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SCOPE OF REPORT.

A report of the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Surveys, City of Philadelphia, recommending a comprehensive plan for the collection, treatment and disposal of the sewage of the city, prepared in pursuance of an Ordinance of Councils approved July 20, 1907.

PART I consists of a concise summary of the report with recommendations.

PART II briefly explains the water supply, sewer system, and water courses of Philadelphia; states the problem of sewage disposal and discusses the policies adopted for its solution; describes the works to be constructed; recommends the order of procedure to be followed and gives estimates of the cost of construction, operation and maintenance of the works.

PART III consists of appendices in which the more important parts of the report are dealt with in detail, including the Ordinance of Councils and Act of Assembly under which the investigations have been made; and topography, sewer system, population studies, sewer gaugings, and sanitary surveys of the water courses ; description of works already constructed by the city as parts of the plan; and report of examination of sewage disposal works in European cities.

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PART I
SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONDITIONS

Population

1910, 1,549,008 Census
1914, 1,657,810 Estimated
1950, 3,095,000 Estimated.

The Water Supply: The City of Philadelphia obtains a wholesome water supply by the purification of water taken from the Delaware River near the northern (or upstream) limit of the city and from the Schuylkill River above Fairmount Dam.

The Sewer System: The sewage of Philadelphia is now being discharged into the water courses from a combined system of sewers, except on the watershed of the Schuylkill River above Fairmount Dam, where the separate system is installed.

The Water Courses: The Schuylkill River above Fairmount Dam, and the Wissahickon Creek and its tributaries, are protected from sewage pollution from Philadelphia by intercepting sewers discharging below Fairmount Dam. The sewage and first flush of rain-water from sewers tributary to Pennypack Creek are collected and completely treated before discharge into the creek.A collecting sewer for sewage and first flush of [6] rain-water is nearly completed along the Philadelphia side of Cobbs Creek. Its present polluted condition is largely due to the sewage discharged from the adjoining county. Frankford Creek and the Schuylkill River below Fairmount Dam are seriously polluted by the discharge into them of crude sewage. The Delaware River is now receiving all the sewage of Philadelphia, either directly from the sewers or indirectly from Frankford Creek, Cobbs Creek and the Schuylkill River, in addition to that from other communities on the watershed. During the summer the oxidizing power of the river water is so severely taxed that delay in the construction of works for the collection and treatment of the sewage will result in the creation of nuisance in the river channel and the public health will be endangered by overtaxing the economical and safe operation of the Torresdale water filters.

The Problem

The problem of sewage disposal confronting the City of Philadelphia is four-fold:

1. To collect and treat the sewage so as to protect the public health and to prevent undue pollution of the water taken from the Delaware River at the Torresdale water filters.

2. To promote the comfort and prosperity of the people by abating the nuisance now existing due to sewage pollution of Frankford and Cobbs Creeks, the lower Schuylkill River and the docks of the Delaware River.

3. To enhance the development of the port and create attractive conditions by restoring and maintaining the rivers and streams in a clean condition.
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4. To accomplish these results promptly and progressively with the most economical expenditure of funds.

CONCLUSIONS

Collection

The sewage which is gathered by the various sewer systems of the City should be intercepted and conveyed by transverse collecting sewers to three sites, as follows:

A treatment works on the Delaware River south of Bridesburg for the northern part of the city.

A clarification works on the Delaware River in the vicinity of Greenwich Point for the southeast part of the city.

A treatment works in the southern part of West Philadelphia, near the mouth of the Schuylkill River, for the central and western parts of the city.

Treatment

The first method of sewage treatment at the northeast and southwest works should be coarse screens, grit chambers and two-story sedimentation tanks of the Emscher type. As the volume of river water available for assimilation of the effluent of the works remains practically the same, while the amount of sewage produced by the City steadily increases, due to growth in population, it may be necessary in the future to compensate for this increase in amount of sewage by more refined treatment, which will probably consist in the oxidation of the tank effluent in percolating filters or by such other methods as may be approved at that time.

The treatment of the sewage carried to the southeast works should consist of coarse screens, grit chambers and fine screens.
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Disposal

The effluents of these works should be disposed of by diffusion in the water of the Delaware River through submerged outfalls, so located in the bed of the river that the effluent will be rapidly distributed in the great tidal flow and so utilize to the fullest extent the oxidizing power of the river.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that $5,000,000 be appropriated at once for the purchase of land at the sites of the three proposed treatment works; for the construction of the collecting sewers to intercept sewage tributary to Frankford and Pennypack Creeks and to the Delaware River between the treatment works to be located near Bridesburg and the mouth of Poquessing Creek; and for the construction of sewage treatment works at the northeast site. These works will protect the Delaware River in the vicinity of the source of the water supply and maintain the two creeks in a clean condition.

It is recommended that subsequent appropriations be made as rapidly as possible for the construction of the collecting sewers, pumping stations, treatment works and appurtenances, generally in the order and for the works designated.

$5,700,000 for collecting sewer and treatment works for the sewage from the populous districts of West Philadelphia, so as to in part abate the present pollution of the Schuylkill River.

$4,800,000 for collecting sewers, pumping stations, extensions to the treatment works and appurtenances for practically all sewage tributary to the Schuylkill River from the city.

These works will restore and maintain the Schuylkill River in a clean condition.
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$3,400,000 for collecting sewers which will intercept and convey to treatment works without pumping apart of the sewage tributary to the Delaware River between the works to be located near Bridesburg and Market Street, and for extensions to the treatment works.

$3,500,000 for low level collecting sewers along the Delaware River front from the treatment works, to be located near Bridesburg, to Greenwich Point, with pumping stations and appurtenances; the construction of the southeast clarification works; and enlargements of the existing treatment works.

These appropriations for construction, aggregating $22,400,000, will complete the system of collectors and provide for the treatment of all the dry weather flow of sewage and the first flush of rainfall. It is estimated that the operation and maintenance of these works will require annual appropriations of $500,000, in addition to which appropriations of at least $2,000,000 should be made each year for the construction of main and branch sewers to keep pace with the growth of the city.

The collecting sewers recommended are of capacity ample for the year 1950, but before that time it will be requisite that the treatment of the sewage be carried to a greater degree of refinement. It is estimated that the extensions to the works to meet the conditions of the year 1950 will cost $12,200,000 and will make a total cost of the completed system at that time of $34,600,000.

It is also recommended that co-operation be had between the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so as to secure concordant action for the treatment of the sewage of communities in these states which is discharged into the Delaware River or its tributaries.

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