Category Archives: Baltimore

Sewage Contraption

17 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Sewage History

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Nothing says ‘Great Report’ than having a long title. (I had heard or read somewhere that long titles made books/reports more impressive)

1887: The Sanitation of Cities and Towns and the Agricultural Utilization of Excretal Matters Report on Improved Methods of Sewage Disposal and Water Supplies. By C. W. Chancellor, M.D., Maryland State Board of Health. To His Excellency Henry Lloyd, Governor of Maryland: Dear Sir, In pursuance of a resolution passed by the State Board of Health on the 19th day of November, 1886, and approved by your Excellency, authorizing me to proceed to Europe to investigate the most recent plans in practical operation for the disposal and utilization of household sewage, especially with reference to the sanitation of Maryland towns, and to report thereon, I herewith present the result of my labors. Undertaking the investigation with no preconceived notions of my own as to how the problem was to be solved; determined not to be influenced by appeals in favor of any particular scheme, however highly recommended; anxious to receive testimony from all parties, to hear all that could be said and to see all that could be seen, I have been guided not only by a fairly intimate acquaintance with what has been made public during the last ten or fifteen years on the “vexed question” of town sewerage, but by such experience as could be derived from a personal examination of. the principal systems in operation in England, France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland.

Evils Resulting from the Improper Disposal of Sewage – It cannot be too often repeated that the “water-carriage” plan of Tout a L’egout is without doubt the worst devised system of sewerage imaginable for getting rid of excrementitious matters, and should the attempt be made to treat the sewage of Baltimore city in this way, it will undoubtedly prove an expensive and fatal blunder. (Not only does this guy get to go to Europe to do this report – he starts speaking French!)

The bottom line of this nearly 200 page report is that he wants to sell his own invention for sewage removal:

sewage catcher

The Reader’s Digest version of his invention: Waste enters through down-pipe ‘F’. The heavier solids go into ‘E’. Liquid is pushed up through a layer of wool ‘D’, travels to ‘A’ where it is filtered, then out of ‘a’ to the nearest stream.

Greenmount Cemetery

16 Monday May 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Sewage History

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This Saturday, Kathy and I will be doing a walking tour of Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore. I had previously done this tour about a year ago but it was very disorganized – by myself. I roamed around aimlessly, searching for famous people among the 9,000+ graves. This time we will be part of a tour given by historian Wayne Schaumberg. Some of the more notable headstones I hope to see are of Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, John Garrett (B&O Railroad), Bodine (photographer), Booth (performer and assassin), Mayor Swann (Swann Lake which became Lake Roland in Robert E Lee park which is now Lake Roland Park) and Mayor Chapman (Lake Chapman, which is now Druid Lake) The Findagrave website lists all the graves.

Here are some sewerage notes and photos from the Sewage Commission:

1866 – We (Commission) constructed a wall on Greenmount Ave to Hoffman and extended the tunnel under Hoffman. Then made the necessary lateral sewer and inlet to carry off the surface water from the avenue (Greenmount). It is a great improvement for the Cemetery Company.

1887 – Monument to Hon. John Lee Chapman, ex-mayor – By Ordinance No. 105, approved October 10, 1887, the Mayor and City Commissioner were directed to have a monument constructed and erected in the lot where repose the remains of John Lee Chapman, one of the mayors of Baltimore; and to contract with the Greenmount Cemetery Company to keep the lot in good and proper order forever. Under this ordinance a contract has been made with Messrs. Bevan & Sons for the construction and erection of the monument at a cost of four hundred and seventy-five dollars, the plan presented by them having been approved. The contract will be made with the Cemetery Company in due time for keeping the lot in order.

1906 – Tablet to commemorate the beginning of sewer construction. On November 20th the Chief Engineer was authorized to design a suitable tablet to commemorate the beginning of sewer construction at the intersection of Ensor and Lanvale streets; the tablet to be placed in the face of the wall of Greenmount Cemetery, which is only a few feet from the point at which ground was broken for the work. The Chairman was requested to obtain permission from the Cemetery authorities to insert the tablet at the point named. The Chairman accordingly communicated with Mr. John A. Whitridge, President of the Greenmount Cemetery Company, and obtained permission from him to place the tablet as desired. A suitable tablet of bronze has been designed and will be placed in position as soon as completed.

1908 photo – Diver – SWC 3. Outlet of Gay St drain, Gay and North showing diver at work. (The 1908 Annual report includes this photo but the caption reads Gay at Pratt Sts.)

1911 – More photos of alley work and obstructions. Photograph of reconstruction of old rubble masonry drain in Greenmount Cemetery, showing gravesites.

Looking at the maps from back then, I was amazed at how close the Jones Falls is to the cemetery.

81_6_335r 81_6_4488 81_6_4842 81_6_4844 Untitled-1

…but for the Grace of God

11 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in 12 steps, Addiction, Baltimore, Health, Recovery, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

While doing research, for my upcoming book on Baltimore’s Sewage History, I come across tidbits of information that I find interesting or that just hits home with me in a way that makes me grateful for my life today. Since re-doing this blog a while back, I have been trying to refrain from writing on my personal life; that this blog will be about historic information concerning the Department of Public Works. Water and Sewage. But as usual, something I read strikes a chord with me. As in the case of the paragraph below. This comes from The Reports of the City Officers and Departments Made to the City Council of Baltimore for the Year 1904. Of course the majority of this two volume report concerns the Great Fire of Baltimore for that year, but as in most reports, regardless of what was happening at the time – various wars, droughts, pestilence, etc. – the reports always, after a brief notation on whichever calamity was occurring, become ‘Business as usual’.

“Report from City Charities on addiction – Amanda Orr* is representative of a class of persons who cannot resist the temptation of liquor. She has been committed to Bayview and the House of Correction many times for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The only remedy for this class is to be confined indefinitely until cured of their disease in some place where they can be held in restraint and given healthy work and proper treatment. Incurable cases should be confined for life. This method of treatment is the most humane for the victim of the drink or opium habit and discourages the intemperate use of liquor and drugs. It is also much the cheapest method for the public in the long run. We need legislation to provide for indeterminate commitments for such cases.”

*State’s Attorney’s Office, Court House, Baltimore, February 21, 1905.

To the Police Justices of Baltimore City.

Dear Sirs—Allow me to call your attention to Section 868 of the City Charter, which provides for the commitment of paupers, habitual beggars, vagrants and vagabonds, lately construed by His Honor Judge Stockbridge in the Amanda Orr case. Under the decision of His Honor Judge Stockbridge in that case, the magistrate committing under said section should always commit said paupers, habitual beggars, vagrants and vagabonds to the House of Correction, and not to Bayview, except in special cases provided for in said Section 868 of City Charter. Before the magistrate can lawfully commit such pauper, etc., to the Almshouse (Bayview), it must positively appear that the person to be committed is not able-bodied, or is aged, or is seriously crippled, or infirm. In case of any doubt on the part of the committing magistrate as to the physical condition of the party to be committed, the magistrate by a short detention of the pauper, etc., at the station-house, can easily satisfy himself as to the alleged infirmities of the pauper, vagrant, etc., by the examination of the pauper by a physician. It is suggested that if this policy be pursued the State may be saved the trial of many habeas corpus cases and illegal commitments avoided. If you will be so kind as to leave this letter on file in your office for the benefit of any magistrate sitting in your absence, you will greatly oblige

Yours very truly,

Albert S. J. Owens,

State’s Attorney.

What’s this have to do with Baltimore’s Sewerage History? Being an alcoholic/addict I have lived in the gutters of Baltimore – waiting to be swept away at any minute like the other garbage laying there. Washed into the harbor…but for the grace of God….

I was Amanda Orr. Think of all the Amanda Orr’s since the above was written, who didn’t know they had a choice to ‘not use’.

Trash Day

10 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, POLITICS

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The Mayor spent $10,000,000.00 (Ten Million) on new trash cans for Baltimore residents. This I imagine also included the cost for the new attachment for the trash trucks, to pick up these over-sized cans?  Her reasoning is good – help reduce the rat population and to help the workers, so they don’t hurt themselves lifting the old cans and bags.

On occasion I get home from work in time to see the trash men on my street. And what did I see? The trash men reaching into the new cans and pulling the trash out by hand. Why? Because it takes way too long to put the new can on the new attachment so the trash truck can do all the work!! Residents are still putting out bags and the old metal cans and the trash guys are still taking it.

img031 (2)

img034

img200

Harper’s Waste Weir

03 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, HISTORY, water history

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

The Jones Falls became nothing more than an open cesspool that emptied into the Inner Harbor in the early 1800s. It was decided to build a reservoir upstream, outside of town and use conduit to carry drinking and fire fighting water to the public.

In 1858, work begins to increase the supply of water from the Jones Falls by building a dam. The reservoir to be created would be called Swann Lake, later to be renamed Lake Roland. A conduit would connect the reservoir to the Mount Royal Reservoir, and the water would flow by gravity through a 3-mile-long elliptical bricked tunnel. A Valve House was installed on top of the conduit and was originally known as the “Harper Waste Weir” (later to be referred to as “The Cross Keys Valve House”); and its construction would be completed in 1860. The Harper Waste Weir was located between Swann Lake and the Influent Gatehouse at the Hampden Reservoir. The Influent Gatehouse to the Hampden Reservoir pipe configuration was such that Swann Lake water could flow to the Mount Royal Reservoir or to the Hampden Reservoir. The Harper Waste Weir structure was one of three stone Greek Revival gatehouses to be built as part of the Baltimore’s City municipal water system along a conduit that would run from Swann Lake to Mount Royal Reservoir. The other two gatehouse structures (construction would be completed in 1862), being the effluent gatehouse at Swann Lake and the influent gatehouse to the Hampden Reservoir.

WasteWeir2

By doing this, the amount of natural water flow down the Jones Falls was impeded and this lack of flow created a worse  situation for Baltimore – the Jones Falls and the Harbor could not be flushed out on a regular basis (except during storms, which caused severe flooding).

WasteWeir

The structure on the left is the original Waste Weir. The wooden portion was built later to hold alum, which was added to the water by hand.

img009-392

This building still exists and has recently been added to Baltimore’s list of historic places.

img008-390

Odorless Excavating Apparatus

29 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Health, Sewage History

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Baltimore, situated as she is, with one main water course through her center (Jones Falls), she had plenty of water for the people. Pure, clean drinking water….until people started dumping their sewage into it. Many Health Commissioner’s Reports talk about what to do with the sewage of Baltimore. Contractors were hired to haul it away. Here are a couple HCRs on what happened over a few short years in Baltimore, until a proper system of sewage could be built.

1865 – The withdrawal of a large share of the water flowing in this stream (Jones Falls), by the completion of the lake and storage reservoirs (Lake Roland, originally called Swann Lake), with the extension of the water works in the city, has left too small a portion of water to keep the original course clean if nothing was thrown into it; but to this deficiency of water add its use as a receptacle for every species of offal from factories, foundries, tanneries, stables and dwelling houses, and we are not surprised at its present condition. We have had one of these sources of nuisance carefully examined, and find that not only are most of the privies attached to dwellings on the streets adjoining the Falls drained into it, by means of private sewers, but that wherever a sewer leading to it can be reached, this sewer is connected with privies for drainage purposes.

1873 – The late City Council have distinguished their administration by the passage of an ordinance permitting the use of the “odorless excavating apparatus” for emptying privies in the day time. This is the inauguration of a new era, and destined to prove one of the greatest blessings of the age. As stated in a communication on this subject to the late City Council, your Commissioner holds that a large proportion of the cases of cholera infantum occurring in all large cities during the heated term are to be ascribed to the ancient and vile mode of doing this work, as well as to its transportation through the streets of the city, poisoning the air which is wafted into every open window.

1875 Odorless Apparatus2

1875 Odorless Apparatus1888 – The adoption of a proper system of sewers for the present privy-wells will assist the Health Department in its endeavor to bring the City to a point where the ordinary sanitary condition will be such that epidemics of disease, resulting from or aggravated by filth, could be avoided or reduced to a minimum. The danger is greater than the people realize; the trouble is deep-seated and not to be reached by the Spring ‘cleaning up’ nor even by inspection. In most of the houses of this City there exists a latent power for evil, which is liable when its hour arrives to exert itself to the full of its terrible might.

I don’t believe that this apparatus lasted too long. It is no longer mentioned after the 1876 report.

Montebello Lake

25 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, filtration, HISTORY, water history

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Last week I received a request from my boss to check out the Montebello Lake. That it was reported that someone was seen dumping petroleum and chlorine into the lake. My first question was – “Did the person who spotted this call the police?” It is a crime to tamper with the water supply, let alone dump toxic chemicals into a lake on our property. This lake is no longer part of the city water supply system, other than being a settling basin for what goes on in the filtration plant. It is a by-product of filtration, waiting to settle out before flowing into Herring Run. Most people, even the neighbors don’t know this. They still believe the lake is drinking water. It hasn’t been drinking water since 1915.

I go and check out the lake but didn’t find anything amiss. (Not only do people NOT call the police, but after 35 years of being here, I learn to take those calls for lake problems with a grain of salt. Most are not true and unsubstantiated, but they do need to be checked out)

004

This is the view across the lake towards the gate house. The brown you see in the water is sludge build-up. This lake was dredged in 2005-2007, but the contractors only did a small portion of the smaller lake where most plant sludge is collected before flowing to this lake. That lake will soon be dredged. (It should be every 3-5 years, with the big lake not needing to be done for 30 years)

040 031 006

The ducks, turtles, fish and other wildlife all seem to be fine. No effects from a toxic dump here. I also did not see any dead growth on the grass which would indicate dumping.

tiffanyrThis is one of the original drawings from 1875 showing the lake being built over Tiffany Run, which dumps into Herring Run. The run was diverted into a tunnel from the gate house, lower left of lake then heads along, marked as drain conduit to Herring Run.

016

This is the original 1880s Tiffany Run drain. It has been relined a couple times since being built.

011

Channel from Tiffany drain to Herring Run. This is probably the best part of my job, other than historical research – getting to roam around in the woods. All 300 acres.

Dumps and Incinerators

21 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, HISTORY, Sewage History

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

In the 1884 Street Cleaning report are listed the following five dumps: Canton, Spring Garden, Back Basin, Eager St. and South Baltimore. By the 1920s, Baltimore was burning its garbage at two incinerators. One at Sisson and 28th street. The other on Philadelphia road. What does this have to do with sewage? Both places are on streams. Sisson street on Jones Falls, which still has a household hazardous waste collection site (original building appears to be gone). And Philadelphia road, as seen in the one photo below dumped right into Herring Run, which empties into Back River then on to the Chesapeake Bay. These photographs come from glass plate negatives that were broken due to improper storage. If you have GPNs, handle them with care.

img008r

The horse drawn cart was replaced by the modern dump truck. Here they are backing into the Sisson Street Incinerator, also known as #1 incinerator.

img002r

Instead of just piling the refuse into a dump, hoping somehow it would disappear, the garbage was sorted and then burned. #2 Incinerator on Pulaski Highway.

img010r

Pulaski Highway #2 Incinerator showing how any liquids and washed down materials were dumped into Herring Run. And yes, there use to be Herring in that stream.

Garbage 1886

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Health, Sewage History

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

1886 – From the Mayor’s Message: Health Department –  Garbage, etc. – The amount of garbage collected and removed during the past year was thirty-three thousand eight hundred and forty-nine cart-loads. Table G (below) shows the large number of dead animals, fowls, etc., collected and removed by this Department. The present methods of disposal of garbage and carrion are exceedingly unsatisfactory. Much annoyance and discomfort is experienced by residents adjacent to the present dumps, and frequent and continued complaints are made of the offensive odors. This annoyance, and menace to public health, can be obviated by burning them.

Chart gThis is a lot of dead animals. When this refuse was not picked up immediately and taken to the dumps (5 in the city), it was washed into the sewers which emptied into the Inner Harbor.

Jones Falls Flooding and Proposed Improvements

14 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, HISTORY, Sewage History

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

First map – July 1868. Showing Plat and Sections of Streets Submerged by Flood Exhibiting Proposed Changes Projected to Relieve the City Against Future Overflow by Latrobe, Trimble and Tegmeyer, Commissioners.

The area between the green lines is the flooded zone. The blue is the proposed changes. The grey being the actual Jones Falls. The smaller diagrams show the various streets and how high the water was when they flooded. It appears that the Falls rose about 20 feet in spots. The lower left diagram shows the proposed changes to streets.

A few things I find interesting is; the drawing of the skating pond as being the former City Reservoir (Possibly the second Mt. Royal?), The number of small dams, and all the businesses along the Falls that contributed to the pollution – gas, coal and oil factories, tannery, brewery, sugar refinery, lime kilns, oyster packing and taverns. Not to mention all the residences along the Falls. The City Dock and Block St. drawbridge I will write about later.

Plat and Sections of Streets Submerged

Second map – April 8, 1869. Revised Design for the Improvement of the Channel of Jones Falls and Drainage to Adjacent Portions of the City by H. Tyson. Note in upper left – The original design for this improvement will be found in the report made at the request of the Committee of Property holders of the Flooded District on the 31st of July, 1868.

This map shows the flooded area in a darker tan with numbers indicating the depth of water in feet, i.e. 15’ at Saratoga and Holliday. The proposed Falls is in pink with proposed sewers in red. The Falls is green.

Interesting with this map are the cut-away views showing sewers of Brooklyn, NY and of London. Also the cut-away views of the new retaining walls with sewers running along the Falls. I especially like the Baltimore St Bridge drawing with boat. (They dredged the Falls a lot for the passage of ships to merchants. More on that later) Note the wooden pavements above the sewers in the lower diagrams to the left. Houses and businesses were also built over the sewers. If you are from Baltimore, note that Alice Ann St. was 2 words. Now it is Aliceanna. Canton Ave. is now Fleet St. The note/drawing on bottom shows bridges, then and proposed over the Falls.

Revised Design for the Improvement of the Channel