Post-Fire Sanitation: The Fight for a Healthy Seattle

Whatever of unhealthy odors might have been expected as arising from the burnt district, that matter has been attended to. The authorities have cleared away all garbage and refuse matter, and properly leveled the streets. The earthen sewers laid recently are proper, but a serious problem exists in the discharge of the sewage with the rise and fall of the tide. Much of the sewage is deposited on the beach; the difficulty is overcome by causing the sewers to deposit into a reservoir at the termination of the separate sewers, or at a junction where the sewage can be discharged by opening a gate, the sewers being flushed at the same time. This is the manner in which sewage is disposed of in Boston. It is important that sewage should not remain longer than twenty-four hours, as it decomposes and liberates gas. The box drains formerly used, owing to the slow current flow and bottom of soil, are causing decomposition and retarding removal of sewage—they are noxious; but cesspools are even worse than efficient drains, causing all the evils which an efficient system should prevent.