Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1904 — About Makemself Sewer Again. [ARTICLE]

About Makemself Sewer Again.

There is no doubt butthat a great many people are greviously disappointed over the present failure of the big new Makemself sewer to oarry off the water along its upper portions. And there is only too muoh reason to fear that a serious mistake was made in not having used a larger size of pipe, and carried the larger size muoh farther And perhaps also another mistake was made in using up so muoh of the fall in the lower part. Be these things as they may, however, we are satisfied that all fair minded men, after careful refection, will concede that the council in making the sewer as they did, acted according to their best judgment and information, for what they thought was best for all concerned.

Moreover, we do not believe that as a general thing, the sewer will be found to be so inefficient as it now appears. Let it be kept in mind that conditions are now abnormal. Tue month of March just passed was probably one of the wettest Marches ever known here. Certainly the official weather bureau records show a precipitation of 6.49 inches, or practically H inches, daring the month. Only •ne other month for three years, June 1902, has been so wet. July •f that year, when the great flood was, bad .02 less rain than thia March. Still further, all but about •ne ninth of this vast amount of rain came daring the last half of

the month. And all this unusual rainfall came at a time when the land w already soaked absolutely full of water, from previous rains and snows, and which had n > ehance to draiu away because of the frozen ground below; and thus all the rain that fell stayed on top of the ground, and ran quickly towards the sewers, instead of much of it soaking into the ground and thus making its way slowly towards the sewers, as much of the rain ot warmer weather usually does. Therefore we would say to the people along the Makemself in particular and of the whole town in general, that, except under such abnormal conditions as the present the sewer will probably prove much less of a failure than how seems the case. It might easily be 20 years before the sewer is tested as severely again.