1917 New Haven Health Survey: Sewerage and Sewerage Disposal

The prompt removal of excretal wastes by means of public sewers is another of the primary essentials of municipal sanitation, and the danger of transmission of disease from improperly constructed privy vaults is [34] an obvious and important one. Excellent progress toward the elimination of such vaults has been made in the more closely settled regions of New Haven. The older twelve wards are now sewered with reasonable completeness and it is estimated by the Board of Health that not over fifty vaults now exist on sewered streets. Our special inspector, Mr. O'Brien, has checked this estimate by going over certain selected districts and believes the estimate to be a conservative one. For instance, only five privies were found in the section of the second, third and fourth wards bounded by Park, George and Meadow Streets, Columbus and Howard Avenues; and six in the sewered part of Ward 9 and some of the sewered part of Ward 10. In the unsewered parts of Wards 9 and 13, in Fair Haven, especially in the Westville district, on Crescent, Watson, Daisy, Bassett and Shepard Streets, the privy problem is, however, a serious one.

In all, nearly 400 privies were inspected by Mr. O'Brien, including 39 on Crescent, Fowler, Fitch and adjoining streets in Ward 13, 50 in the region bounded by Prospect Street, Dixwell Avenue and Munson Stree, (Ward 9), 123 in Ward 11 (Fair Haven), 28 in the Westville district (Fountain, Dayton, Emerson and Harrison Streets), and 123 in Ward 15 (Lighthouse, Morris Cove and Granniss Corner districts). He reports the privies in the Fair Haven district to be in particularly bad condition, two-thirds of them being in some way "exposed to flies, rats or other insects or vermin." In general, "of the vaults examined, over 50 per cent were in some way exposed to flies and other insects. Of these, most cases were those of uncovered seats, while many had unscreened windows, open doors, large cracks, and quite a few were openly exposed at the bottom. Some had a combination of all these faults."

The dangers from such an open exposure of excreta as is shown in Fig. 7 is too obvious for discussion. Flies will resort to such a place in great numbers and will carry pollution to food in the neighboring houses. Only the presence of specific discharges from a typhoid case or a carrier is needed to initiate a serious epidemic; and Dr. Lewis, Bacteriologist of the Department of Health, has actually traced a considerable number of typhoid cases to this cause. Such filthy interior conditions as are shown in Fig. 8 constitute an equally serious menace.

Pending the extension of the sewerage system and the gradual enforcement of sewer connections on sewered streets we believe that the condition of existing privy vaults should receive very serious consideration. Even a privy vault can be made reasonably sanitary with sufficient care. We therefore urge:

Recommendation VI. That an ordinance be passed requiring all privies to be tightly constructed, screened against flies, and maintained in a sanitary [35] conditions; and that a special inspector be detailed to supervise the enforcement of these regulations.

The main trunk sewers and outlets of the sewerage systems of New Haven are shown in Fig. 9. There are 129.58 miles of sewers and it is estimated that there arc about 20,000 connections, 18,904 having been actually recorded between 1871 (when the records begin) and 1916. The system is built on the combined plan to take both house sewage and storm water as was the practice until recent times, but the sewers were well designed and in general may be considered adequate and satisfactory. At times of heavy rain the flow backs up in the 36-inch sewer on Church Street between George and Grove and causes flooding of cellars, a condition which can be ameliorated, though not wholly removed, by plans which have been prepared by the City Engineer's Office. The Whalley Avenue Boulevard sewer is also somewhat overcharged.

The next large project to be undertaken is the sewerage of the northern half of Westville. Plans have been drawn for a separate system in this region to connect with an extension of the 60-inch Whalley Avenue sewer, the storm water drains to discharge into West River. Eighty thousand dollars has been appropriated to begin this work, which is already under way. In connection with the general problem of sewer [36] extension we desire to endorse the recommendation of Dr. Wright that the Board of Health should have a voice in selecting the streets to be Sewered in the order that, in its opinion, necessity demands.

Sewerage offers the one wholly satisfactory solution of the difficulties of the individual householder; but it creates a new municipal problem, that of sewage disposal, one of the largest and most pressing civic problems which New Haven must face in the immediate future.

Fig. 9: The Principal Sewers of New Haven
A, Sea St. outlet; B, Meadow St. outlet; C, East St. outlet; D, Poplar St. outlet; E, James St. outlet

Aside from many small private sewers there are five large public sewers which discharge into New Haven harbor at the points indicated in Fig. 9. At Sea Street on the west side of the harbor about 3,600,000 gallons a day are discharged; at Meadow Street, 1,700,000 gallons and at East Street, 13,600,000 gallons, both near the head of the harbor; while two smaller sewers discharge into the Quinnipiac River at Poplar Street (850,000 gallons) and James Street (2,450,000 gallons). These figures are from gaugings, made during August, 1916, under the direction of Albert B. Hill, Consulting Engineer.

Much of New Haven harbor is shallow, particularly in the vicinity of the Sea Street outfall. The outfalls are all above low-water mark, and the sewage as it spreads over the flats and deposits its solid sludge upon them produces a condition of gross nuisance; while the presence of the untreated sewage constitutes a grave menace to the health of those who bathe in the harbor or consume shellfish grown therein.

During the past summer the sanitary condition of the harbor was exhaustively studied by a corps of experts from the U. S. Public Health Service. Dr. Hugh S. Cumming, Surgeon in Charge, has made the following report to Dr. Wright in regard to these investigations.

"The investigation has included:

Observation of the origin and character of the discharge from the various sewer outfalls.
Observations of floats set near the outfalls and of feces and other floating matter discharged therefrom, with reference to the direction and distance traveled by them over various periods of time and tide.
Laboratory examinations of approximately one thousand eight hundred samples of mud, water and shellfish taken from all parts of the harbor.

"As a result of the investigations so far made, the following conclusions have been reached:

That the harbor of New Haven, and the tidal portions of the Quinnipiac, West and Mill Rivers above the line between Bradley Point and the Old Tower are grossly polluted by sewage discharged from the Sewer outfalls in the harbor.

[37]

That the portion of the harbor which lies below the above line and within the breakwater contains a smaller proportion of pollution because of the dilution at each incoming tide and the sedimentation of some of the sewage before it reaches the area.
All of the first described area, and probably all of the second, certainly that portion adjacent to the channel, receives sewage, including human feces, within one tide, or about six hours after its discharge from the sewer outfalls. The sewerage system of New Haven is so constructed that sewage is discharged unusually fresh and before disintegration has taken place.
The direction of flow and distance traveled by sewage from any outfall is determined by the combined action of the tide and wind.
Shellfish in the harbor are exposed to pollution by sewage from the city and are filthy, dangerous and unfit to be eaten as taken from the area.
Bathing and swimming in the waters of the harbor above the line between Old Tower and Bradley Point, and in the rivers is unsafe and should be prohibited. The practice, which seems common, of bathing in the rivers and along the fore shores in the vicinity of sewer outfalls is especially dangerous.

"The dike at Sandy Point diverts grossly polluted waters from the sewer outfalls above that point, toward and into Morris Cove; floats and pieces of feces have been followed from the outfalls to the bathing beaches at Fort Hale and in Morris Cove, including the vicinity of the Yacht Club."

"The sewage along the shore from Savin Rock to Bradley Point comes in part from the sewer outfall of the West Haven Disposal Plant, though it is probable that some of it comes from the city sewer outfalls as has been shown by the float which traveled from the City Point outfall to Cox's Beach within eight hours."

"Briefly, I recommend that the taking of shellfish from the harbor of New Haven be prohibited, except under precautions as will insure that they will not be used as food until after purification." [38]

"That the bathing in the grossly polluted, filthy waters of the harbor and rivers be prohibited."

"That the city continue to take such appropriate steps as will eventually insure the proper disposal of its sewage."

We believe all of these findings to be fully justified; and urge as

Recommendation VII. That pending the treatment of the city sewage the taking of shellfish from the harbor of New Haven be prohibited except under such precautions as will ensure adequate purification before they are used as food,

and as

Recommendation VIII. That pending the treatment of the city sewage bathing be prohibited in the more grossly polluted portions of the harbor, the limits of the prohibited area to be defined by the Board of Health.

We would particularly call attention to the fact that New Haven suffers from an excessively high typhoid fever death rate, and that our special studies of the local prevalence of the disease indicate that the cases are specially concentrated in those waterfront wards immediately adjacent to the sewer outlets. From these facts as well as from the seasonal and age incidence of the disease we are inclined to believe that an appreciable amount of the typhoid infection in New Haven may be due to bathing in these polluted waters. The purification of shellfish and the limitation of bathing are at best but temporary palliative measures. New Haven cannot abandon the harbor, which should be its chief natural beauty and its pleasure ground, to be a public nuisance and a breeder of disease. An appropriation has been made for a channel to be dredged out to the main channel from the Sea Street outlet, which is to be submerged well below the surface of the harbor. This procedure may help matters somewhat, here and at the other outfalls. What is really essential, however, is the treatment of the sewage. Complete purification to the point of oxidation of all the organic matter is by no means essential, for it is estimated by Mr. Kellogg of the City Engineer's Office that the tidal prism in the whole harbor is 300 times the sewage flow, which means that the natural digestive capacity of the harbor should be ample to care for the soluble materials present. The suspended solids should. however, be removed to avoid sludge deposits and local nuisances, and as a preliminary to chemical disinfection, which will make the harbor safe for taking shellfish and for bathing. The exact process which will prove most efficient and economical for securing these ends must be determined by special study, and the City Government has placed $11,000 at the disposal of a special Aldermanic and Citizens' Subcommittee for an investigation of the subject. An Experiment Station is being built at the East [39] Street outfall, to be operated under the direction of Prof. S. E. Barney of the Sheffield Scientific School and one of us (C.-E. A. W.). We would urge:

Recommendation IX. That so soon as the experimcnts on sewage disposal are completed the sewage of the city should be treated as promptly as possible by such means as seem best adapted to eliminate local nuisances and render the harbor waters safe for bathing and for the taking of shellfish.

Sewerage and Sewage Disposal