THE IMNPROVDMENT OF THE GOWANUS CANAL
IN BROOKLYNT,
N.Y.
Thesis By
Norman P.
Gerhard,
Course I.
Charles F. Breitzke, Course XI.
Candidates for the Degree of Bachelor of Science.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
BOSTON, MASS.
1906.
CONTENTS.
Introduction.
Part I.
General Description.
Location.
Construction and Data.
Nature of the Locality,
Value of the Property.
Sewerage System.
Appearance and Odors.
Current and Deposits.
Part II.
Investigation of the Sanitary Conditions.
Object.
Sanitary Inspection.
Chemical and Bacteriological Analyses with their
Interpretation.
Summary of Existing Conditions.
Effect of the Canal on the Health of the Community.
Recommendations with Calculation of Quantity to be
Pumped.
Summary.
Part III.
The Remedy.
Nature of the Problem.
Plans for Sewerdng the Locality.
Methods of Pumping Sewage.
Flushing Plans.
The Milwaukee River Flushing Tunnel.
Adoption of Both Sewerage System and Flushing Plan.
Design of the Flushing Works.
Design of the Sewerage System.
DRAWINGS ACCOMPANYING THIS THESiS.
Map of the Gowanus Canal, showing the Present Sewerage System.
Map of the Gowanus Canal, showing the Shone Ejector System.
Plan and Profile showing Pipe Line and Pumping Station for
Flushing the Gowanus Canal.
Design of a Pumping Station for Flushing the Gowanus Canal.
NOTE:
The last drawing was made by Hans W. Gerhard,
Course II, as a problem in Power Station Design.
THE 11PROVElENT OF THE GOWANUS CANAL
IN BROOKLYN, N.Y.
Thesis by
Norman P. Gerhard, Course I and Charles F. Breitzke, Course YT
Candidates for the Degree of Bachelor of Science.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.
BOSTON, MASS.
1906.
Abstract of Thesis.
Part I.
The Gowanus Canal is located in the western part of
Brooklyn, midway between Prospect Park and Upper New York Bay.
The canal is closed at its upper end, and opens at the lower end
into Gowanus Bay, a part of New York Harbor.
The canal was con-
structed about 1860 for two purposes- to drain the marshy section
of the city, which existed at that time, and also to secure a navigable waterway.
The canal affords valuable sites for factories and chemical works, and the locality has become largely a commercial one,
with a thickly populated tenement district adjoining.
On the streets
lying parallel to and on .either side of the canal are two large
intercepting sewers which take all the drainage from the area
above;
but between these streets and the canal, the land was too low and
sewers could not be laid to drain into the intercepting sewers.
Hence these streets were left unsewered, and the sewage and wastes
from the factories and industrial works located here all discharge
into the canal. Furthermore, although the sewerage system is a combined system, these sewers have become too small to take all the
rain water in times of stigrm.
Relief or storm sewers have there-
fore been fenwd-tv-b1-
which carry the surplus of storm wat-
er into the canal.
ning in
built,
These relief sewers have been found to be run-
dry weather.
The result is that the canal has become an open sewer, a
menaue to health, a public nuisance and a disgrace to the city.
Not only this, but the canal is constantly filling up and requires
a considerable expenditure of money for dredging.
The problem then is to select and develop some method
for improving the condition of the canal. Before doing so, it is
7o0133
necessary to understand the unsanitary condition of the canal.
Part II.
INVESTIGATION OF TKE SANITARY CONDITIONS.
This portion -of our thesis was undertaken to learn as
much as practicable within a limitedtime regarding the character of
the water now filling the Gowanus Canal, and the nature of the
pollution entering it.
A sanitary inspection was made, representative samples
of the water in various parts of the canal were taken, and two serries of chemical and bacteriological analyses were carried out.
The results and conclusions are briefly as follows.
The
canal is highly polluted with house drainage and with industrial
wastes.
The proportion of the latter, however, is small when com-
pared with the great amount of sewage contributed by the city sewers
which appear to be the seat of the nuisance.
The heavier particles
of the sewage$ settle out at once forming banks in front of the
outlets of the sewers.
The light, flocculent matter moves up and
down with the tide and is gradually deposited, silting up the other
portions of the canal.
The water being devoid of free oxygen, this
sludge undergoes putrefactive decomposition.
650
A te:mperature of only
to 700 F. is sufficient to cause the sludge to give off putrid
gases,
and inasmuch as the average temperature of the canal,
the winter,
is
70 0 F.
it
is
even in
easily seen why the canal is a nuisance
the whole year round.
In
regard to the character of the water which now fills
the canal, we can best explain its nature by comparing it
sewage that pollutes it.
with the
At the head of the canal the water is .7
sewage and%3 harbor water.
canal is approximately .3k.
The average sewage density for the whole
The amount of organic matter present
is consequently very large, and, disregarding that in the sludge, to
destroy it would require an amount of oxygen equivalent to that
contained in 45,000,000 cu.ft.
of East River water, which our analy-
ses showed to be 77% saturated.
The canal water is about 50 times as much polluted as that
in the* part of the harbor adjoining its outlet.
The ebb and flow
of the tide do very little toward renewing the water in the canal.
Calculations of the amount of water to be pumped to render
the canal innocuous were made from the results obtained by chemical analys&s and gagings of the flow in
of the canal.
the large sewer at the head
The amount needed to render innocuous the incoming
sewage was.found to be 12,000,000 cu.ft.
per day.
The amount neces-
sary to be pumped daily, in order to flush out the present contents
in 30 days, was found to be 2,000,000 cu.ft.
Therefore if flushing alone were resorted to, 14,000,000
cu.ft. per day would have to be pumped.
If the canal district is
first to be sewered, only 2,000,000 cu.ft. per day-would be necessary.
Part III.
THE REMEDY.
Twp objects must be secured: First, the canal must be made
clear and odorless; second, it must be maintained as a navigable
water way.
The methods df dealing with the problem come under two
heads,- those which involve some method of flushing the canal, and
those involving a sewerage system for the locality.
Since the locality is already built up, the only recourse
is to sewer those streets which have been left unsewered, drain the
to collecting points and there lift
intercepting sewers,
bor.
the sewage to the level of the
through which it may be carried out to the har-
By making these collecting stations sufficiently numerous, it
is possible to secure good grades without too depp cutting.
The methods which may be adopted for pumping or lifting
the sewage may be classified as follows:
1. Pumping systems.
2.
Pneumatic systems.
3. Hydro-pneumatic syste
Steam pumps and pumps operated by gas engines would be uneconomical because a complete plant would be required at each station.
Electricity is a better source of power since it may be gen-
erated at a central station, and because the action of the pumps
could be made automatic.
It cannot always be relied on, however,
and there are several practical objections to the use of electrically driven centrifugal pumps.
Under pneumatic systems are included the Liernur and Berlier systems of sewerage.
American cities.
Neither one is applicable in the case of
The hydro-pneumatic systems are applications of
compressed air to raising sewage in the water carriage system.
The
Shone ejector system is particularly well adapted for the locality
with which we are dealing.
The sewage is collected in cast iron
vessels from which it is automatically forced by means of compressed
air to the intercepting sewers.
The power is generated at a central
station, and if the system is well designed, it is very economical.
The use of Shone ejectors and compressed air therefore presents
marked advanatges over electrical pumps.
Various plans for flushing the canal have been suggested.
The only feasible one is to pump water from the harbor into the canal.
This method was adopted in the city of Milwaukee for flushing
the Milwaukee River, and was also suggested for flushing the North
and South Branches of the Chicago River.
plan lie not only in the large first
ing tunnel, but chiefly in
The disadvantages of the
cost of pumping plant and flush
the great annual expense of operation.
A system of sewerage is the only proper and sanitary meas-
ure to adopt.
But some method must be employed to remove the pres-
ent contents of the canal.
After the sewerage system has been in-
stalled, the canal should be thoroughly dredged.
The liquid con-
tents should be made clear and innocuous by diluting with a sufficient quantity of harbor water.
A combination of the sewerage and
flushing plans is therefore advisable.
The object of the flushing is twofold,- to remove the
present contents of the canal and to maintain a circulation thereafter.
The quantity to be pumped has already been determined.
If pumps of a capacity of 2,000,000 cu/ft. per day are
selected, these if run continuously would secure the desired dilution within 30 days.
sec.
The rate of pumping would be 23.2 cu.ft. per
A pipe line 30" in diameter would then be required.
This
would be laid along Degraw Street, the best available route from the
head of the canal to the harbor.
elevation.
The route lies over a hill 40' in
It will be necessary to pump to the top of the hill, and
the total head is about 45'.
From there the water will flow by
gravity through a 24" pipe into the canal.
best adapted in this case.
Centrifugal pumps are
The pumping station woul d be located at
the foot of Degraw Street, and the intake could be run out to the
end of a pier, in orderr to insure a good quality of water.
The separate system of sewerage is to be adopted.
section to be sewered was divided into five drainage areas.
The
All the
sewers in each district were drained to one point at which the ejector stations are)located.
Compressed air is produced at one cent-
ral station, from which two air mains lead to the several ejector
stations.
Ejectors need not be in duplicate, as oberflows are pro-
vided from each collecting manhole to the canal.
An interceptor
must be provided to take the dry weather flow in the storm sewers,
as this should no longer be allowed to enter the canal. All house
drains should be disconnected from the existing sewers which discharge into the canal, and these should be used only for storm water.
INTRODUCTION.
The object of this thesis is to investigate the
sanitary conditions of the Gowanus Canal in the Borough of
Brooklyn, City of New York, and to suggest a plan for remedying the nuisance which now exists.
The thesis is divided into three parts.
gives a general description.
Part II
Part I
deals with the chemical
and biological side of the problem, and was written by C. F.
Breitzke.
Part III is a discussion of the methods which might
be applied to remedy the conditions, and was written by N. P.
Gerhard.
We wish here to express our thanks to the following
persons for valuable assistance in the preparation of this
thesis:
to Dr. Jackson of the Mt.Prospect Laboratory in
Brooklyn, N.Y.;
to Earle '.
Phelps, for valuable assistance
in the interpretation of the analyses; to Hans W. Gerhard, for
photographs and a detail plan of the pumping station;
to Aug-
ust E. Hansen, for the collection of samples; and to our several professors and instructors.
PART I.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Location.
The Gowanus Canal is located in the western part of
the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York, midway between
Prospect Park and Upper New York Bay.
The canal is closed at
its upper end, and opens at the lower end into Gowanus Bay,
a part of New York Harbor.
Its position is best seen by a
study of the U.S.Geological Survey map accompanying this thesis
Construction and Data.
Originally this portion of Brooklyn contained a
stream known as Gowanus Creek.
Its shores were everywhere
surrounded by great salt marshes, formed by the combined action of the tide and the wash from the surrounding upland.
This inlet was then navigable at all stages of the tide.
Since that time, the marshes have been entirely filled in,
mainly from gravel knolls which were out down in the western
part of the city.
The original shore line in 1776, and the
present outline of the canal,
map.
are shown on the accompanying
A glance at the topographical map shows that the land
slopes down towards the canal on the north, east, and west,
while on the south it is flat, this being made land.
For the
length of a block on either side of the canal, the ground is
practically level.
The act authorizing the construction of the canal
was passed in 1849.
The original cost of construction was
452,131, and this was assessed on the portion of the city
benefited.
The lateral basins provided for were to be built
by private enterprise.
The date of completion was somewhere
in the neighborhood of 1860.
The canal was constructed with two objects in view.
One was to drain this section of the city, including an area
of about 1700 acres, chiefly marshes,
and to make them fit
for agricultural use and building purposes.
was to make a navigable waterway for all
craft,
The other object
river and coasting
such as sloops and sohooners of light draft, tow-boats
and barges.
The length of the main canal is about 6,575 feet,
and the lateral basins are approximately 3,600 feet in length.
The total length is therefore about 10,175 feet, or somewhat
less than two miles.
Its legal width is 100 feet.
The aver"
age depth is 10 feet below mean low water, but the variations
in depth are considerable.
At the head, it is about 5 feet
deep, and it grows gradually deeper as Hamilton Avenue is
proached.
ap-
The total capacity of the canal at mean low water
is approximately 10,000,000 cubic feet.
The average high
tide was found by recent determihations to be about 1 1/2 inches at the head of the canal over that at the foot of Harrison Street at the East River.
The following figures are ta-
ken from the U.S.Coast Survey Tide Tables:
Mean low water for New York
2.2'
below mean sea level.
l4ximum high water
5.7'
above mean low water.
Minimum low water
1.2'
below mean low water.
The rise and fall of the tides averages 5 feet, and the ex"
treme variations are about 7 feet.
The level of the ground
water for Brooklyn, as caused by rains and held by impervious
ground, is at an elevation of about 11 feet above high tide.
L
A
O vso+eo+-O ,
SlLT BASIN AT HEAD OF CANAL.
LOOKING NORTH FROM UNION STREET BRIDGE.
U$-*f!itft~-9 11 wiP M~
LOOKING SOUTH FROM UNION STREET BRIDGE.
LOOKING NORTH FROM CARROLL STREET BRIDGE.
CARROLL STREET BRIDGE.
IC,
e
/
I
f
-
FIFTH STREET LATERAL BASIN.
......
-Nature of the Locality.
The locality is chiefly a commercial one and consists largely of factories and yards.
Certain portions toward
the lower end and on the eastern side are not yet built up,
and there remain numerous empty lots.
The factories and yards
extend the entire length of the canal, and for the distance
of a block on either side.
The various classes are ranged in
order of area covered, as follows:-.
Gas companies
644,000 sq.ft. Ice companies
Coal and wood
471,000
"
Oil
77,000
Chemical works 268,000
"
Stone yards
57,000
Power houses
250,000
"
Machine shops and
foundries
55,000
Lumber yards
240,000
"
Junk yards
50,000
Building mat' s207,000
"
Salt works
44,000
185,000
"
City dumps
28,000
ls16,000
"
Storage
warehouses
25,000
Factories
Asphalt and
paving mat'
105,000 sqoft.
n
These areas were roughly computed from a city atlas.
Immediately adjoining this business section on either side of the canal is a thickly populated tenement distr
rict.
Gradually as the distance from the canal increases,
more and more houses are found, and the better residence
sections are found within five blocks on either side.
The accompanying photographs give a general idea of
the nature of the locality.
Value of the Property.
The assessed value of the land fronting the canal
is $ 3,315,000.
The canal enables the abuttors to easily ob-
tain supplies of coal, brick, lumber, oil, etc., from schooners and canal boats towed up the canal by tugs.
There is no
railroad in this part of the city, and the canal is therefore
a great convenience.
The amount of traffic on the canal is shown by the
following record:
Bridge
Hamilton Avenue
Ninth Street
Third Street
Union Street
Vessels
Average of daily
per year per day
openings.
26,680
24,548
14,667
7,227
87
80
48
24
36.2
27.7
19.6
8.8
Channel
depth.
12'
11'
9'
8'
Five bridges span the canal at the main thoroughfares.
All four of the bridges mentioned in the above table
have recently been replaced by basculr bridges of the newest
type, and are electrically operated.
is a slide bridge.
At Carroll Street, there
There is thus practically no obstruction
offered to traffic by the canal.
Sewerage System.
By an act of the Legislature, passed April 15, 1857,
the Board of Commissioners for the construction of Water Works
was authorized to prepare plans for a system of sewerage for
the City of Brooklyn, and to proceed with the construction of
sewers.
Julius W. Adams, C.E., was chosen as chief engineer,
and the plans of the sewerage districts, as now established,
are the results of his labors.
Previous to 1857 the total length of existing sewers in Brooklyn was 5 1/2 miles.
These sewers had evidently
been built to relieve certain depressed portions of the city
of storm water.
age.
They were not built to receive house drain-a
This condition of things naturally continued until the
introduction of water into the city made a change for the
better practicable as well as necessary.
With the single exception of Chicago, Brooklyn was
the first city In
of sewerage.
this country to undertake a complete system
Therefore, when the sewerage system was planned,
the engineer in charge was dependent entirely upon English
experiments and experience for data in regard to the amounts
of sewage per dwelling house, or per acre, to be provided for,
as well as for the amount of rainfall from any given storm
which reaches a sewer within a giVen time.
The sizes of sewers were determined mainly by the
extremes of rainfall,
small item in
the household sewage becoming a very
comparison.
Mr. Adams assumed a rainfall of
one inch per hour as the maximum rain to be provided for.
One half of this was regarded as reaching the sewers.
In all
cases, therefore, dimensions were calculated on a capacity to
discharge when running half full,
the rain falling at the
rate of one inch per hour per acre drained.
A minimum size
of 12" pipe was decided upon.
The grade of main sewers was fixed at 13 feet below
the street grade.
The laterals were laid one foot higher,
12 feet below street grade,
of course,
where they join the mains.
or
This,
refers to the bottom or invert of the sewers.
Julius Adams divided the city into four divisions,
the division discharging into Gowanus Creek being known as
the Southern Division.
It coVered an area of 2,000 acres.
/0.
He foresaw that the sewage from this section, unless it could
be effectually prevented from discharging into the creek,
would ere long cause it to become a deadly nuisance.
To quote
from his report of March 8, 1859:
" It would be unsafe to establish a system of drainage, based upon the supposition that this creek would preserve
itself open, because it has hitherto done so: all experience
forbids this conclusion.
alone,
The mere rise and fall of the tide
after the meadow lands above are filled in,
keep it open.....
will not
The velocity of the ebb will not be suffic-
ient to prevent the sinking, even
of the lighter particles
of the sewage..... Hence, without recourse to dredging or
flushing, the creek will inevitably fill up, and if not preserved from the polluting effects of the sewage, will gradually shoal, and become in process of time, a filthy, stagnant
pool, the fruitful source of disease to the neighborhood."
Inasmuch as Gowanus Creek opened into a shallow bay
exposed for many miles to the direct action of the prevailing
winds in the summer months, the outlets of the sewer were
eventually removed beyond the limits of Gowanus Bay by constructing one intercepting sewer on the west side of the
creek, following along its bank from Bond Street to Lorraine
Street, and thence down Wolcott Street to Red Hook Point; and
another on the east side extending along Third Avenue to 49th
Street,
to discharge below the point of Gowanus Bay.
As essential to the proper operation of both of
these intercepting sewers, which from necessity had but slight
descent, provision was made in the original plan for flush-
ing them at low tide.
This was to be done by the introduction
of a tide gate and a sluice in the canal just below Bond St.,
which would interfere in no sense with the commercial interests on the canal.
Nothing of the kind was done, however,
because there was no authority to compel it against the wishes
of the property holders.
As has already been stated, the dimensions of the
sewers were established from a formula determined by experience in London, where the rains are more continuous and drizzling, and there are not so many sudden, heavy showers as here.
Besides, the records of rainfall were almost always for 24
Such data are useless in determining the discharge of
hours.
sewers when the rain fall
period of time.
has to be got rid of within a brief
It was supposed that but one half of the
rainfall would reach the sewer within the time of its fall,
as a large part would be diverted by cisterns and cesspools.
With the building up of the city, cisterns were discarded,
roofs and the backyards of houses were connected with house
sewers, and paved streets with frequent catchbasins were added to the drainage area.
These have motified materially the
element of time in which the rainfall is discharged into the
sewers.
Could the future of Brooklyn have been foreseen at
the start, a great deal might have been done in fixing the
grades and lines of the streets so as to facilitate drainage
and sewerage.
In many localities, the streets were graded
without any regard to the supplementary value for storm drainage.
Certain basins or pockets were therefore found where
/2.
Such
the rainwater could not run off through the gutters.
localities have come to be known as " flooded districts."
Innumerable damage suits were brought against the city owing
to the backing up of sewage during storms into houses located
in these districts.
The area adjoining the Gowanus Canal is
one of these so-called flooded districts.
The levels of the city sewers at the points of discharge into the East River were fixed at low tide.
The ef-
fect of the high tide in sealing the outlets, with the occurrence at the same time of heavy storms, interrupted the prompt
discharge of the water and gorged the sewers at or near these
points.
The resulting incapacity of the sewers made storm
sewers necessary.
was practically all
Inasmuch as the overflow from storm sewers
rainfall, an act was passed by the State
Legislature in 1888 permitting the discharge of those sewers
into the Gowanus Canal.
In 1892, a 15 foot main relief sewer
which intercepts all the storm water in the mains draining
that portion of Brooklyn lying south of Greene Avenue was
brought down to the head of the Gowanus Canal at Butler Street
and completed.
acres.
The territory drained comprises about 2,000
Nothing but storm water was intended to enter this
relief sewer; but, whether by accident or design, it was found
flowing during dry weather.
It will be shown in the second
part of this thesis that the flow is household sewage.
In addition the following storm overflows have also
been constructed:
78" overflow from Nevins Street at the head of the canal.
J3.
6o" overflow from Bond Street at the head of the canal.
42" storm sewer on Douglass Street.
90" storm sewer on Degraw Street discharging through a
silt basin.
78" overflow from Third Avenue main sewer discharging at
Second Avenue.
72" overflow from Bond Street main sewer discharging at
foot of Bond Street.
All of these sewers bring down more or less diluted
sewage and street washings during times of storm. The contents
of the canal are of the vilest sort.
Practically all the in"
dustrial plants on the streets adjoining the canal discharge
directly into it.
The following ordinary sewers empty into
the canal:
18" sewer on Sackett Street.
18" sewer on President Street.
12" sewer on Carroll Street.
12" sewer on Ninth Street.
12" sewer on Hamilton Avenue.
48" sewer on Grinnell Street.
With the above few exceptions, the streets which
terminate at the canal have been left unsewered.
The reason
given is that there was not sufficient grade to drain the sewers into the mains in the streets running parallel and on
either side of the canal.
A discussion of the unsanitary con-
ditions resulting will be given in deatail in the second part
of this thesis.
Suffice it here to say, that the city is
probably the chief offender.
/4.
Appearance and Odors.
The surface of the water in the canal is covered
with a layer of oil, coal dust and scum.
Gases are constant-
ly seen bubbling up through the water, especially at the upper
end of the canal.
In the summer time the stench at the canal
is unbearable, and it is noticed at all times a block away.
On certain days not only the immediate locality but also large
sections of the city on the north, west, and east, according
to the direction of the wind, are seriously affected.
The
section on the west was formerly a handsome residence district,
but owing to this annoyance property has steadily declined in
value in the past twenty five years.
Current and Deposits.
The canal is constantly filling up and a constant
expenditure of money is required for dredging.
The importance
of this factor is shown by the following figures on the cost
of dredging, taken from various reports:
$ 2,500.00
250.00
1875
550' west and 500' east of Bond Street
At Third Street bridge
1876
No dredging.
1877
Gowanus Canal.
1878
Gowanus Canal at various bridges.
"
"
" Sackett Street.
1,995.00
130.00
1879
Gowanus Canal at various bridges.
S
n
"
localities.
1,995.00
513.00
1880
Gowanus Canal.
1,019.70
325.00
1881-1884 No records.
1885
From Douglass Street ( 7' at low water )
to Hamilton Ave. ( 12' at low water ) 16,450.00
1886-1893 No records.
1894
From Butler Street to Union Street.
1895
Entire length and width.
Soundings.
1896
Dredging Gowanus Canal.
$ 2,980.00
7,527.00
37.75
990.00
1997-1901 No reports available.
1902
Dredging.
Engineering Expenses.
Inspection.
5,051.00
106.25
222.50
Total of all available records,
$ 42,092.20
At present barges at the upper end of the canal are
aground at low tide.
The depth of the canal is inadequate at
this time for the passage of fireboats.
The nature of the deposits and their cause will be
dealt with in the second portioA of this thesis.
The mere rise and fall of the tide has no purifying
effect whatever, and it does not prevent the filling up of
the canal with the heavier portions of the sewage.
Only after
heavy rainstorms, when a large amount of water is discharged
from the storm sewers, is there any current noticeable.
An
attempt was made to gage the flow of the canal by means of a
Price elctric current meter, but the flow was not strong enough to turn the meter.
The Gowanus Canal, in its present unsanitary condition is a nuisance and a burden to the city.
is necessary.
Immediate relief
/6.
PART II.
INVESTIGATION OF THE SANITARY CONDITIONS.
This portion of our thesis was undertaken to learn
as much as practicable within a limited time regarding the
character of the water now filling the Gowanus Canal and the
nature of the pollution now entering it.
In a general way all this work has been undertaken
to answer as clearly as possible the following questions:
1.
Are all the odors due to the canal or are they due to
manufacturing plants along the sides ?
What is
2.
canal ?
the character of the water which now fills
What is
the
the amount of organic matter present and the
amount of oxygen necessary to destroy it ?
What is the amount
of the waste products which are putrescible or which induce
putrescibility ?
Are there any chemical wastes which inhibit
the reduction or oxidation of these putrescible substances ?
What is the amount of those substances which appear to be indifferent to chemical changes but which silt up the canal ?
3.
What is the character of the entering pollution from the
factories ?
lution,4.
Which is the larger factor in bringing about pol-
industrial wastes or sewage ?
How badly is the canal polluted ?
How does the canal
water compare with unpolluted sea water ?
with the water in
let
5.
How does it
that part of the harbor adjoining its
compare
out-
?
Do the ebb and flow of the tide renew the water in the
can&l, or does much of this water flow back and forth ?
/Z
6.
Is the water continually active in digesting or oxidizing
and capable of rendering innocuous the.pollution that comes
into it ?
the effect upon the health of the conr-mnity ?
7.
What is
8.
What is the proportion of sewage,
water in
what is
the canal; that is,
fresh water and salt
the sewage density or the
quantity of sewage per cubic foot of water ?
9.
What quantity of East River water would be required to
sufficiently dilute the daily discharge ?
What quantity will
be required to flush out the present contents of the canal if
dredging it
first
resorted, to ?
This portion of bur thesis consists of five parts:1.
The sanitary inspection.
2.
Chemical and bacteriological analyses with their inter-
pretation.
3.
Summary of existing conditions.
4.
The effect of the canal on the health of the community.
5.
Recommendations with calculation of the water to be pumped.
6.
Brief summary with answers to questions.
THE SANITARY INSPECTION.
An inspection,
was made,
as careful as the time would permit,
especial attention being paid to the incoming sewers
and resulting conditions.
The canal in its present state is
exceedingly obnoxious, the stench even in the winter time being very disagreeable.
The water is black, warm and foul.
No
fish have been caught in
the canal for many years.
practically no current.
The appearance of the surface and bul-
There is
/8
warks is disgusting, especially near the sewer outlets.
The entire surface of the canal is literally covered
with scum.
In the upper portion this is characteristicodomes-
tic sewage material such as grease and slime:, partially disintegrated human faeces and other organic matter.
The lower
portion of the canal from the Bond Street sewer outlet to Gowanus Bay is covered with unsightly patches of floating rubbish which have been accumulated by the action of the tug
boats, wind and tide.
These patches consist largely of brown
and yellow oily substances, which spread out in thick layers
on the water surface,seem to gather up all the other floating
debris such as waste paper, f ecal matter, melon rinds, banana
skins, kitchen refuse, tin cans, broken boxes, coal dust and
other matter.
The water throughout the canal is exceedingly turbid, especially at the upper end.
The turbidity is so great
that the water is of a light grey color.
This color darkens
however, and the turbidity becomes less as the outlet is neared.
In no place in the canal is it possible to see the oar
blades when out in a row boat.
Practically all the plants along the canal discharge
directly into it, but the amount of sewage from these is small
when compared with that contributed by the city sewers.
Not
only is the discharge of the sewers greater than that of the
factories, but its amount and its offensive character is shown
by the bad condition of that part of the canal into which it
discharges.
this thdsis.
nthat
ll the
severs
These have all been named in the first part of
We wish, however, to call attention to the fact
,o' .alled
" sto
/9.
that all the so called " storm sewers " in dry weather discharge
concentrated sewage, as the chemical analyses will show.
The
chief offender, however, is the 15' relief sewer at the head
of the canal.
During the quieter hours of the day the depth
of the dry weather flow in this sewer is about six inches.
This is continually bringing down waste paper, hair and other
sewage stuff..
White scum covers the water surface in front
of its outlet.
This is blackened by the hydrogen sulphide from
the putrefaction of the sludge which has accumulated at the
bottom of the canal at that point.
Slaughter houses drain in-
to this sewer, for at times large quantities of blood are discharged.
On wash days suds are in abundance.
A large silt
basin is provided at the head of the
canal to retain the deposit of solid matter and detritus carried down in
the storm sewers during heavy rains.
graph of the silt
thesis.
basin is
shown in the first
The settling bawin, however,
coarse heavy material.
silts up the canal.
A photo-
part of this
intercepts only the
The finer material passes through and
In October the canal was dredged from
Union Street to the head end.
By February the deposit in
front of the outlets filled up this section of the canal to
approximately five feet below mean low water.
top of this bank was only about 3'
below.
In April the
The conditions are
such that at low tide all the canal boats are aground in this
portion of the canal.
at all
Black and shiny sludge has accumulated
the outfalls.
The continuous discharge of the Bond Street-sewer
was easily detected by means of the brown and yellow oily and
20.
aromatic substance already referred to.
This sewer has two
36" outlets.
,Among the more conspicuous of the private sewers are
those of the gas works, which continually discharge a yellow
brown liquor.
There are several of these gas plants.
discharge outlets are from 8"
full.
It
is
Their
to 12" in diamnter and discharge
to this doubtless that the tarry incrustation of
the posts and bulwarks of the canal is
due.
Much hot water is discharged into the canal.
cold weather this causes a heavy fog to hqng over it.
In
The
large amount of vapor given off and the constant bubbling up
of gases makes the canal look boiling hot.
In February the
temperature of the water was 650F. at the head of the canal.
This gradually became higher on going down the canal, until
at Carroll Street it became 700*
From here to the First Street
Basin, the temperature rapidly became higher until 900 F. was
reached.
70 0 7.
On going down the canal, this soon dropped again to
and then gradually diminished until at the entrance to
the bay it
became 44°F.
In April the temperatures were a lit-
tle higher, but seemed to vary in the same way.
The semi-liquid layer of sludge at the bottom requires merely such a rise of temperature to cause the developement of gases, which bubble up in practically the whole
length of the canal.
lent, that it
At the head end the bubbling is so vio-
seems as though many bubbles were combined.
Black solid matter arises to the surface and,
burden of gas, again disappears from view.
the white scum is blackened and the smell is
discharging its
At the head end
rank, becoming
21.
unbearable when the water is stirred up by the tug boats.
To sum up: the canal is in a very bad condition.
It is an open sewer and in its present state fulfils very well
the definition 6f a septic tank.
There is practically no cur-
rent and the tide exerts no flushing effect whatever.
Of the
plants along the canal, the gas works are doubtless the chief
offenders.
The trouble, however, is due largely to the dis-
charge from the city sewers, which not only make the canal the
detestable nuisance that it is, but by both discharging into
a body of quiet water and by the precipitation of sewage by
sea water, cause heavy deposits to be formed.
The canal water
being stagnant and devoid of oxygen, these putrefy and are the
seat of the nuisance.
These conclusions are borne out by the
chemical and bacteriological analyses.
CHEMICAL AND BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSES.
Before taking up the regular amalytical work, it was
thought best to ascertain from a few preliminary samples from
various portions of the canal the character of the water to be
analysed.
Two of these samples, one taken at the Union Street
bridge near the head of the canal, and the other at the Ninth
Street bridge near the lower end, gave interesting results.
The first was strongly indicative of sewage, the other of industrial wastes.
Tests were made for acidity.
The first was
found to be neutral to litmus, acid to phenothalin, and alkaline to methyl orange.
The other, although neutral to litmus,
was acid to both phenothalin and methyl orange.
c44eidy
Both were de-
22.
cidedly turbid and had much matter in suspension.
The behav-
iour on evaporation on the steam bath and on ignition also deserves attention.
The first
blackened readily on ignition and
gave off a strong sewage odor; the second on the bath gave off
an acetic acid odor; on ignition the solid matter decrepitated
and the odor was at first leathery, then like fertilizer, and
finally very offensive.
The substance burned with great dif-
ficulty, indicating vegetable carbon.
Both samples contained
high chlorine and sulp4iates) the second, however, containing
them in much greater proportions than the first.
From these and other samples, it was found that the
canal water was well mixed with sewage and industrial wastes.
Pollution by the gas plants was particularly evident, both
from the odor of the water, and from the color and behaviour
of the precipitate formed on neslerizakion.
This, instead of
being of the reddish color characteristic of ammonia, was a
heavy, curdy precipitate, canary yellow in color, the reaction
indicating amines.
On consultation with Prof. Winslow and Mr. Phelps,
it was decided in the regular series of analyses to make the
following five tests chemically:
oxygen consumed; total org-
anic nitrogen; free ammonia; dissolved oxygen;and chlorine.
From ratios of these five in sea water and sewage,
we have attempted to determine the degree of pollution of the
canal.
By the advice of Dr. Jackson, the test for turbidity
was added to the list.
Method of Taking Samples.
In obtaining samples care was taken to choose representative points along the canal and to guard against acci-
23.
dental or abnormal aonditions.
The samples were taken from a
row boat at different depths and at different points in a
cross section of the canal.
This was done by letting up and
dowh a large bottle with a double perforated stopper while
rowing across the canal.
The contents of the bottle were then
emptied into a pail and a liter bottle was gilled from the
mixture.
This method gave a sample which was fairly represent-
ative of the cross section of the canal from which it was taken.
As soon as the series for the entire canal was thus
obtained, they were immediately taken to the Mt. Prospect Lab"
oratory which was within twenty minutes ride from the canal.
The bacteriological analysis was attended to at once,
and the chemical analysis as soon as possible.
The samples
were thoroughly shaken and every effort was made to keep all
the solid matter in suspension while the proportions were being taken for the various determinations.
Methods of Bacteriological Analysis.
The media used for this work were standard media,
made according to the procedure established by the Uommittee
on Standard Methods of the American Public Health Association.
The determinations were made for total count per cc. by plating on gelatine at 20 C., body temperature count on litmus
lactose agar at 37eC., and tests on gas production, the lqtter
being the only tests for B.Coli considered necessary.
In
plating two dilutions one to 1000 and 1 to 10,000 respectively
were made, the final count being based on the dilution giving
24.
the more representative count.
In
the first series of analyses, use was made of
the method of direct inoculation of one cc. of the canal water into the Smith fermentation tubes, but in a second series
this method was abandoned in favor of Dr. Jackson's new bile
media.
This medium is very easily prepared and posesses many
advantages over the Smith medium.
be-published.
account of it
An account of it will soon
With Dr. Jackson's consent, however, a brief
will be given here.
The preparation is
as follows:
Bile from the
slaughter house is sterilized at 15 pounds pressure while still
fresh.
In its raw state the bile is ropy and stringy.
The
steriliztion process makes it perfectly liquid and prevents
it
from becoming acid.
When ready for use it
is
strained
through a cloth, one per cent of lactose added, and then resterilized.
No peptone is required.
It seems to be a medium particularly adapted for
B.Coli tests.
It not only prevents the growth of those organ-
isms which in the Smith media are so prone to outgrow the Colon bacillus,
but, so far as Dr. Jackson can ascertain, it
gives no positive test with any of the other gas producers.
Thus a positive test with these media is sufficient.
With
badly contaminated waters it is almost impossible to get posi =
tive tests for B.Coli with the Smith tube, but yet we know
that the Colon bacillus is present.
With the bile media, how-
ever, B.Coli can be obtained not only from slightly contamine
ated waters, but also from concentrated sewage.
Whereas the
Smith gives 60% of poor results, the bile media has given less
25.
then 10%.
This medium must be made from fresh slaughter house
bile.
Stale bile becomes acid, and evaporated or incinerated
bile will not work.
Inasmuch as it contains no peptone, the
bile medium is hot only easier to make but is also cheaper
than the Smith.
B.Coli Tests.- In the fermentation tubes 25% - 70% gas was
considered indicative of the Colon bacillus and a positive
record was made if the other tests were favorable; i.e., if
the proportion of COz fell within the right limit.
This limit
was from 25% ~ 40% absorption by caustic.
,Methods of Chemical and Physical Analyses.
Oxygen Consumed.-
For the determination of oxygen consumed
10 cc. of the sample were diluted with 100 cc. of redistilled
water.
To this were added 8 cc.
of sulphuric acid ( 1:3 ).
This was poured into a casserole and about 10 cc. of approximately one hundredth normal potassium permanganate solution
were added.
This was heated quickly to a boil and boiled ex-
actly 5 minutes, removed from the flame and allowed to cool 1
minute.
The excess of permanganate was then used up by tit-
rating against one hundredth normal oxalic acid.
To get the
strength of the permanganate solution, a blank determination
with carbonaceous free water was carried through.
Every ef-
fort was made to have all the determinations conducted with
the greatest uniformity throughout.
Total Organic Nitrogen.-
The total organic nitrogen was de-
termined by the Kjeldahl Process as follows:
25 cc. of the
26.
canal water were digested with 10 cc.
acid until colorless or white.
of strongest sulphuric
This was-then made up to 200
cc. with redistilled water, and 1/4 of this taken for distillation.
The distillate was made up to 200 cc.
taken for neslerization.
and 50 cc.
were
Inasmuch as the sulphuric acid used
was not free from nitrogen a blank had to be run and a correction applied.
Another correction for free ammonia was made.
Free Ammonia.lerization.
The' free ammonia was determined by direct nes-
One cc.
of 10
copper sulphate solution was added
to 100 cc. of canal water in a short Nesler tube and the two
were mixed thoroughly.
Then one cc. of strong caustic was
added and the liquids again thoroughly mixed.
The precipit-
ate formed was allowed to settle, and the colorless supernatant liquid was poured off into a beaker.
20 cc. of this were
diluted to 100 cc. with ammonia free water, and 50 cc. of this
was used for neslerization.
This method gives the reading in
parts per million directly.
The figure in each case represents the volume of
standard ammonium chloride solution required to develop the
same intensity of color when diluted to 50 cc.
with ammonia
free water and treated with the usual amount of Nesler reagent:
i.e., the color recorded as one, represents the color developed by the neslerization of 1 Cc. standard ammonium chloride
solution diluted to 50 cc. with ammonia free water, or in other
words, by 50 cc. of a solution which contains ammonium chloride equivalent to 1/100 of a mm. of nitrogen.
27.
Dissolved Oxygen.The apparatus used was one hastily constructed for
the purpose.
It was made as .follows:
The object was to fasten together a large gallon bottie and a small one, and to have the arrangement such that the
small one could be readily removed after a sample was taken
and another put in its place.
Tape was wound around the mid-
dle of the large bottle to furnish a grip for the wire with
which a wooden platform was fastened to the bottle.
In this
there was a small cylindrical hole close to the inner edge,
which, together with a piece of wire forming a loop around its
neck and then passing around the larger bottle, held the sample
bottle in place.
The outer edge of the platform was supported
by wires connected to the top and to the bottom of the large
bottle.
By means of more wire a weight was attached.
Both bottles were provided with temporary stoppers
of double perforqtion and in both cases a glass tube extended
through one hole of the stopper to the bottom of the bottle,
and a short glass tube entered the hole of the stopper but did
not project into the bottle.
A short tube of the sample bot+
tle was connected with the long tube of the larger bottle.
A piece of rubber tubing was connected with the short tube of
the large bottle.
In the taking of the samples the apparatus
was immersed, and by allowing air to escape from the large
bottle through the tube which came to the surface, enough water was allowed to enter the large bottle to make sure that the
water in the smaller bottle was changed several times.
In
28.
making the determinations due care was exercised to prevent any
minute bubbles of air being retained by the water which was
made the subject of examination.
The stopper wYs removed and 1 cc.
of manganous sul-
phate solution was added with a pipette having a long capillary point reaching to the bottom of the bottle and in the
same way 1 cc. of potassium iodide was then added.
The glass
stopper was then inserted in such a way as to leave no bubbles
of air and the contents of the bottle were then shaken and
mixed.
The precipitate was allowed to settle, and strong hy-
drochloric acid was added with another pipette, the stopper
again inserted, and the contents mixed.
Those samples showing
a yellow or brownish color were then taken to the laboratory
and titrated with sodium thiosulphate solution to a faint yellow
color.
~4 A drop of starch solution was then added, and the
titration continued until the blue color disappeared.
Results were then calculated, allowance being made
for thd water displaced by the reagents, and the results were
expressed as cubic centimeters of oxygen per liter.
Chlorine.-
The chlorine determinations were made by the or-
dinary standard process, by titration with silver nitrate soluticn.
Five cc. of the canal water were diluted to 50 cc.
with redistilled water.
The indicator employed was potassium
chromate of 5% strength, 3 drops being used with each titration.
The end point was in all cases determined by comparison
with a blank.
29.
The turbidity was determined by means of the
Turbidity.-
Jackson turbidimeter.
This consists of a graduated glass tube
with a flat polished bottom, enclosed in a metal case, held
over a standard candle, and so arranged that one may look vertically down through the tube and see the image of the candle.
The observation was made by pouring the sample of water into
the tube until the image of the candle disappeared.
The tur-
bidity was then read from a graduation oA the side of the tube.
This graduation corresponded to the turbidity produced in distilled water by a certain number of parts per million of siliua standard.
FIRST SERIES OF ANALYSES.
Dissolved Oxygen.
Gowanus Canal.-
Examinations of the water for dissolved
oxygen were carried on simultaneously with the sanitary inspection.
About 30 samples were taken at intervals along the
canal from the head end to Hamilton Avenue,
and with the few
following exceptions, obtained negative results.
30.
1
2
3
cc.O per 1.
%
saturation
Place of Collection.
Temp.
Entrahce to power house
basin, 4 p.m.
80 F.
1.14
20.2
East pier 3d Street
bridge, 4 p.m.
70 F.
0.58
9.3
Entrance power house
basin 9 a.m. next day.
90 F.
1.54
30.4
No.
4
Just below basin
90 F.
1.05
20.7
5
Above 3d St. Bridge
70 F.
1.03
16.5
6
Below
"
"
70 F.
1.01
16.2
7
20'"
"n
n
70 F.
0.73
11.7
8
75111'"
"
n
70 F.
0.30
4.8
9
100 "
1
70 F.
0. 00
0.0
East River. -
i
n
"
"
The weather being bitter cold and the river
very choppy, these samples were collected from the rear of a
ferry boat and are therefore surface samples.
by means of a rope and pail.
They were taken
The pail was then set up on a
seat and by means of a rubber tube siphon the water in the
sample bottle was renewed several times.
Foursamples were
taken, two on crossing from the Brooklyn to the New York side
of the river, and two on the return.
The results are as fol-
lows:No.
Place of Collection.
Temp.
cc. per 1. I saturation
Buttermilk Channel, 200'
from Brooklyn side.
35 F.
7.50
77.4
Mid-stream, opposite
Governor'S Island
30 F.
7.58
74.5
3
Return trip, same as 2
30 F
7.95
78.0
4
Buttermilk Channel, 75'
from Brooklyn side.
34 F.
7.90
80.5
1
2
35 P- 8-01 (B)
CITY OF NEW YORK, DEPARTMENT OF WVATER SUPPLY,
MIIT. PROSPECT
D)ate;
of
No.
Collec-
PLACE
OF
COLLECTION
tion
/
LABRATORY,.
I
PHYSICkL
EXAMINA-TION
SAMPLE:
S AND ELECTRICITY.
CHIEMIC AL
Turbid- Color.
Nitrogen 'is
.-ity.
(Parts
i
.
/ ,
l
"
Temper....
per
T.de
(Parts
:
Ni
- Fll
ature i-,per
- million
Nii
;
I
.. . . .,
of
lmillion
In
In
(Fahr.)
trites
of
PlatSam- Suspen-J Totl loi
.
tion
sion
Silica) i inum)
~ -.
~----------- ' -- ---'------''----
ANALYSIS
jl - ~~r~-_-, -iBACTERI OLOGICAL
EXAMI NATION
(Parts per Million)
M ICROSCOPICAL ,.EXAMINATION
Number of Standard Units per c. c.
B. coli
Sus-
Number
S of
Bacteria
S per
Ni'-
on
, oolids, pended
SdAmSoIgniSoli
ts
tratecs
tion
Fixed
Chlo-
Hard-
Alka-
Solids
rine
ness
linity
Iron
.
L
iin
c.c.
I
.
I
inl
.Imlorlan-t\,Genera.
S(r
nAmor-
cp
phous
in
iteri
C.
48 hours
20' C.
c
a
//eoda,
C,7,/
I
0
;l/od
4,!.28 :
I2
-.3
I,
-a -
"
"I
Crz//
300
K -0 17/78i :
i
oo
/
/4
00,
ooo
ii
Jt~Sd4'J:4s
S 32
1A/ /, 3 3
,2
h/
7
6-zoo
Z?'-tmC'a,?:.,~dl
8
° v.//0
',.ag
7.'3
/.pI
i5~c
7ooo
745o
4,
5,
iee
z'v
4~S9L/
,
,
i
i.
si
/4404
i3372
/0.
/
u-
i
K
c
c~;
I
1
ii
i
i
i
i
i•
Ii
II
.i
:; -:
-" .=
- .. ...
- .: ..
-
-.
• :
Z1
-
;
-
..'
.
.
...
" ' .
: .
.. ,
. : ..
- ,
.
. _;
:
= . ..
.. . . . _. . . ..
,
yroi
/
:
6
.?
...
21
4&
13/
Z
4
I
*
/8~4
-6
f 4-7
/74o60
.35:2
!-,p .4
!
I
I
000
i
IE~Cu~src~ ~-fS~Bmr~
,.-
S/
1J,
a 4
.*
4
35/.
The other results of the first series are shown in
tabulated form in the accompanying table.
Analysis of the Sludge.
Samples of the sludge also were taken.
This appeared
It was analysed
t6 form a semi-liquid layer on the bottom.
for total solids, oxygen consumed and total organic nitrWgen.
Inasmuch as the method of taking samples was crude and allowed
some water to mix with the sludge, the density was changed.
The results are therefore expressed in ratios for comparison.
Location of Sample.
oxygen consumed
Ratio ---------------
C + N
Ratio ------------
total nitrogen
total solids
Head of canal
16.2
1 : 1.9
150' below head
13.0
1 : 2.0
9.8
1 : 2.2
Opposite Degraw St.
11.0
1 : 2.1
Entrahce First St.
Basin
10.3
1 : 3.3
Entrance Fifth St.
Basin.
7.0
1 : 3.1
Opposite Bond St.
13.0
1 : 3.5
300'
"
"
Experiments were made on the sludge to determine the
amount of dilution required to prevent it
from putrefying.
The water used was sea-water taken at Revere Beach.
It
was
found that- a dilution of 1 : 500 was necessary to do away with'
the offensive sewage odor, but the oily, tarry, aromatic odor
was still
present in a dilution of 1 : 2000.
Experiments were made on the temperature necessary
to develop gases from the sludge,
ples were diluted to about 60 cc.
10 cc.
of the various sam-
and placed on ice.
After
32.
standing on the ice for several hours all the foul air possible
was exhausted and replaced by fish air.
The bottles were then
set back into the ice chest and allowed to remain there over
night.
The temperature of the ice chamber was 2 ° C.
temperature no sewage odor was noticeable.
At this
The samples were
then allowed to stand in the room and their condition was noted
from time to time.
3 and 4 at 12.5
-
No.
13
1 became offensive at 12C0.,
C.
Sample No.5 conatined a lot of tarry
matter and required a temperature of 140C.
The samples wftre then slowly warmed.
very strong.
of '.2,
to become offensive.
At 2000. the odor was
At 23 C. the stench became vile and unbearable,
expecially in the first
three samples.
A sample of the incrusting substance on the bulwarks
was also taken.
On analysis this was found to be a tarry waste
product of the gas works.
SECOND SERIES OF ANALYSES.
The first
February vacation.
series of analyses was made, during the
The second was carried out in April.
This
series included a sample of sewage taken from a manhole at the
corner of Nevins and Butler Streets, and also 15 samples taken
from different portions of the canal.
The sample from the
manhole was taken on Saturday morning, April 14.
of flow in
the sewer was 6".
The depth
The samples from the canal were
not taken until Monday morning, April 16.
A heavybrain Sell
on Saturday night and Sunday morning and the canal water was
well stirred up.
35 H-s.8-0
(B)
CITY 'OF NEW_-YORK, DEPARTMENT OF WATER
MT.
PIIHYSICAL
EXAM1INATION
SAM PLE
'Turbid-
Color.
ity.
(Parts
per
million
Date
No.
PLACE
Collec-
OF
(Parts
per
Temperature
of
COLLECTION
tion
CHEMICAL
Nitrogen
/
LABORATORY,
ANAL
:as
B. coli
iid
Fixed
,
In
Solution
Silica)
BACTERIOLOGIC-L
EXAMINATION
SIS---(iParts per Million)
-Number
of
Bacteria
;Sus-
/
I
of
Plat-
(Fahr." million
of
PROSPECT
SUPPLY, GAS AND ELECTRICITY.
i
In
Suspen - Total nlonia
siol
Solids
trates
Solids
Chlo- Hard-i Alkarine
ness
Microin in in in scopic
C. C.
Iron
linity
./
48 hours
at
20' C.
tn
MICROSCOPICAL. EXAMINATION
Number of Standard Units per c. c.
ii
i
i
Total
/
c.e. c.c. c. c.
Organ isms
sK -
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i1137
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3.5
In this series,
and unfiltered,
samples were analysed both filtered
and the test for total solids was added.
In
the
latter the sodium chloride present rapidly took on moisture
from the air and for that reason the tests for total and dissolved solids are rough, and therefore of not much importance.
The results of the second series are given in tabulated form
in
the accompanying table.
Tests for putrescibility of the sewage and the de-
gree of dilution necessary were made by the methylene blue
test.
This was done by adding 1 cc.
of a 0.1 of 1% solution
of Methylene Blue to a half pint of the different dilutions
of the sewage with tap water.
The length of time for the col-
or to be discharged, that is, for the oxygen to be used up,
was hoted.
The following table shows the dilution and lengths
of time.
Dilution.
Time.
Straight Sewage
1 hour
200 Tap Water
16 hours or less
16
"
"
"
33 1/3% Tap Water
16
"
"
"
50% Tap Water
21 hours
25%
66 2/3Y
"
"
"
"
40 hours or less.
75 %
"
"
40
n
n
80%
"
"
40
"
"
85%
"
"
92 hours
90%e
"
"
96
"
"
34.
INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS.
The interpretation of the results obXtined demands
some explanation, since the whole inquiry hinges upon the
meaning of the records.
" Oxygen consumed " is the quantity of oxygen required for the burning of the organic matters contained in the
water, or rather the quantity of oxygen required for the oxidation of the readily affected organic matter contained in the
water.
It is the carbon and not the nitrogen in organic mat-
ter which is oxidized in this way by potassium permanganate;
hence this determination is frequently referred to as an indication of the carbonaceous organic matter present.
Total Organic Nitrogen.
The total organic nitrogen represents
waste orgqnic matters which may be derived from either vegetable or animal sources.
All vegetable and animal organisms
conAtin, as the essential constituents, substances which in
their original condition, and also in various stages of decomposition, are classed as nitrogenous organic matters.
Such
matters are included in faeces and urine, in wastes from the
household, and in wastes from all industries which utilize
plant and animal substances or products.
Those substances
which in general make sewage and animal wastes offensive to
the senses and dangerous to the health are, as a rule, nitro"
genous organic substances, either living organisms, or the
products or wastes of living things.
Total organic nitrogen
is one of the most important data, inasmuch as the nitrogenous
organic matters are the most significant and constant constit-
3S.
uents of sewage,
and include all
sorts of animal refuse,
tis-
sues, etc., as well as constituting the essentials parts of
living things, both animal and vegetable.
It is substances
of 'this class which serve as nutrients upon which bacteria
thrive and multiply.
Free Ammonia.
Sewage and similar organic wastes,
if
oxygen
is present, tend to purify by oxidation of these nitrogenous
matters.
The first stage includes such decomposition of these
substances as results in the liberation of a portion of their
nitrogen, together with hydrogen in the form of ammonia.
This
may remain merely dissolved in the water, or it may unite with
acids, particularly with carbonic acids, which in this decomposition of the organic matters may be formed simultaneously
with ammonia, and appear as a salt of the latter.
The pro"
portion of free ammonia contained in water or sewage indicates,
on the one hand, the relative quantity of refuse matters contained, and on the other hand, the state of decomposition.
Chlorine."
Chlorine is contained in water in combination
with various basic elements,
sodium salt.
but chiefly in
the form of the
Most animal matters contain more or less chlor-
ides, and therefore chlorides are constant and considerable
constituents of sewage.
Turbidity.-
Turbidity of water is due to suspended matter,
such as clay, silt, finely divided organic matter, etc.
The
amount of organic matter may be estimated by means of the oxygen consumed and the total organic nitrogen.
The total or-
ganic nitrogen and carbon are an index to the quantity, the
ratio of these two an index to the kind of organic matter .
36.
When the
High nitrogen usually indicates animal pollution.
ratio of nitrogen to carbon increases and one gets a large
quantity of nitrogen, it indicates animal contamination, and
therefore the larger the ratio of nitrogen to carbon the more
polluted the water becomes.
In all sea water the nitrogen is
in a very much higher ratio than in fresh water.
It is not
by any excess of the nitrogen but by a decrease of the carbon
which is more readily oxidized than the nitrogen that this is
due.
The amount of amnnonia in sewage is large;
water almost nothing.
This is of importance
in sea
in tbacing sewage.
Therefore to detect sewage in a mixture of pure water, sewage
and sea water, ammonia is decidedly one of the chief things.
Free dissolved oxygen is also important.
Sludge.-
In the case of a non-sewage deposit, the surface is
smooth and well defined and the supernatant liquid is fairly
clear.
A non-sewage deposit contains very little
organic mat&-
ter and is practiclly odorless.
Sewage deposits form semi-liquid, shiny black, foul
smelling layers containing much organic matter, hair and paper.
The ratio of nitrogen to carbon is ikportant since by means
of this we are able to distinguish between animal and industrial wastes, and in the case of the former, the degree of
putrefaction.
in
There is a large amount of nitrogenous matter
the sludge which has not been oxidized, and which if the
temperature is high enough undergoes putrefactive decomposition.
Putrefaction
is not oxidation.
When oxidation takes
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37
place harmless inoffensive compounds are formed, but when a
body putrefies, it is broken up and offensive gases are given
off.
The results obtained from the analysis of samples
of sludge obtained from the Gowanus Canal prove beyond a doubt
tht it is a sewage deposit.
Only one half of the sludge is
due to sewage, but this part is the one vwhich creates the nuisance.
Interpretations of Figures Obtained.-
The tabulated results
give evidence of the amount and the nature of the pollution.
Tables however show more when they are represented graphically.
Therefore to aid in the interpretation we have plotted the results obtained.
planation.
The construction of the diagrams needs no ex-
The curves are striking and interesting.
With the
exception of those for chlorine, total and dissolved solids,
they all have a general downward tendency, which shows the effect of dilution with sea water.
The curves for the first
series are much smoother than those for the seconds because
the second series of samples was taken after the canal had
been stirred up by a heavy rain.
iWe will examine the curves in the order plotted, and
account for the variations.
First we will do this indepen-
dently, and then simultaneously.
Total Organic Nitrogen.-
In the first
rapidly until Bond Street is reached.
series this curve falls
Here it again rises,
becoming a maximum opposite the Tartar Chemical Company.
In the second series there is a general decrease,.
38.
dropping rapidly at the entrance to the First Street Basin.
This is due to the large amount of clean water discharged from
the power house.
At Third Street the curve rises to what would
be a point on the normal dilution curve.
Street Basin there is
a rapid rise,
Opposite the Fifth
which is due to a stirring
up of the water at that point by tugs at the time that the
sample was taken.
The curve then again drops rapidly, but not
to what would be a point on the normal dilution curve.
Bond Street sewer enters here.
The
There is then a gradual drop
until we arrive at the Tartar Chemical Company where there is
a sudden increase.
Above Hamilton Avenue Bridge there is a-
nother quick drop.
A glance at some of the other curves shows
that this drop is general.
On the other side of the bridge,
however, the curve rises again.
A sewer enters here.
There
is then a slow gradual decrease, indicating dilution with sea
water.
The curve'for suspended, organic nitrogen is through
out
nearly parallel to that for the total organic nitrogen,
and no special comment on it is hecessary.
Oxygen Consumed.'
In
the first
series this curve falls off
rapidly until after Bond Street is passed.
Opposite the Fifth
Street Basin there is an increase, probably due to coal dust.
The most conspicuous part of the curve, however, is the steady
and rapid increase after the starch factory at Ninth Street
is passed.
In,the second series there is an increase at the
start with a quick rise at Carroll Street.
This looks as
though the large volume of rainwater brought down by the storm
39
sewer at the head end carried the sewage which)had accumulated
there further down stream.
The quick rise in the. curve at
Carroll Street probably is due to the large amount of scum
which had accumulated there and was stirred up.
There is a
quick drop at the First -Street Basin, and a quick rise-again
at Third Street, probably due to sbum, coal dust, and saw dust.
The apparent drop at the Fifth Street Basin was unexpected,
since the nitrogen is high at that point.
A further study of
the diagrams, however, will show that the oxygen consumed is
also very high.
The turbidity at Third Street is very high,
and, on account of the large amount of carbonaceous matter
both there and at Bond Street, the oxygen consumed at those
points is so high as to obscure the large amount at the Fifth
Street Basin.
After passing Bond Street, the curve has a downward
tendency, with only a slight rise beyond Ninth Street.
is significant.
This
The samples were .taken on a Monday morning,
and there was no pollution then by the starch factory.
Most
of that which had been discharged on Saturday night was flushed
out by the heavy storm water flow on Saturday night and Sunday.
The same drop just above the Hamilton Avenue bridge
already mentioned in the discussion of the organic nitrogen
curve is conspicuous here.
Below Hamilton Avenue the curve
rises again and then decreases gradually.
Turbidity.-
In both series of analyses this curve seems to
vary with the dilution. and shows that sedimentation has taken
place all the way down, being interrupted occasionally by the
stirring up of the ,water.
40.
The remaining curves simply reinforce p.oints brought
out in the curves already discussed, and require no especial
We are therefore ready to consider the various ,c-
explanation.
curves simultaneously.
Sample No.1 shows at onee that we have
a lot of accumulated solid matter which is constantly stirred
up.
The nitrogen is very high.
This means that there is an
additional supply of organic matter there, which, being constantly stirred up, keeps in circulation but is never carried
out.
This effect is not lost all the way down the canal.
fact that the chlorine is
pught to be,In
the first
above the normal,-
The
twice what it
shows a mixture of sea water with the sewage.
five samples the ratio of dissolved nitrogen to
total nitrogen gives good evidence of septic action.
organic nitrogen is
converted into free ammonia,
two changes noticehble:
Since
there are
the ratio of free ammonia to total
organic nitrogen and the ratio of oxygen consumed to total
organic nitrogen becomes greater.
Both carbon and nitrogen
are going down, but the nitrogen goes down much faster.
Of
course, as will be seen from the curve of chlorine, great dilution takes place, but ratios are independent of dilution.
Ratios enable us to pick out these points without considering
dilution.
The disclarge of the Bond Stre.et sewer affects the
suspended oxygen consumed.
The bacteria go dovmwn,
and this sew-
age seems to be an antiseptic, non-nitrogenous substance.
Lateral Basins
In the first series, to ascertain how the
water in the basins compared with that in the main part of the
canal, a sample was taken from one of these.
This is representL
35
8-0-O
(B)R....
"
i
,CITY- OF.NEW
OF WATER I ...SUPPLY, GAS
AND
. -. --. .--... YORK
.! - . ,'3",.?- DEPARTMENT
JY.".
.' , .. ....-.
6."..
• -,#
"/?a//4v/,"-Cvs"/,11cT. PROSPECT LABORATORY.
v/.s/o/".
Baq ,Pba//ia&/7 Com,
)Y.A" 5"
-,
.. ...
/Vii"
",
.."/e"
PHYSICAL
EXAMINATION
SAMPLE
Turl)idDate
r~emper-I ity.
Temper
(Parts
of
No.
PLACE
OF
COLIECTION
per
ature
Collee-
(Fahr.) million
(Flir.),
of
tion
SSilica)
ilica)
/
~-~5 6?~' ~//er4< (Adt&,~,)
2
/0 4
3
/60/
'
, (.r/,',ce)
-
A
-
f /d/d!'O 1//r'rAw7/o
7?
Color.
Nitrogen
(Parts
per
million
of
Plat-
In
I nI
Son- Suspen-
as
B. coli
ium)
imum) {i
tion
i
Free
Amm.
Total
Number
of iaMicroBacteria
trites
i
Total
-- .pendedi
Solids
Solids
trates
on
Fixed
Igniton
Solids
Chlo- Hard- Alkarine
ness
!
i
in in in
pe
Iron
linity
Total
/ /
48 hours
./
Sat48tors !
0tC. cec . cc
.ion
Important Genera.
Amor-
})
in
scopic
0/
/
Organ- Matter
i !
phous
I,
/
-F/d
fra
"
"
40I
A7,'
/
14-i17
7
i
i10
.320 .f;
/;;
4/76
y28,,4/
7+77
7d.46/
. r;'.7yo
/2
J/.o
//
.s./,
ij/
4~
A.V!
I,
.1g.
'd~
KE6Ai~
dIMe
a,-7',
+L,Lf
t' - -!!
Ia
*
,
.23. 7ro
736?s//Ia
,5
,17
.
d/I.
&796
zvv
da
/
772e
i
/%'-4
I
'9
i
I
I
!
oo
40
it
: 3 4/2,
:
1:33
/4
.
:
/0
'
-O
If
-V
'I
7
/4
o/z -**-;*I
e
l
-
///ot't/
2? icAq
wy
5226~
.2 o:.3.76
/11
-A
4 *myu Co6lflj
/0
I h*9
0-/d
27i
7
-4-36
, t l4f
2dd
'I
'I
.
~57~r//The'-
-32 4W65
ofras
1
t
, e aI-I-/i
"
/i16
.5/
4-I
S7
6.
6 tf ~ 54/zte~y
I'
,.r/a
- ,,-7-
4.
-i 5r.e
2f -3~15
6*6 i
I ,7
3.
aT'l 0
S7/ ~. 7la
ce
, 0!-:
iii
i
4ZO"
'1
AO
.73#. 4O
/i
I,
/45a7
4,
7
<Qa~I
7
i *// !' /
I -
/4
trae.
'I
}
isms
..
27d; .3/0
.1'4,/2
2,. 320.0
'I
/.30o
i'
d ,
,
i
5/odi
/
MICIROSCOPICAL EXAMINATION
Number of Standard Units per c. c.
BACTERIOLOGICAL
EXAMINATION
(Parts per Million)
:
Albuminoid
Ammonia
A m m. . -r-
~4
wf
-yu
ANALYSIS
Loss
11a e /Y/se
ell
sra,
Ja& 30
C(HEMICAL
:1L
-7
fe-/e%£//-/r%/
Joyd
ELECTRICITY.
...........
-
0/2,
.,3/o
i~s 7
*
1
4/
ed in the curves by dotted lines.
The result is significant.
A glance at the curves shows that free ammonia, oxygen consumed, total organic nitrogen, turbidity, and the total bac"
teria count are higher than in the adjacent portion of the
main canal, while the chlorine and the body temperature count
This is characteristic of a dead end.
are lower.
The depres-
sion in the chlorine curve shows that the tide exerts no
and the low body temperature count shows that
flushing effect,
the water in the basin is stagnant.
The table below will show the immense pollution of
The figures for sea water were taken from the Re-
the canal.
port of Committee on Charles River Dam.
This sample was col"
lected 6 miles easterly from Boston Light near the surface on
The figures for Boston tap were taken from
November 11, 1902.
the Massachusetts Board of Health Report for 1904.
Those for
harbor water are the average of the accompanying table compiled
from analyses made by Dr.
Jackson for the New York Bay Pollu-
tion Commission.
Organic N
Free NH
Sample.
Oxygen Consumed.
3
Head Canal
24
50.1
85.4
Sea Water
.012
0.16
--
Boston Tap
.015
0.29
3.9
Harbor Water
.534
1.28
--
The figures speak for themselves.
The pollution of
the canal is about 50 times that of the harbor.
Variations Between the Two Series.-
The first series of anal-
yses was carried on at a time when there was no rain.
The
second series of samples was taken after the run off from a
42.
heavy rAinfall had stirred up the contents of the canal.
On
comparing the two sets of curves, the reader will see that in
general they cross one another several times, that the curves
plainly giving evidence
of the second series are very ragged,
of a general stirring up.
At the uppermost point of the canal,
however, the second series shows less pollution than the first.
The curves soon cross, however, and in general the first series of curves is lower than the second.
This is due to the
large volume of storm water which had pushed the sewage at the
head end farther down. The turbidity curve for the second series is
entirely above thQt for the first
series.
This gives
good evidence of a general stirring up.
Difference in Character of Pollution in Various Parts of the
Canal.by sewage.
The upper part of the canal is badly polluted
At the lower end the pollution is largely indus-
trihl wastes mixed with more or less sewage.
As a rule the amount of nitrogen present varies diThe other constituents of
rectly with the amount of sewage.
sewage vary with the nitrogen.
Therefore when the nitrogen is
greatly increased without a corresponding increase in the other
sewage substances, it is an indication of industrial wastes.
This is exactly what happens in that portion of the canal op"
posite the Tartar Chemical Company.
On talking with one of
their employees, we learned that crude argol is digested with
sulphuric acid, and that the waste product is an acid sludge
running high in sulphates and nitrogen.
In the first series, below Ninth Street the oxygen
consumed curve went up rapidly.
In the second series, the
43.
curve had a downward tendency.
The starch factory, not running
on Sunday, 1ad no waste to discharge at that time.
The abnor-
mal values for the oxygen consumed are due without doubt to
gluten discharged by the starch factory.
Another interesting point, characteristic of both
series of curves, is the sudden drop i# mozst of the curves
just above Hamilton Avenue.
It is significant, that not only
the organic nitrogen, oxygen consumed, turbidity, and total
solids, but the bacteria also go down.
ipitation.
This looks like prec-
The curves for ammonia and chlorine, on the other
hand, show a slight increase, for immediately above this point
is a coal gas plant which evidently uses lime to recover its ammonia.
The waste from the Tartar Chemical Company, which is
carried along by the tide, comes into contact with the gas
plant waste, and calcium sulphate is preciprted, carrying
down with it nearly all the other suspended matter.
The rapid
decrease in bacteria below Bond Street gives evidence of antiseptic action.
A glance at the diagrams will show, that al-
though the nitrogen and carbon go up at that point, the ammonia
remains the same, and the bacteria count goes down and stays
down.
The fact that the ratio of carbon to nitrogen is great-
ly increased shows that the pollution from the Bond Street
sewer is of a carzbonaceous nature.
The reader will recall
in the account of the sanitary inspection that this sewer discharged the brown and yellow paint-like, oily substance.
This
is doubtless some compound closely allied to creosote.
Although taken at different times and thus represent
ing
Lemults ebtakne)
ial
ifrec
different conditions,
there is
no essent-
44.
ial difference in the results obtained from the two series.
The second series simply reinforces the first, and we feel
justified in drawing the following conclusions:
The canal is highly polluted with house drainage and
industrial wastes.
The city sewers are the chief source of the
The organic animal malters contained in the sewage
trouble.
are more easily susceptible to putrefactive influences than is
the vegetable matter in the industrial wastes.
The fact that the sewagp-discharged by the socalled
storm sewers is fresh, is demonstrated by the large number of
the common B.Coli found.
The tide exerts very little flushing effect in the
main body of the canal and none whatever in the dead ends or
basins.
Sea water precipitates the sewage and the sludge thus
formed undergoes putrefactive decomposition.
SUMAMARY OF EXISTING CONDITIONS AND CONCLUSIONS.
Below is given a tab-
Absolute Values Compared with Sewage.-
le comparing the canal water with several well known sewages.
Op.sMsto_
Z ,.
C e ,7 Za
19
237..oo(Z_,-/'<. APr /Bo,
,ve-a
.Tq
Z att.r-e~e51
/7Z1o
,e-o
-ke
Z6a.,o
: / 9
____~~
7Z/ e3
46
____________
____
____
47/CaL'
of
Sa-__1
Zol.
.
W(a3(
______
-
t9W
/2
.
/6.26.6
.4.
/Z
/AZ
7-"U ee,/.fi . 103
Ve
3.0
3?2
7/.8
,57 419
//w(
.3.,
, SL
4. c,4Z,,r'd
Zo,, e
o
>
7/.J 5-.
.
/1301
/6.5.9
z
-Ve
3V-
21f6'
170t
3
7.5-3 7.
5.,_. 7.
I-.
3
/
(K5;7
aa__
Z,
00
1
0
0
do
i0
oeBO/aoo
jF3z0.
6' r6>J7
4
..
_
' e.
I/d4.7.
3.25.
,_,
________
J!5
3.92.51w
,107 7-
6"2Z -0' f
. .,
.3 /
e,-ddz
Pe~ac., ed.
.
.03d.
/2f.
of.-ver
Z~eg
5.'Z fO(26,
;
,45
s
A(-a5
/39,3
5/?4d
V-040
001
670,W
d
20
45
From the above table it
is
evident that the water
at the head of the canal is about two thirds as strong as
Brooklyn sewage.
It is more than twice as strong as Boston
sewage; its strength is three times that of Lawrence sewage
and about equal to that of Andover, which is
one of the strong-
est in Massachusetts.
The sample taken opposite the Fifth Street Basin
corresponds to the strongest Lawrence sewage in 1904, and to
the average Andover sewage for 1902.
At Hamilton Avenue, the water contains about one
tenth of Brooklyn sewage and is about one half the strength
of the minimum Lawrence sewage in 1904.
=FECT ON THE HEALTH OF THE COQMUNITY.
An attempt was made to trace the effect of the canal
on the health of the community from such statistics as the
birth rate, death rate under five years, total death rate, and
the deaths dte to zymotic diseases.
So mqny other factors,
however, entered into the case, that beyond the fact that the
above figures were extremely high, little use could be made
of them in solving our problem.
The canal district is made land,
lyn having once been a salt marsh.
this part of Brook-
The houses and cellars
are continually damp, and the district therefore unhealthy.
Again, the high mortality is inherent with the class of population, which is made up largely of immigrants from southern
Europe.
ful if
Filth seems to prevail everywhere, and it
is doubt-
the faces of children under school age are ever washed.
46.
Naturally, the death rate, especially that of children under
five years, is high.
The population is a constantly shifting
one, and for this reason the figures on the birth rate cannot
be used.
From the qbove it is evident that the effect of the
canal on the health of the community cannot be found directly,
but must be worked out indirectly on general lines.
It is not likely that under ordinary conditions
germs will pass-from the wet surface of the canal into the air.
The chief source of danger is the emanation from the decomposing sewage in the upper portion of the canal.
Putrid gases
are dangerous to the health, especially when one is exposed
to them for a long time.
They cause nausea and tend to lower
the general vitality, and thus reduce the power of resistance
of the body against disease.
The prolonged action of these
gases gives rise to a chronic poisoning which is accompanied
by disturbances of the organs of digestion and nutrition, and
in the end leads to attenuation, and physical and intellectual
-
weakness.
Interesting experiments on the effect of these gases
on animals have been made by Dr.Alessi in the Hygienic Institute of the University of Rome.
The conclusions that the vol-
atile emanations from matter in a state of putrescence, when
breathed into the lungs, lower the tone of the constitution
and predispose it to disease havebeen practically confirmed
by sanitary science.
47
RECOMAENDATIONS WITH CALCULATIONT OF THE WATER TO BE PUMPED.
Recommendations.
SThese will be giben in detail in the third part of
this thesis, but the fundamental data upon which they must be
founded may be mentioned here.
The canal is in bad condition and needs immediate
attention.
Two methods of remedy at once suggest themselves.
First:
We can resort to flushing only, and allow
the sewage to continue to enter the canal, but pump enough
water to render it innocuous and develop a current strong
enough to prevent solid matter from settling out.
Second:
The district may be sewered and after
flushing out the present contents, no more sewage should be
discharged into the canal.
Both methods require that the present deposits should
be removed by dredging.
The experiments on the dilution re-
quired for the sludge show that this is necessary.
Mere flush-
ing would be unsatisfactory.
A tremendous quantity of water
would be required to give sufficient velocity to have scouring
action.
pumping.
It would mean a large pumping plant with continuous
The nuisance at the head end would be transferred to
all the dead ends or basins.
in bad condition.
Again, New York Harbor is already
The Harbor Pollution Commission found that
the tide has little effect in eliminating the pollution of the
bay, and that the water seems to be incapable of renewing its
supply of oxygen.
From this it is evident, that it would be
unwise to pollute it still more with water from the Gowanus
Canal, especially when that pollution can be avoided.
The plan
now being worked up by the Brooklyn Sewer Department is not
only uneconomical but unsanitary.
We have therefore to consider two possibilities,the daily dilution of the total amount of sewage now contrib-.
uted to the canal or the flushing out of the present pollution
in case the future addition of sewage proper were excluded by
an intercepting sewer.
Before continuing the discussion of
the two general methods it was thought best to make a few calculations on the quantity of water to be pumped in each case.
The economic side of the plan will be discussed in the third
part of this thesis.
Calculations of the Water to be Pumped.-
In methods of dis-
posal by dilution the necessary quantity of water should not
be determined by rule of thumb.
The object of these calcula-
tions is to compute the necessary dilution from the figures
obtained by analysis.
In this part of our theits we will cal-
culate the quantity to be pumped in each case to prevent nui-
49.
The hydraulic side of the question
sance by dilution alone.
will be discussed in the third part of this thesis.
We can consider the canal water as a mix-
Sewage Density.-
ture of three separate liquids; sewage,
water.
ground water and sea
The first object of these calculations then is to find
out by means of chlorine and nitrogen the proportion of each.
The method of attack is as follows.
Consider a section of the canal of unit length.
Let C = total chlorine contained in the section.
x = portion of sewage
y = portion of ground water
z = portion of sea water
= chlorine in sewage
c
1
= chlorine in ground water
2
o = chlorine in sea water
3
Then we have the following two equations:
c
xty
z =
(1)
xc+
yc
1
To solve we must get another equation.
Let x + y = u
Also (c
zc
2
= C
(2)
3
+ c ) 1/2 = C
2
u
1
Then u + z = 1
uC
zc = C
3
u
From this we get
uc
=
+ zC
3
uC
3
+ zc
u
3
= C
3
-c C
u(c - C ) =
3
u =
u
-
3
.(
(a)
combine y and
CNow and assume w to contain no organi nitrogen.
Now combine y and z and assume w to contain no organic nitrogen.
=Nx1=N.
xn
Z = w
y
1
xn
= n
+wn
1
1
1
x
= n
1-
-N
wn =n
1
1
w = n,, N
n,
(b)
We have now three equations and can therefore solve.
x+y=
n
1
c
= 71.3
C
u =
=C
z
u
1
+y=w
xyz =
c
c = 10
2
= 230
18=130
= 18,130
C-= 120
u
= 18, 10 - C
18, Olb
C
u
w
=
n
71.3 - N
n
71. 3
W-
X.
.990
.294
.7/
N.
U.
506.
c.
-no0.
Ser? e.s
z.
Y.
,./
.*
1.
3oo
2.
14/oo0
4Z0
.,3o
.3
3
. z .3/
•07
3.
4000
/2.2
. 7-5
.630
./7 .6/
,22
/.
.690 .
4. 5700
.2
9650
5. 5900
6. 6400
/0 .
. 6 700
9.
/,
7000
9
.
.60
.6'55 ./.f.57.32
.6
S
.620
/.9
-94
/0,1 74o50
__________
.6 3 0
.664
/4. 7
6200
7
.9
/.75-0 0
/3
./.
35-7
.2.
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.6
.3
.777
.
4/
. 37-
. cr
.20
S.934
.0 7
79
- a
-/&,9~
I
•
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2.36
55
37
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550
2. /0/
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4.
.9 3
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43.5
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0
3. 4 do
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4. 470oo
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,: 4do0
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4739
6. 4650
37 6
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4 73
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9. 4/10 0
8.&
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//.4 < O / .o
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.
90
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4
Z
Y
X
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o.
~e
.,z
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.A 6 d ./4.K2 .z47
• 7,5-.
e
.Z
7.......
/2.4 aso
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g7
.7cff-7 .S
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/3. -/ on
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1403
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A-376-,So
9,3
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422
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z
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Quantity of Water to be Pumped as Calculated from Oxygen ConOne condition of the degree of dilution required
sumed.-
to make the sewage inoffensive, is that the diluting water
shall have a sufficient supply of free oxygen; that is, the
measure of the amount of sewage which a given volume of water
can render inoffensive depends upon the amount of oxygen that
the volume of- water contains.
This calculat in7is based on the amount of oxygen
available from East River water, and the average amount of
oxygen consumed by water i$ the canal.
It is obvious that the
volume of the canal water and the amount of oxygen consumed by
it bear some relation to the amount of water to be pumped and
the free or dissolved oxygen in it.
lation algebraically as
We can express this re-
= K S 0
x 0
d
c
where x = quantity of East River water to be pumped in cu.ft.
per day.
O
d
=
amount of dissolved oxygen in parts per million
in the water to be pumped.
S = amount of sewage to be oxidized in cu.ft. per day.
0 = oxygen consumed by S in parts per million
c
K = ratio of amount of dissolved 0 in flushing water to
amount required to oxidize the organic matter.
If 0
is all to be used up, K becomes Anity and the
d
quantity to be pumped is
10
)7*5 cc. per liter
d
x =
~~ ~
S 0
-~'
U
s$.
Weight of liter 0 = 1.429 grams
1 cc. 0 = 0.00143 grams
"
"
"
7.5 cc. 0 = 0.0107 grams.
"
= 10.7 parts per million
Therefore 0
and x =
S 0
d
We will compute first the amount of water needed to render innocuous the sewage discharged into the canal.
We assume that the total sewage discharged into the
canal is twice that brought down by the 15' sewer at the head.
Two inspections made at differant times showed a mimimum depth
in this sewer of 6".
The slope is 1 : 1,000.
The quantity discharged daily was computed from the Chezy
formula modified by the Kutter formula, is therefore 4.58 cu.
ft. per second or 398,500 cu.ft. per day whence S = 793,000
0
cu.ft.
c
= 165 parts per Million.
Therefore x = 793,000 x 165= 12,200,000 cu.ft. per day.
10.7
We will now ascertain how much water is needed for
flushing the canal supposing no more sewage is allowed to enSuppose 30 days allowed for flushing.
ter.
canal water is 10,000,000 cu.ft.
be
10,000000
30.
is 46.1
for 0
c
The volume of the
S in our formula would then
= 333,330 cu.ft. per day.
Then x =333,330x 46.1
10.7
The average value
= 1,440,000 cu.ft.
per day.
If flushing alone is to be considered the daily
quantity to be pumped would therefore be ~ne4- 14000,000 cu.
ft.
If the district were to be sewered, 1,500,000 cu.ft..per
day continued for 30 days would be sufficient.
$4
We will now calculate the quantity needed from another point of view.
made oD
The reader will recall the experiments
r Brooklyn sewage for putrescibility, which showed the
dilution of 1 : 15 to be necessary.
Computations will be made
in the same order as in the previous method.
The sewage discharged into the canal daily is
timated to be 793,000 cu.ft.
es-
The amount of water therefore, to
make this innocuous is 793,000 x 15 = 11,895,000 cu.ft. per
day.
Supposing no sewage is allowed to enter the canal,
and its contents are to be flushed out in 30 days we can calculate the necessary quantity of water as follows.
The average sewage density of the canal is 0.3.
Therefore x = 1~,000000 (0.3) (15)
30
= 1,500,000 cu.ft. per
day.
The two methods of computation give practically the same result
If sewage is allowed to continue discharging into the canal
nearly 1 ,O,0,00o'c
cu.ft.
of water will have to be pumped
daily to dilute the canal water -suffizciently to render it
innocuous.
ol.
If the district is to be sewered only 1,500,000
ft. per day will be necessary.
The figures speak for them-
selves amd show plainly that some plan for sewering the district
ought to be considered.
SUIMARY.
The Gowanus Canal in its present condition is unsan-
itary.
It
is not only a nuisance but a m:enace to the health
of the community.
Fresh sewage enters the canal and stays
there.
The heavier particles settle out at once forming banks
in front of the outlets of the sewers.
The light flocculent
matter moves up and down with the tide, and is gradually deposited, silting up all portions of the canal.
The water be-
ing devoid of oxygen, this sludge then undergoes putrefaction
and is
the seat of the nuisance.
of 65 to 70°F.
is
Inasmuch as the temper4ture
sufficient to cause the sludge to give off
putrid gases and the average temperature of the canal even in
the winter time is about 70°P. it
is easily seen why the nui-
sance exists all the year round.
In proceeding to summarize our results from the
special point of view of this investigation we will attempt
to answer the questions raised in the first
portion of this
part of our thesis.
The odors of the factories are distinct from those
of the canal and are not offensive.
The bad smells are due to
the putrefaction of nitrogenous matter in the sewage and sludge.
In regard to the character of the water which now
fills
the canal, we must \say) it is a mixture of sewage and
harbor water being .7 sewage at the head of the canal and .3
sewage on an average for the whole canal)
Brooklyn sewage is
much stronger than our Massachusetts sewages.
The water at the
head of the canal is slightly stronger than Andbver sewage,
and the average value of the ihole canal corresponds very
nicely to Lawrence sewage.
The amount of organic'matter present is consequently
very large, and to destroy it
would require an amount of oxy-
gen equivalent to that contained in 45,000,000 cu.ft. of har-
~7 .
The amount of putres-
bor water which is about 77% saturated.
cible substances present id large and their oxidqtiod is inhibited by antiseptic wastes contributed by the Bond Street sewer.
The storm sewers bring down much matter which is indif-
ferent to chemical change, and which silting up the canal
makes .constant dredging necessary.
The average of analyses on
the sludge showsthe amount of this to be about twice that of
the organic matter present.
The pollution due to the factories is
largely vege-
table carbonaceous and nitrogenous organic matter.
The Tar-
tar Chemical Company and the starch factory contribute most
of this.
The amount of this, however,
is
small when compared
to that contributed by the city sewers.
The canal water is about 50 times as much polluted
asmthat in the part of the harbor adjoining its
outlet,
ing that the ebb and flow of the tide do verv little
renewing the water in the canal,
show-
toward
and that tne water in
the
latter simply surgeE back and forth.
The canal water is
devoid of dissolved oxygen and
is -therefore incapable of rendering innocuous the pollution
that comes into it.
The sewage material retained, therefore
undergoes putrefactive decomposition and the gases given off
are not only offensive, but are injurious to the health of the
community.
The water at the head of the canal is .70 sewage,
.29 ground water, and .01 sea water.
At Hamilton Avenue it is
Y 0.15 sewage, 0.45 ground water, and 0.40 sea water.
age sewage density of the whole canal is 0.3.
The aver-
The water required for pumping after dredging has
taken place, depends upon the method used.
The amount required
to render innocuous the sewage which is discharged into the
canal is over 12,000,000 cu.ft. per day.
To flush out the
present contents in 30 days 1,500,000 cu.ft. would be required
daily.
Therefore if flushing alone were resorted to 14,000,000
cu.ft. per day are necessary.
If the distrojt is first sewered
and the canal then flushed, only 1,500,000 vu.ft. would be
required daily.
5e5
PART III.
THE RDfMEDY.
Nature of the Problem.
The problem of the third part of this thesis is to
choose and develop a plan for remedying the conditions which
have been described as prevailing at the Gowanus Canal.
In
making this selection, we have two main objects in view:
First.
The contents of the canal are to be made clear
and odorless, and free from pollution.
Second.
The canal is to be made navigable at all stages
of the tide.
Moreover, two points must be constantly borne in
mind, in deciding upon the plan to be adopted; namely,It
must be effective from a sanitary point of view.
It must be economical.
Two general methods of dealing with the problem
suggest themselves.
These are:
I.
The installation of a sewerage system.
II.
The adoption of some means of flushing.
Let-us investigate these methods in detail.
Filling in the Canal.
One plan, which has been suggested, is to fill in
the canal and to lay an additional intercepting sewer through
its former bed to Gowanus Bay.
The sewers in the lower streets
could then be laid and connected with this main sewer; and
all the sewage, including that from the storm overflows, which
now discharges into the canal would be carried out to the bay.
As we have seen, the canal is of considerable value.
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It affords cheap and convenient fr3eight transportation for
this section of the city.
Many business interests, which have
been attracted to the locality by the advantages offered,
would be seriously injured, were the canal to be filled in.
The damage suits brought by the adjoining property holders
against the city would be enormous.
In spite of improved con-
ditions, the property would suffer considerable loss in value.
It cannot be claimed that the plan would remove any great obstruction to street traffic, since the new bascule bridges,
which have recently been constructed, require but a little
time to open and close, and the number of ppenings are comparatively few.
The cost of filling in would largely offset
the value of real estate gained.
The new intercepting sewer
would have to be of exceedingly large capacity in order to
carry the discharges from the 15' main relief sewer at the
head of the canal, and the numerous other storm overflows,
well as the factory wastes.
This method,
it is
evident,
as
would
be too costly.
Regrading.
In.the first
part of this thesis was given a brief
description of the sewerage system of the locality with which
we are dealing.
By laying two large sewers at the flattest
permissible grades along Bond Street and Third Avenue, the
sewers above these streets were intercepted and the sewage was
carried out to the harbor.
It was, however, impossible to
drain the sewers between these streets and the canal into the
intercepting sewers.
This is evident from an inspection of
the accompanying profile of the Bond Street sewer.
The outlet
3
I
N
N
71R Ral A %
-liii
60
of the latter was located at mean low water, or about 5'
city datum.
below
As nearly as could be ascertained, the grade of
the sewer is 1 in 1600.
Thengrade of the Third Avenue inter-
cepting sewer is about the same, and since it has a length
about equal to that of the Bond Street sewer, it also is too
high.
A remedy for the difficulty caused by the unfavorable topography is found in
the experience of Chicago.
Wheh the
surveys for the sewerage system of Chicago were made in 1855,
the surface of the ground in the vicinity of the North and
South branches of the Chicago River was only 3 or 4 feet above
the surface of the lake.
It rose irregularly to the east and
west, reaching a height of 10 or 12 feet.
To keep the sewers
underground, it became necessary to raise the grade of the
streets.
The streets adjacent to the river were filled in to
a height of 10 feet.
The streets were given an inclination
from the river sufficient to protect the sewers and to permit
the construction of cellars 7 to 8 feet in height.
The re-
graded sedtion is shown by the shaded portion of the accompanying topographical map of Chicago.
If in Brooklyn the streets adjoining the canal had
been graded at that time so as to slope toward the main sewers
on either side, they could easily have been sewered.
This
plan is now impracticable, because the locality is laready
built up; and it- would be out of the question to raise the
grade where the factories and power houses are located.
A System of Pumping.
How then are we to treat this low lying district ?
It is evident that the sewage will have to be lifted at one
or more Doints, to the level of the interceptinr sewers.
6/
Owing to the fact that the streets to be sewered are graded
toward the canal, and since they are widely distributed along
the banks of the canal and its lateral basins, we see at once
that a number of stations must be selected.
In general, we know that the more numerous the lifting stations are, the less will be the lift;
also,
the less
the depth at which the sewers must be laid.
The expense of
laying sewers is thereby greatly diminished, since deep cutting is avoided; good grades are secured; and the sewers are
made self cleansing.
On the other hand, by increasing the number of points
the cost of pumping machinery and the operating expenses are
increased.
Without regarding the sanitary efficiency of the
system, we find that a decision as to the number of stations
can be reached only by comparing the interest on first cost
plus the operating expenses in different cases.
As a rule it
is cheaper to make as few stations as possible.
Let us consider the various methods of pumping or
lifting sewage that can be applied.
There are three classes,-
pumping, pneumatic and hydro-pneumatic systems.
Pumping.
We will consider first
the source of power.
may be either steam, hot air, gasoline or oil.
This
If any one of
these is employed, a complete plant will be necessary at each
station for generating power as well as for lifting the sewage.
Moreover, these plants would have to be above ground, and
therefore suitable buildings must be provided.
The first cost
for site, building, machinery and the subsequent operating
expenses would therefore be very great.
Under operating ex-
62.
penses must be considered the cost of fuel, and attendance,
which would be very much higher than if the power were generated at but one station.
There would be difficulty in secur-
ing suitable sites for the pumping stations, since considerable space is required for the machinery.
Collecting tanks
would be required, because the flow of sewage is variable;
for it would be uneconomical to make the rate of pumping the
same as the maximum rate of flow of sewage.
If electricity, however, is utilized, the power may
be supplied from one central power station or, more directly,
from the Edison system.
Consequently a pump and motor only
are required at each station, and these may be placed under
ground in the streets.
Moreover, the operation can be render-
ed automatic, by the use of floats which close the circuit
when the collecting tank has been filled.
The use of elect-
ricity as the source of power, therefore, presents such marked
advantages, that we are warranted to leave the other sources
out of consideration.
The use of electricity is, however, objectionable
here.
There are numerous contingencies which might arise to
prevent the operation of the pumps.
Accidents to the genera-
ting machinery, short circuits, burning out of fuses, or derangement of the motors or switches would prove disastrous in
a sewerage system, where the immediate removal of sewage is
imperative.
The motors would have to be placed in deep man-
hole chambers, and it would be impossible to keep them dry.
Although special motors are made where
they are to be exposed
to dampness, their use is always undesirable and an additional
63.
expense.
We will see later that it will prove safer and more
economical to use another source of power, compressed air,
rather than electricity.
Let us now consider the pumps which may be used to
raise the sewage at the various collecting stations to the
level of the intercepting sewers.
The pumps generally used
for lifting sewage are piston or plunger pumps,
and centrifu-
Other types have been employed, such as screw and
gal pumps.
oscillating pumps, but few with any success.
require careful screening of the sewage.
Piston pumps
Large solids and
gritty matter interfere with their operation.
Constant atten-
tion is necessary to prevent the choking of the screens by
various articles always found in sewage.
Gratings, wire
screens and settling tanks are employed for intercepting solid matter, and if the deposits are considerable the screens
must be raised by power and cleaned.
For low lifts, such as will be encountered in dealing with the case at hand, centrifugal pumps are more efficient than piston pumps.
This is shown by the curve of rela-
tive efficiency for different lifts
plotted by Mr.
Wm.
O.
Webber from data obtained by experiments on small centrifugal
pumps made in 1885 at Lawrence, Mass.
The great advantage of
centrifugal pumps is that they can deliver a large vdlume of
water, as compared with their size and first cost.
The wear
on the pump due to grit in the sewage is not great in centrifugal pumps.
In piston pumps it is very injurious.
the former are better adapted for this work.
tage lies in
bu
Therefore
Another advan-
the fact that they are easily mounted and require
64
but small and inexpensive foundations.
For proper operation,
however, centrifugal pumps require a constant supply.
A stor-
age basin would therefore be required at each pumping station,
and this is objectionable because of the additional space required, and also because the storage of sewage is always undesirable.
We see then that there are ntmerous objections to
the use of ordinary pumps for raising the sewage to the level
of the intercepting sewers.
Pneumatic Systems.
The object of the pneumatic systems, as distinguished
from the water carriage system, is to remove the sewage
through pipes to a central station by means of compressed air
or a wacuum.
There are two such systems known as the Liernur
and the Berlier systems.
In the Liernur system, the sewage is sucked through
main pipes to a central reservoir, where it may be treated or
removed in carts.
A vacuum of about 11 lbs. per sq.in. or
3/4 of an atmosphere is created here for each operation.
This
action usually takes place only once a day, and each house
drain must therefore be of sufficient capacity to contain a
day's supply of sewage.
The system has been installed in the
military barracks at Prague, and in Amsterdam, Leyden and
Dordrecht,
in Holland.
the volume of sewage is
The system is
only applicable where
small and consists principally of
faeces.
The Berlier system is a similar pneumatic system.
By the use of a receiver and discharger, its action is rendered automatic.
It has been installed in the barracks at Paris.
65.
Although the system is automatic, it has certain objectionable
The apparatus must be installed in each building,
features.
is cumbersome, requires attention for cleaning and occupies
considerable room.
The valve is complicated in its action
and liable to get out of order.
Like the Lierhur system,
this is intended to be used only where small volumes of sewage
are to be dealt with.
Neither system is suited for American
cities.
Hydro Pneumatic Systems.
Under this head we include the Adams sewage lift and
the Shone ejector system.
These are really not systems at all,
but are merely applications of compressed air for lifting sewage in the water carriage system.
The term is used for con-
venience in the discussion.
The Adams sewage lift is sometimes employed in low
lying districts for lifting sewage.
The principle involved
is simply the utilization of a fall of water to compress air
which then forces sewage from a low to a higher level.
It
requires, however, a considerable supply of water for generating the compressed air; and the water must be taken from the
city mains.
Such a method is inapplicable in this case, since
the water supply of the city is already limited and because
a sufficient fall could not be obtained for the water to compress the air.
In the Shone system, the sewage is lifted by means
of ejectors.
lish engineer,
This sytem originated with Isaac Shone, an Engin 1878.
,SECTION THROUGH
AN EJECTOR.
66.
The Shone Ejector.
The Shone ejector is an apparatus for lifting sewage
by means of compressed air.
Its operation is best described
by referring to a sectional view.
It consists essentially of a covered, pot like vessel of cast iron, which has an inlet for sewage at one side,
and an outlet connecting with a discharge pipe on the opposite
side.
At both inlet and outlet are placed check valves ( A
and B ),
the former opening inward, and the latter outward.
Through the middle of the ejector extends a rod
which is attached above to an air valve ( E ).
At the upper
and lower parts of the vessel, two cast iron bells in reversed
positions are fastened to the rod ( C and D ).
At G the rod
is of bronze, and is carried through the top of the ejector
in a stuffing box.
Thus any motion of the cast iron bells,
due to change in the depth of sewage contained in the ejector,
is immediately transferred to the compressed air supply valve
at E.
This valve regulates both the admission ahd exhaust of
air from the ejector.
When the ejector is
exhaust.
empty,
the valve E is
opeb to
As sewage flows in from the gravity sewers through
the inlet valve at A,
upper bell at C is
the ejector fills
reached.
until the level of the
As it continues to fill, the bell
is raised by the bouyant force of the sewage, the rod rises,
and the air pressure valve is opehed.
Compressed air auto-
matically enters and, since the valve at A will then be closed,
it forces the contents of the ejector out through the discharge pipe at B into the sewer main.
67
The action is then repeated, as the sewage continues
to flow in.
The position of the bells is so adjusted that
admission and exhaust of the compressed air occurs only when
certain levels of the sewage in the ejector have been reached.
Therefore a constant quantity is discharged at each operation.
Advantages of Ejectors.
We have already discussed the disadvantages involved
if a pumping system were installed.
Let us see how these are
obviated in the case of the Shone system.
First as regards the ejector itself,
we find that
it contains no piston or other mechanism which is likely to
become obstructed by sticks, brickbats, grit or other matter
which is often found in sewage.
The air valve is advantage-
ously located entirely outside of the ejector.
The only parts
liable to obstruction in their action are the two check valves
at A and B.
The inlet and outlet connections are so construct-
ed that it would be extremely unlikely for any obstruction,
which is small enough to enter, to lodge at the check valve,
and this is borne out by experience where Shone ejectors have
been installed.
However some danger exists from this cause and must
be provided for.
An iron grating should be provided in the
collecting manhole to intercept the larger solids coming down
the sewers.
These gratings will require some inspection; but
since they may be coarse, they will not necessitate the continual attention necessary if pumping is resorted to.
Furthermore, overflows may easily be provided from
each ejector station to the canal.
Then if
an ejector were
68
to get out of order,
by reason of the check valve failing to
close, no damage can be done by the sewage backing up in the
sewers.
The overflow would be small in amount,
since any de-
rangement in the working of the ejctors is immediately noticed
at the compressor station, and a man can be sent to remove any
obstruction in a short time.
There are no finished, interior surfaces, and the
velocity in the ejector is low, hence there is little if any
wear due to grit in the sewage.
The acids and other industri-
al wastes which we have here to deal with would be destructive to ordinary pumps.
Shone ejectors are well adapted for
handling such liquids since the interior of the eastifgs is
coated with a composition which is not affected by sewage.
The inlet and discharge valves are of bronze and will therefore last for a very long time.
The ejector stations are built underground in
the
streets, and no expenditure for property sites is therefore
required.
Since the ejector adjusts itself automatically to
the amount of sewage to be raised, it becomes umnecessary to
provide storage basins at each station.
No screening or
straining of sewage is necessary, except the coarse gratings
already mentioned.
The nuisance due to the cleaning of pump
gratings and storage basins is therefore avoided; and with
good management, there should be no odor from the ejectors.
The sudden discharge of the entire contents of the ejectors
into the comparatively flat intercepting sewers will form a
very effective means for flushing these mains.
The Shone system has been successfully installed in
69
a great many cities and towns in England.
In the United
States it has been found to be better adapted for use in isolated buildings and for pumping sludge at sewage disposal
works.
At the World's Fair, however, in Chicago in 1892 -
1893, a system-of 26 ejectors was installed, and gave excellent results.
haven, Mass.
dition.
A system of 4 ejectors is in operation at Fairsince 1895,
and it
is
reported to be in good con-
Three ejectors were installed at Far Rockaway, L.I.
i* 1897, but these do not seem to have had proper attention.
The largest system that has been installed is at Rangoon,
Burma.
This installation has proved very efficient.
Efficiency of the Shone System.
In dealing with water, one cannot attain the same
efficiency of pumping with ejectors that one can with steam
pumps.
In
the case of sewage it
allowed for is
is
greater in
is
different.
For low lifts
to be
sewage pumps because solid matter
raised and also since the slip is
clean water.
The lift
greater than when pumping
where low pressures are employed,
just as high an efficiency may be obtained when pumping crude
sewage by means of compressed air, as with the best steam
sewage pumps, for the loss in producing compressed air at low
pressures is very small.
Tests made by Prof. Win. C. Unwin on a Shone ejector
system at Lowestoft, England, showed an efficiency for piping
and ejectors of 48.9
%
for a lift
of 25.26 feet.
While the prime motive power in the Shone system,
steam, is employed indirectly, the efficiency of compressor,
air pipe,
and ejector combined is
greater than if
a number of
70.
separate steam pumps are used, with either separate boilers
or a central steam plant, especially when the stations are
numerous and widely distributed.
ated at a central station.
Compressed air can be gener-
This effects a great saving both
in first cost of machinery and also operating expenses.
The
supply of compressed air is made to satisfy the demand and
thus a saving in power is effected.
This is done by means of
reducing valves, and governors which stop the steam supply to
the compressors when the pressure required for raising the
sewage has been obtained.
Compressors therefore as well as
ejectors work automatically.
Comarison of Electricity and Comtressed Air.
Let us compare the losses in the case of centrifugal
pumps driven by electric motors and in the case of Shone ejectors operated by compressed air.
In both cases steam power must be used to generate
either current or compressed air.
Here at once we perceive
an advantage in the use of compressed air, since it may be
conveniently stored in receivers without any loss.
Now as to the transmission of power from the central
station to each lifting station.
Compressed air is regarded
by many as an uneconomical means of transmitting power.
The
manner in which compressed air power is utilized in the Shone
system enables one to get a high efficiency out of it.
In the first place, the frictional losses due to
transmission are trifling, if well designed.
less than 1
They can be made
per 1000 feet with proper size of pipe and there-
fore proper velocity.
The loss of electric current due to
71
resistance would be considerable.
With electrically driven centrifugal pumps there
must be considered the losses due to friction in the motor and
pump.
In
tle case of the ejectors;
the compressed air acts
directly upon the liquid to be pumped.
There are consequently
no losses due to friction in the ejectors, and the clearance
losses are too small to be considered.
Again, it is more economical to produce air at low
pressures than high pressures.
Now, low pressures only are
required in the Shone system.
Therefore the compressed air
is employed under the most advantageous conditions.
We see therefore that the use of compressed air and
Shone ejectors for lifting sewage presents very marked advantages over electrically operated centrifugal pumps.
It seems
then that the Shone system is admirably adapted in the case
which we are considering.
Flushing Plans.
As early as 1849, before the construction of the
canal was begun, it was recommended that the canal should be
extended across the city to Wallabout Bay, to the northward.
The great advantage of this plan is that it would furnish the
only possible self-acting means of. keeping the canal clean at
all times.
It would be a permanent remedy, since the strong
tidal current, which would be diverted into the canal would
furnish a continually changing supply of water.
Such natural
flushing would be most efficient, and would prevent the canal
72.
from ever becoming offensive.
Since the city has been built up,
now out of the question.
such a plan is
The cost of building bridges at the
numerous important streets, which would have to be crossed,
would alone far exceed the commercial value of the canal; and
the time required to carry out the project would be excessive.
It has also been proposed to connect the head of the
canal with Wallabout Bay or some nearer point on the East River by means of a level tunnel, which would also furnish a very
efficient flushing action, if it were built large enough.
direct line of streets is available for such a tunnel.
No
The
construction of the new subway, which would have to be crossed,
puts a practical difficulty in the way of this plan, since
the tunnel would have to dip under it.
Numerous other object-
ions might be mentioned, but these are sufficient.
The construction of a subsidiary canal, extending
from the head of the present canal in a generally southwest
direction to the bay,
has also been advocated.
By the use of
flood gates at either end, a quiet flushing could be caused
during ebb tide, twice in each twenty four hours.
of the annex canal would be less than two miles,
The length
and would
afford additional opportunities and water facilities for carrying on commercial and manufacturing industries.
This method would be a relatively expensive one.
The use of tide gates is objectionable, as they would interfere
seriously with navigation.
With the building up of the lo-
cality, no route for this canal now remains available.
73,
One plan, projected by Mr.
Cole, C.E.,
is to use a
flushing tunnel at the head of the canal and a flood gate
placed at the junction of the two branches of the canal.
He
cites the flushing of the Erie Canal in the spring as an example of what can be done by suddenly turning loose a great
mass of water in a long narrow channel.
By filling the reser-
voir formed by the upper half of the canal at high tide with
harbor water drained through a large tunnel from Buttermilk
Chqnnel,
tide,
and discharging it
by opening the gate just at low
a difference of level of about 5 feet could be secured,
provided the leakage through the flood gate is made inconsiderable.
The distance of the gate from Gowanus Bay is only
about one iile, and it
is
claimed that a torrent amply suffic-
ient for flushing out the channel might be secured.
The advantage of this plan is that it does away with
the pumping, which is otherwise necessary if some method of
flushing is to be adopted.
Thus not only the cost of the
pumping plant, but also the running expenses would be saved.
The cost of the flood gate and the operating expenses would be
comparatively slight.
The great objection to this plan is the
fact that the upper branches of the canal would be closed to
traffic whenever flushing is
carried on.
The sudden distrub-
ance of the great mass of filthy water would give rise to serious nuisances, since a great quantity of foul gases would be
given off from the sludge in the canal.
The rush of water
might do great damage to shipping along the bulwarks of the
canal.
The flushing would have to be resorted to continuous-
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74
ly, if
it
is to be efficient.
In 1905, Mr. A. J. Provost, Assistant Engineer to
the Borough President, reported on a plan to flush out the
canal by pumping water from the harbor into it.
The water is
to be brought to the head of the canal through a level tunnel,
12 feet in diameter,
The tunnel is
from Buttermilk Channel, East River.
to run under either Harrison or Degraw Streets.
The pumps are to be located at the canal, and are to have a
capacity of 30,000,000 cu. ft. per day.
This plan is now be-
ing worked up in detail in the sewer department.
The city has
appropriated $ 750,000, which was the estimate made for the
work.
The plan is similar to the one which was adopted for
flushing the Milwaukee River at Milwaukee.
The conditions
were like those existing at the Gowanus Canal, and we will
therefore give an account of the project carried out there.
The city of Milwaukee is divided by three rivers
into four natural divisions.
( See topographical map ).
The
Milwaukee River flows southward, the Menominee flows eastward,
and the Kinnikinnic flows northward.
one outlet into Lake Michigan.
They all converge to
The natural flow of these
rivers, excepting in spring or after heavy rain storms, was
very small, and at times ceased altogether.
When the wind
was blowing in from the lake, a current was even often set up
in the opposite direction.
The sewerage system of the city was designed by
E. L.
Chesbrough in 1869.
It provided for the discharge of
73
all
sewage into these ribers.
drained into the Milwaukee
40 f
-iver;
drained into the Menominee valley.
of the area of the city is
and 42 f
of the area is
In addition, all the refuse
from the large packing houses, distilleries and other establishments drain into this valley.
Within ten years after the sewerage system had been
adopted,
the offense arising from the discharge of factory
wastes into the river became a matter for public complaint.
In 1880, a commission, consisting of Messrs. Chesbrough, Waring and Lane reported on a plan for intercepting sewers and
disposal by irrigation.
Work on these sewers was there upon
begun in the Menominee valley and the discharge of industrial
wastes into the Menominee RiVer thereafter ceased.
Meantime the Milwaukee River was becoming more and
more foul, and in 1887 the nuisance arising from the sewage
and industrial wastes emptied into the river, amounting to 10
to 13 million gallons daily, together with the gases continuously bubbling up from the river bed in hot weather became unbearable.
A speedy and prompt relief was required, and Mr.
Benzenbergh, the city engineer, proposed a large tunnel from
the lake to the river just below the dam.
The location of the
tunnel is shown by the heavy red line on the topographical
map of Milwaukee.
Sufficient water was to be pumped into the
river to dilute the entire volume of water between the dam and
the outlet 25 to 30 times every twenty four hours.
The shortest route from the lake to the cqkl was
chosen.
This was 2500 feet in length just below the dam.
To
lessen the friction head produced in the tunnel a diameter of
74.
12 feet was chosen.
The grade of the tunnel was level, and
at such a depth that the crown was 2 feet below city datum
( mean low water in Lake Michigan ).
The screw pumping engine
used was set in a wrought iron caisson, 11 1/2 feet below datum, on a concrete and stone foundation.
engine was used.
shore.
A vertical compound
The pumping station was located on the lake
The capacity of the pump was 59,000,000 cu.ft. in 24
hours, and the total lift was 3 feet.
Within a quarter of an hour after starting the pump,
the clear cold lake water began to push the foul river water
before it,
although the current had been up stream.
Within
20 hours, the water assumed a transparency that had not been
observed for years.
70 to about 50 .
The temperature was reduced from about
The formation of gases was entirely checked,
and the wqter has become clear and transparent.
The entire
cost of the work amounted to $ 223,000; while the annual operating expenses have never exceeded $ 25,000.
Twp flushing canals were also proposed at one time
for flushing the North and South Branches of the Chicago River,
but they have never been constructed.
Now that the drainage
canal has been completed, the situation in Chicago, which was
identical with that in Milwaukee, has been relieved; and the
river is flushed with a large and continuous volume of pure
water from Lake Michigan.
The disadvantages of this flushing plan for the
Gowanus Canal lie not only in the great first cost for constructing the tunnel and for the large pumping plant necessary;
but chiefly in
the constant expense of sustaining and operat-
ing the pumps,
keeping the tunnel in repair,
the intake at the harbor.
and protecting
Unless a very large quantity is
pumped, it is by no means certain that the flushing action
will be sufficient to prevent further deposits in the canal.
Transporting Capacity of Currents.
To decide on the quantity of water which must be
pumped into the canal in order to prevent deposits of sludge
and silt from accumulating on the canal bottom, it is necessary to investigate the transporting capacity of currents.
Suspended particles in streams are continually tending to deposit.
They are prevented from doing so by the ir-
regular motion of the particles of water in the stream, which
may exert an upward force and tend to prevent settling.
It has been proved that for round and square particles, the weights will vary with the sixth power of the velocity of the current.
With double the current then, we can
move pebbles 64 times as heavy.
It should be noted that the weight of sand and gravel or other material ts greatly reduced when plaved in water.
Furthermore, the friction is also proportionately lessened.
This explains why heavy material is so easily transported by
currents of moderate velocity.
As the result of observations on the Mississippi,
Mr.
Corthell concluded that the ability of a stream to carry
material depends on the velocity modtified by the depth, and
that the power to keep sediment in suspension was inversely
as the depth.
Captain Eads concluded that thexquantity of
matter which a stream was capable of carrying increased as the
square of the velocity.
Numerous experiments have been made by different men
on the effect of currents of water in channels.
They have
proved that the diameters of particles rolled along the bottom
vary with something less than the squate of the current.
Mr. Wicksteed found from experiments at Leicester,
England, that with a bottom velocity of 16" per second, the
deposit of small pieces of brick and stone in sewers was prevented.
With a velocity of 22" per second, iron borings or
heavy slag would be removed.
Since then experiments
and ex-
perience have shown that considerably greater velocities are
necessary.
Baldwin Latham days from his experience that in
no case should the yelocity be less than 2' per second, and
in general it should be much greater.
This statement refers
to sewers larger- than 24" in diameter.
In 1780, Dubuat conducted some experiments in wooden
troughs 18" wide with water less than 1' deep.
He obtained
the following data as to the velocity required to move various
materials:
FT. PER SEC.
MATERIAL.
River mud, semi-fluid
Brown pottery clay
0225
0.27
Common clay
Yellow sand, loamy
0.50
0.71
Common river sand
Gravel, size of seeds
1.00
0.35
peas
beans
0.60
"
S
"
"
"
1.00
Similar experiments were made by T. E. Blackwell for
the British government in connection with the main drainage of
London.
These data refer to the power of water to move the
79
material on the bed of the stream and not to its capability
of carrying it in suspension.
They furnish, however, a guide in
in determining the latter.
On considering the figures, it seems that it would
be best to allow for a mean velocity of at least 2 feet per
second in
the canal.
ages 1000 sq. ft.
But the cross section of the canal aver-
Therefore the quantity required, Q,
found to be 1000 2 60 24 = 172,800,000 cu.ft. per day.
a volume would require pumps of enormous capacity.
is
Such
The quant-
ity suggested by the city engineer, 30,000,000 cu.ft. per day,
50 = 0.35 ft.
would produce a velocity of but 30,000,000
1000 60 60 24 144
per second.
It
is evident that in
this case the accumulation
of deposits in the canal would not be prevented.
Such a plan
would therefore be inefficient and fails to secure one of the
main objects.
Combination of Sewerage System and Flushing Plan.
A system of sewerage seems to be the only proper and
sanitary measure to adopt.
As long as the sewage and factory
wastes are allowed to discharge into the canal, it will remain
nothing but an open sewer, and will necessitate the continual
expense of dredging the channel.
The intercepting sewers
should be utilized by taking the sewage which now discharges
into the canal and carrying it out to the harbor.
Thus the
greater part of the impurities could be kept out of the canal.
Since the section of the city is well adapted for manufacturing, and is valuable because of the convenience of freight
transportation due to the canal,
it
could be made very desir-
able property if improved by sewerage.
If the discharge of
sewage into the canal is strictly prohibited by law and proper c
conveniences are provided for disposal through the city sewers,
the source of practically all the deposits in the canal would
be removed, and the constant expense of dredging eliminated.
It is true that the first cost of a sewerage system is great;
but, when the advantages of this plan are considered, it would
seem to be the duty of the city to enter into it.
At the present time and for years to come it will
not be necess.ary.to consider any method of sewage disposal
other than by dilution in the harbor, since this method is
universally practiced in New York City.
A chemical precipit-
ation plant, which would be the only other method applicable
at present, is peculiraly ill adapted, inasmuch as the factories and gas works are widely scattered on the two sides of
the canal.
The New York Harbor Pollution Commission is now
investigating the subject of the disposal of the sewage of the
city; but it will be many years before any definite plan is
adopted.
Having decided on the construction of a sewerage
system, it next becomes necessary to see how the present contents of the canal can be removed, if we suppose that the
factories no longer discharge sewage into it.
It is evident
that some method of flushing the canal must be adopted.
In-
deed, there will always be a necessity for keeping up a constant current in the canal because it would be impossible to
prevent the discharge of improper substances into it from
shipping, the bulwarks, and relief sewers in times of heavy
rain.
c ome
Some sewage, though considerably diluted, must always
67
come down through the overflow sewers with every rain storm.
It is also true that considerable silt is brought down after
every storm; but this could be prevented from discharging into
the canal, by proper care of the silt basins.
These should
be frequently cleaned out.
Pumping out the cogtents of the canal is not considered since the discharge of pure sewage into the harbor
would cause a serious nuisance.
The sewage would have to be
carefully screened unless centrifugal pumps were employed.
The efficiency would be very much less than if simply pure
water had to be handled.
We must therefore adopt some plan for flushing out
the present filthy liquid contents of the canal within a reasonable time, say one or two months; and also to maintain
a
slight but constant change in the contents of the canal thereafter.
The circulation of water should be sufficient to dil
ute such sewage as cannot be kept out of the canal from becoming offensive.
The solid contents will have to be dredged
after the sewerage system is completed.
We must now deter-
mine what quantity of pure harbor water will be required to
replace the present contents of the canal.?
Trough Experiments.
In order to determine the effect produced by dischargiog a considerable volume of water into the canal at its
head, a series of experiments was made with a wooden trough
4" wide and 14' long ( 189", more exactly).
A large wooden
basin, about 6'x 8'x 6" in depth was connected with the trough.
After both were levelled up, they were filled with water and
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coloring matter ( uranaline ) was mixed with the water in the
trough in order to observe the dilution and displacement on
introducing clear water at the head o# the trough.
The water
was allowed to escape over the sides of the basin.
By making
the contents of the basin large compared with that of the
trough, a fair representation of the discharge of the canal
into the bay was obtained.
The water was introduced by means
of a hose until practically no color was observed in the entire length of the trough, and the rate of discharge was measure
ed by weighing the discharge in a given time.
In the case of experiment 6, samples of the water
in the trough were taken at four points every minute in test
tubes, and the color obtained by comparison with a sample taken before flushing was begun.
The colors are based on the
latter sample as unity.
The experiments were not intended to furnish exact
figures, but we believe they furnish a guide on which to base
our calculations.
The results are shown in the accompanying
tables and curves.
Conclusions.
Table I gives a summary of all
the experiments.
When the contents of the trough were cleared, the ratio of
the volume of water necessary for flushing to the original
contents of the trough varied from 2 to 5 approximately.
action is
The
therefore partly a dilution and pqrtly a displacement
but largely the former.
Table II shows the dilution at four points along
the trough.
At the upper end, the color exhibited sudden
changes, showing
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changes, showing that the action was for the most part a displacement here.
At the lower end, the color changed gradually
showing that the action was a dilution.
Curve 1. shows the relation between the various
rates of discharge which were tried and the time required for
efficient flushing.
It is evident that the length of time
required increases rapidly as the rate of discharge is diminished.
With low rates, then, it would sdeem that the action
is almost entirely dilution.
Curve 2. represents the rapidity of the clearing of
the trough from the head to the point of discharge into the
basin.
When a volume of water equal to the contents of the
trough had been introduced, the trough was cleared for almost
3/4 of its length, showing that the action was up to this
point largely a displacement rather than a dilution.
~3T
THE FLUSHING WORKS.
Quantity to be Pumped.
As has already been pointed out, the object of flushing the canal is twofold,-
to remove the present contents and
to maintain a circulation thereafter.
The quantity of water
required for the former purpose is very much greater than that
for the latter.
a single day,
If it were necessary to cleanse the canal in
very large pumps would be required,-
too large
for the quantity needed to maintain a circulation thereafter.
We must therefore decide on a quantity which will cleanse the
canal within a reasonable time, and yet not be too large a
capacity for economical use thereafter.
The trough experiments showed that the effect of a
low rate of discharge into the canal is chiefly a dilution.
It
seems best therefore not to rely on any displacing action,
in computing the quantity necessary for flushing.
The results of the analyses have led to the conclusion that the present contents of the canal must be diluted
by pumping harbor water at the rate of 1,500,000 cu.ft. per
day, if the canal is to be rendered innocuous within 30 days.
The assumptions on which this figure is based are very rough.
Furthermore,
the time within which the canal is
cannot be limited to any definite period.
to be purified
It seemed therefore
wise to allow a somewhat higher figure, and 2,000,000 cu.ft.
per day was deemed safe and reasonable.
Suppose pumps of a capacity of 2,000,000 cu.ft. per
24 hours are selected.
Pumping continuously these would pur-
ify the canal in less than 35 days.
This would seem to be a
very reasonable time, when one considers that the conditions
have been tolerated for years.
What current would this quantity of flushing water
We have, Q = AV.
produce in the canal ?
2gJ0009 j 0 0 0
24 60 60
1
1-
Therefore V = Q/A
= 0.023' per sec. or 1.4'
per min.
This current, slight as it may seem( is sufficient to change
the entire contents of the canal in five days.
Pipe Line.
It will be necessary to secure this supply of water
from the harbor, since the city supply is already too restricted.
The shortest route to the harbor is along either Harri-
son and Butler Streets or along Degraw Street, running due
west from the head of the canal to Buttermilk Channel.
It
is
believed that a sufficiently pure supply of water can be obtained by protecting the intake beyond the pier heads at the
foot of one of these streets.
There is little choice between these two routes.
There are several small advantages gained by laying the pipe
line in Degraw Street.
The route is practically straight,
whereas several turns are necessary if the other is adopted.
It is also somewhat shorter, but has the disadvantage that the
summit of the hill
the other case.
at Court Street is about 7' higher than in
Most important however is the fact that a
large 54" sewer discharges at the foot of Harrison Street.
The material best adapted for the pipe line is catt
87
iron because of its durability.
A depth of 6 feet seems to
be amply sufficient covering to protect the pipe against
freezing and injury by heavy traffic.
For some distance at
the top of the hill, the depth should be made as much as 15
feet in order to reduce the head to be pumped against.
It
next becomes necessary to find out what will be the economical
size of pipe to use.
Size of Pipe.
The size of pipe should be such as to make the total
annual cost a minimum.
In Turneaure and Russell's Public
Water Supplies an equation for the most economical diameter
is obtained by differentiating the expression for the total
cost in terms of the yearly cost of pumping and the interest
plus depreciation of the pipe line, and placing this equal to
zero.
Thus we find
.16
d= 2.22 (
b)
.44
Q
ar
where b = annual cost in cents of pumping 1 cu.ft. per sec. 1'
a = cost of cast iron in cents per pound.
r = rate of interest plus rate of depreciation of pipe
line.
Q = volume pumped per sec. in cu. ft.
It is required to pump 2,000,000 cu.ft. per day
continuously.
2
2000000 = 23.2 cu.ft. per sec.
24 60 0
Assuming b = 500, r = 5s, a = 1.5
.16
Then
d = 2.22 ( 1.55000-/5" )
.44
( 23.2 )
= 25.1"
Thererfore a 24" or 30" pipe should be selected.
Head Pumped Against.
From a study of the plan and profile for the pipe
AI
line accompanying this thesis, it was decided to locate the
pumping station at the foot of Degraw Street on the water
front.
In order to select pumps of proper capacity and type
we must ascertain what head is to be pumped against.
If the
head provided is only sufficient to overcome the friction in
the entire length of pipe, we see that the hydraulic gradient
will be the line ACB in the above diagram.
In this case the
pipe line rises abobe the hydraulic gradient at C.
The pres-
sure head at the summit D is then negative.
As a result air
enters the pipe if it is not made air tight.
Even if made
air tight, air would accumulate from the water under the reduced pressure.
The continuity of flow through the pipe is
therefore interfered with, unless an air chamber and pump are
provided to collect and remove the air as it accumulates.
To avoid this difficulty, the simplest method to
adopt is to pump to the summit of the hill, allowing the flow
thence to the canal to take place by gravity.
The total head
would then be greater, and the hydraulic gradient would be
the line A'DB.
The size of the pipe DB need then only be
sufficient to maintain the desired flow.
The minimum head available at high tide is 30.5'
and the length of pipe is 2350'.
305
Then the available head is
= 13' per 1000'.
From Turneaure's Diagram, which is based on Flamant's formula
for cast iron pipes slightly incrusted, a 24" pipe is found
to be necessary.
be, for 24" pipe,
For 30" pipe,
To pump water to D, the necessary head will
35.5 + 3.65 x 7 = 61'
35.5 +3 .65 x 2.4 = 44.3'
This does not allow for loss of head in the pump.
The 30" pipe should be adopted because it gives considerably less friction head and will prove more economical.
Selection of Pumping Machinery.
The type of pump to be used was determined by three
factors, namelyA large quantity of water is to be pumped.
The head is moderate ( 45' ).
The salt water will be destructive to ordinary pumps.
The choice of pump rests between reciprocating and centrifugal
pumps.
Rotary pumps cannot be considered since the leakage
would be very great for the lift to be provided for.
The salt Water would be injurious to the interior
surface of a reciprocating pump, even if constructed of phosphor bronze.
A centrifugal pump is better adapted because the
90.
salt water does not act on any reciproc4ting parts as is the
case with the reciprocating pump.
The centrifugal pump is
always the best where large quantities of water are to be handled, as in this case.~Moreover, its efficiency is higher for
moderate lifts
than that of reciprocating pumps.
seem, therefore,
It would
that a centrifugal pump is best adapted for
the flushing works.
9/.
DESIGN OF THE SEWERAGE SYSTKM.
A Preliminary Plan.
Owing to the broad nature of the problem, it was
found impossible in the time assigned for the preparation of
this thesis to prepare more than a preliminary plan for the
sewerage system, which is to be installed.
In fact, it would
be a matter of considerable time and trouble to determine, even approximately, the quantities of sewage which are to be
dealt with; and on these qu ntities must necessarily depend
the entire detailed design.
Were the city to undertake the
remedy proposed, it would be a comparatively simple matter to
make these estimates with the aid of the records of the water
department and the profiles of existing sewers in the sewer
department.
It is believed that the larger portion of the
factories in the locality have meterdd supplies.
By careful-
ly going over the meter records, the best guide to the real
qauntity of sewage discharged into the canal could be obtained.
The dry weather flow in the main relief sewer is easily determined by gagings.
The plan for a sewerage system accompanying this report, thererfore, does not attempt to give any sizes of sewers
or grades;
neither could the size of ejectors and compressors
be calculated.
The design derves its purpose, however, in
that it shows how the locality may be sewered, and how the
cause of the canal nuisance may be removed.
Separate System Adopted.
It is evident that, since the sewage has to be pumped
by means of ejectors,
it
will be better by far to adopt the sep
S2.
arate system rather than the combined system; and storm water
will therefore be allowed to run, as now, through the street
gutters into the canal.
Owing to the constant circulation,
which will be maintained by means of the flushing pumps, the
small quantity of street washings, which will be carried into
the canal, can easily be taken care of so as to produce no
nuisance.
By adopting the separate system, a great saving is
effected in cost of sewers, ejectors, and air compressing
plant, since the quantities to be handled will be much less
and the rate of flow more uniform.
Furthermore, although the
intercepting sewers, which are to be utilized are amply sufficient in size in dry weather, they could not be relied on
to carry any additional storm flow in
rainy weather.
Drainage Areas.
The area to be sewered must first
drainage areas.
be divided into
Each drainage area will contain an ejector
station toward which the sewage from the entire
district is
to flow by gravity and then to be forced up into the intercepting sewers.
It was decided to divide the area into five distr
ricts or drainage areas.
Sewerage System.
(
See Map Showing Design for a
)
Beginning on the east side of the canal, three ejector stations were found necessary.
Drainage area 1 was to
comprise the area included between Butler Street, Third Avenue,
the First Street Lateral Basin and the canal.
The ejector
station will be located at the corner of Nevins and Carroll
93.
Streets, since the streets slope naturally toward that point.
The sewage will be forced from the ejectors into the 42" brick
sewer on Carroll Street, at the corner of Third Avenue.
Drainage area 2.
This is a s.mall district between
the First and Fifth Street Lateral Basins, intended to take
the sewage from the two small sewers on Second and Third
Streets, and discharge it into the 30" sewer on Third Avenue.
Drainage area 3 is the area included between Second
Avenue and Hamilton Avenue and the canal.
The ejctor
station
will be located at the corner of Ninth Street and Second Avenue.
The sewage will be discharged through a pipe on Ninth
Street into the 72" brick sewer on Third Avenue.
On the west side of the canal, two drainage areas
were found necessary.
Drainage area 4 includes the area be-
tween Butler Street and Third Street, and between Bond Street
and the canal.
The ejector station will be centrally located
at the corner of Bond and President Streets.
The sewage will
be forced at that point into the Bond Street sewer.
Drainage area 5 extends from Ninth Street to Gowanus
Bay and comprises the area included between Smith and Court
Streets, and the canal.
The ejector station is to be located
at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Smith Street, and the
sewage will be raised into the Bond Street sewer at that point.
Compressed Air Plant.
The compressed air for operating the ejectors is to
be supplied from one central station.
Two sites offer them-
selves for this purpose.
One of these is at the head of the canal.
Two air
9~4
mains could be run from this point along either side of the
canal:
one on the east side, supplying stations 1, 2 and 3;
the other on the west side, supplying stations 4 and 5.
The
city owns the property directly at the head of the canal, where
the plant would be located.
While the cost of a site might
therefore be saved, the length of air mains would be considerable, and hence the friction rather great.
The cost of pipe
and also the operating expenses would therefore be increased.
The most central location would be at the corner of
Sixth Street and Second Avenue.
Here again, two mains would
be necessary, one supplying stations 1 and 2, and then crossing the canal by means of a submerged pipe at Carroll Street,
to reach station 4; the other supplying first station 3, and
then crossing the canal at Ninth Street to reach station 5.
If it is not impracticable to lay the submerged pipe under the
canal, and there does not seem to be any unsurmountable difficulty in the way of it, the second site would be the better
one to select.
Deatils of Compressor Plant.
The compressor plant will be equipped with the necessary compressors and air receiving tanks.
Usually the mach-
inery is provided in duplicate; but emergency overflows, to
be described hereafter, will make it unnecessary to do so in
this case.
Inasmuch as the compressors are arranged to work
automatically as the air receivers are drawn from, they will
not be required to run constantly
Hence some other means of
generating power other than steam would be more economical.
85The choice evidently lies between gas and electricity.
Deatails of Ejector Stations.
The sewers which converge at the ejector stations
are terminated in a manhole.
Adjoining the manhole is placed
the ejector chamber, and the manhole is connected directly
with the ejector by means of a pipe carried through the wall
of the chamber.
The gravity sewers will necessarily lie very deep,
and the ejctor chambers will therefore be as much as 25' - 30'
below the street.
It is evident, then, that extreme precau*
tions must be taken to make the chambers water tight.
For
this purpose, both sides and bottom are to be constructed of
cast iron plates, with flanged joints, bolted together and
made tight by means of lead drawn up between the flanges.
The joints are then to be thoroughly culked.
will be of concrete.
The foundations
Since the flanges of the plates will
extend inward, a layer of concrete will be placed inside the
chamber, deep enough to cover the top of the flanges.
The ejector chambers will be covered with reinforsed
concrete floor construction, provision being made for a manhole by which the chamber may be entered for inspection, oiling and repairs.
The interior of the chamber should be coated
with asphalt to further insure dryness.
Sewer Pipe.
To avoid the enormous quantity of leakage which is
certain to occur when sewers are laid at a considerable depth
in wet ground, particular care will have to be taken to make
tight joints.
96.
The sewers are to be of vitrified clay pipe of the
bell and spigot pattern, with extra deep and wide sockets.
Three foot lengths are to be used in order to lessen the number of joints and also the cost of laying the pipe.
Experi-
ence seems to show that neat Portland cement makes the best
joints; hence this is recormmended.
The depth of joint should
be 2", for it has been found that the deeper the ring of cement
in the joint, the less will be the leakage.
Overflows.
Some provision must be made to prevent damage in
case an ejector should fail to work properly.
Although very
simple in construction, the Shone ejector, like all automatic
devices, may get out of order.
In most cases, therefore, e-
jectors have been provided in duplicate.
erially to the first
This would add mat-"
cost of the sewerage system, and it
is
believed that it would be better in this case to provide overflows from the collecting manholes at each station to the canal.
The moment an ejector fails to work properly, the fact
will become known at the compressor station.
If the air valve
is deranged, there will either be a continuous draught on the
air supply, or the demand will cease; the engineer will quickly notice this by the record of the pressure gages and by the
action of the compressors, which, as we have seen, work automatically.
It will not take very long to send a man to the
ejector station to remedy the trouble.
Judging from state-
ments as to the working of ejectors, such occurrences see* to
be infrequent, and the discharge of sewage at the time would
not last very long.
Here again, the continuous flushing will
prevent any nuisance arising.
Interceptor for Mqin Relief Sewer.
It has been found that a large part of the sewage
discharged into the canal comes from the large 15' main relief
sewer on Butler Street.
Although intended solely as a storm
sewer, we have always found a considerable dry weather flow
to be taking place.
This sewage will have to be kept out of the canal,
and it can best be done by providing an interceptor at the
corner of Butler and Nevins Streets, which will drain into the
main gravity sewer of drainage area 1.
The interceptor should
be so designed that the entire dry weather flow will be taken
off, but in times of storm the large volume of water will for
the most part flow by, and will be discharged into the canal.
Present Sewers.
On some of the streets which are to be sewered, city
sewers already exist and drain into the canal.
All house
drainage is to be cut off from these sewers, so that they will
merely take storm water hereafter.