The East Side Sewer Crisis
Stagnant sewage on the tide flats threatens to shutter East Side factories, sparking a desperate plea for infrastructure relief.
The sewer at the head of the bay is still causing trouble. Closing the outlet to the East Side trunk sewer by filling in the tide flats is causing the contents of the sewer to overflow. This condition was the cause of a second appeal by representatives of East Side manufacturing establishments to the streets and alleys committee yesterday for relief. The situation has become so serious that unless the city takes immediate steps to remove the difficulty some of the factories may be compelled to shut down temporarily and several hundred men will be thrown out of employment. There arises from the mass of sewage on the ground an unbearable stench and the health of the entire community is endangered.
“There arises from the mass of sewage on the ground an unbearable stench and the health of the entire community is endangered.”
This infrastructure failure on the tide flats captures Tacoma's rapid industrial growth outpacing its basic sanitation. It serves as a reminder of the environmental costs of early 20th-century urban development.
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