from the main line of the sewer in Centre Street in Jamaica Plain through parts of West Roxbury, Brookline and Brighton, has been in progress during the year. The construction of the first section in West Roxbury (near Jamaica Pond), which presented peculiar difficulties, on account of the presence of quicksand, gravel and clay, had been begun by day labor under the direct supervision of the engineers of the Board. This section is wholly in tunnel, and passes Jamaica Pond at a depth of 35 feet below the ordinary surface of the pond. It is constructed under the pneumatic process by the introduction of compressed air. The work has thus far been successfully prosecuted, and it is expected that this section will be completed by day labor in the coming sum mer. Another portion of the sewer, which consisted in the building of a tunnel through Commonwealth Avenue and Warren Street in the Brighton district, largely in rock excavation, was constructed by the Board by day labor, because the bids for the construction of this part of the sewer had been so greatly in excess of the estimates of cost made by the engineer. This portion of the work has also been successfully completed under the immediate direction of the Board within the engineer's estimates. Contracts have been made during the year for the construction of all the remaining portions of the sewer from its junction with the main line as far as Oak Square in Brighton, except for a short section near Oak Square about 2,450 feet in length. Several of these contracts were made in the middle of the summer, and have been substantially completed. The terms of the other contracts which were made towards the end of the season require their completion during the year 1908. A length of 2.24 miles of the 5.64 miles of sewer, upon which construction has been entered, has been completed. The construction on the High-level Sewer extension during the year has called for the expenditure of $445,059.17. (b) Quincy Pumping Station. The new centrifugal pump purchased from the Lawrence Machine Company, having a capacity of pumping 10,000,000 gallons per 24 hours, was in the early part of the year fully installed in connection with the compound vertical engine, both engine and pump being of a standard type. Two additional boilers of about 100 horse-power each were supplied. The whole additional plant has been in operation since March 1, 1907. (3) ACQUISITION OF LANDS AND SETTLEMENTS FOR LANDS ACQUIRED. During the year there have been made 5 takings of land and easements, all in Brookline, for the purposes of the extension of the High-level Sewer. These takings embrace 0.362 of an acre in fee, and easements in 12.30 acres, most of which were in public streets. The following is a list of the takings: List of Takings for Metropolitan Sewerage Works for the Year 1907. 19 20 Brookline, -Park Street from Beacon Street to Washington Street. Area, easements in 1.68 acres. Brookline, - from the end of a strip in which easements have been taken for the Metropolitan Sewer at the Boston line, through Columbia Street, land of Henry S. Coolidge et al., Winchester Street and Beacon Street, to Park Street at the end of strip in which easements were taken by Taking No. 16. Area, fee in 0.362 acre, easements in 3.73 acres. 1907. Mar. 12. Public street. Henry S., Walter G. Mar. 28. Brookline, - from the end of a strip Public streets. in which sewer easements were acres. Brookline, - from the end of a strip Part of Section 82, Metropoli tan System. Section 83 and part of Section 84, South Metropolitan Sys tem. May 20. Part of Section 82, Town of Brookline, July 5. South tan System. Parts of Sections 81 and 82, South Metropolitan System. Since January 1, 1907, settlements on account of the takings made in the North Metropolitan District have been effected in 2 cases, in volving a payment of $2,150; and in 1 case in the South Metropolitan District a settlement has been effected, under which payment has been made amounting to $5,582.20. Of the 3 sewerage settlements, 2 were on account of the sewer extension to Malden and 1 on account of the extension of the High-level Sewer in Brookline. There are now maintained in the North Metropolitan System 58.57 miles of main sewers, with which are connected 624.74 miles of local sewers, the number of connections, public and special, with the North Metropolitan System being 638. The East Boston and Charlestown districts of Boston and the cities of Everett, Cambridge, Somerville and Chelsea still maintain both separate and combined sewers, but all of the other municipalities in the North Metropolitan System maintain separate sewers. There have been pumped at the Alewife Brook pumping station 4,123,000 gallons of sewage per day, with an average lift of 12.90 feet, at a cost of $0.344 per million gallons per foot lifted; at the Charlestown station 32,600,000 gallons per day, 8.31 feet lift, at a cost of $0.168 per million gallons per foot lifted; at the East Boston station 62,300,000 gallons per day, 16.74 feet lift, at a cost of $0.081 per million gallons per foot lifted; and at the Deer Island station 64,300,000 gallons per day, 10.79 feet lift, at a cost of $0.097 per million gallons lifted. There has continued to be a decided increase in the amount of sewage pumped in all of the stations, but the increase has particularly occurred in the East Boston and Deer Island stations, where the excess has been upwards of 6,000,000 gallons daily over the quantities of last year. The increase in the amount of sewage at East Boston has exceeded by 11 per cent. and that at the Deer Island station has exceeded by more than 10.5 per cent. the quantities discharged last year. There has been a greater cost of pumping, on account of the increased cost of labor and also the increased cost of coal. The amount of sewage discharged in the North Metropolitan District averaged 152 gallons per day for each person, taking the estimated population of the district contributing sewage. If the sewers in this district were restricted to the admission of sewage proper only, and all local sewers were separate sewers, this per capita amount would be considerably decreased. During the year 5 public and 13 special connections from local sewers have been made with the system, and 30.86 miles of local sewers have been added to those already connected with its works. The extension of the main sewer, which receives the sewage of the town of Wakefield, from a point near the centre of the city of Malden to tide water, was completed at the beginning of the year, and has since been in continuous operation. The cost of maintenance of the North Metropolitan System during the past year was $138,271.99, which is somewhat more than the cost of maintenance for the preceding year. (5) SOUTH METROPOLITAN SYSTEM-MAINTENANCE. In the South Metropolitan System there are maintained 40.25 miles of main sewers, with which are connected 479.51 miles of local sewers, having 111 connections with the Metropolitan System. The Back Bay, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Brighton and Dorchester districts of Boston and the towns of Brookline and Milton still maintain both separate and combined sewers, but all the other districts contributory to this system maintain separate sewers. The Ward Street pumping station, the Quincy pumping station. and the screen-house at Nut Island are maintained for the disposal of sewage for this system. There have been pumped at the Ward Street station an average of 23,500,000 gallons per day, with an average lift of 41.57 feet, at a cost of $0.074 per million gallons per foot lifted; and at the Quincy station 3,615,000 gallons, 21.04 feet lift, at an average cost of $0.254 per million gallons per foot lifted. An average of 40,600,000 gallons of sewage has passed daily through the screens at the Nut Island screen-house, and has been discharged from the outfalls into the outer harbor. The maximum discharge per day, which occurred during a heavy storm, was 137,000,000 gallons. The discharge of sewage through the outfalls represents the amount of sewage contributed in the South Metropolitan System, which was at the rate of 215 gallons per day per person of the estimated number contributing sewage in the District. The daily discharge of sewage per capita is considerably larger in the South Metropolitan District than it is in the North Metropolitan District, because, owing to the large size of the High-level Sewer, more storm water is admitted at periods of heavy rainfall. The additional pumping engine which has been obtained for the Quincy station has been in operation since March 1, and has been successful in relieving the station from the troubles which had occurred, particularly in periods of unusual rainfall. A small area in the districts of Dorchester and town of Milton, which is so low that its sewage cannot be carried into the High-level Sewer except by pumping, still disposes of its sewage through the Boston Main Drainage Works, and for this a rental is paid to the city of Boston. Otherwise, all the sewage of the South Metropolitan Sewerage District is disposed of through the outfall pipes from Nut Island. The expenditures for maintenance of the South Metropolitan System for the past year were $95,513.11. VII. SEWERAGE WORKS FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The financial abstract of the receipts, expenditures, disbursements, assets and liabilities of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board for the fiscal year of the Commonwealth ending with the thirtieth day of November, 1907, was, as stated in connection with the Water Works, presented to the General Court in January, in accordance with the requirements of chapter 235 of the Acts of the year 1906, and a copy of this financial abstract is in part printed as Appendix No. 5. The following statement of its financial doings, in relation to the Metropolitan Sewerage Works, for the calendar year 1907, is herewith presented, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1906, as a part of the annual report of the Board. |