.: —

Dear Sir,— The system of sewerage put in operation in this city by you is
working extremely well. There has been no difficulty nor trouble with it
si nee it was put in last summer. # It meets every want, and no one finds
any objection to it in any respect so far as I know. All persons seem to
sp eak well of it. I think that there could be nothing better.

Very respectfully yours,	Don H. Woodward,

Member of Board of Health.

Keene, N. H., July 16, 1884.

Colonel George E. Waring, Jr.: —

Dear Sir,—I had charge of the public sewers (Waring's System) since
September 1, 1883, and there has not been a single stoppage in any of the
pipes during that time.

During the high water last spring, although the water stood in the man-
holes along the mains nearly to the level of the river below, there was a
good velocity at the bottom in the pipes, and the sewage was carried on to
the outlet and discharged into the rivers, causing no inconvenience along
the lines. This, too, where the sewer has a grade of only 1 :1000. With
such good results I think there will be no need of putting the jet pumps at
the outlets as designed.

The flush-tanks are working perfectly, and taken as a whole the system
ip. a perfect success here, and acknowledged so by all. D. H. Sawyer.

Dr. George B. Twitchell, the most active mover in securing the
execution of this work, says, in concluding a history of the affair: —

"The system has been now, after a year's trial, found to work well, and
to give complete satisfaction, and the people are constantly making connec-
tions with it. The croakers have ceased to find fault, and petitions are
now before the city government for extension into certain streets, and I have
no doubt but that each year there will be calls for further extensions. The
system is working better than its most sanguine friends ever dared hope."

Keene, ]§". H., July 16, 1884.This book is a preservation facsimile produced for
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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