Sanitation and Water Disposal Sites

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted the following work in Lynn, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: In Lynn, construction of the first unit of a system of sewers to serve the district around the easterly shore of Breed's Pond, has recently been approved by WPA.  

The Works Progress Administration created irrigation canals in Brentwood, CA. "This work included grading and cement lining of the Irrigation Ditches and the manufacturing and installation of Cement Concrete Pipe."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed water pipes and sewers along Bridge Street in Groton, Connecticut.

The Works Progress Administration built storm sewers on Broadway Avenue in Clarksburg. The work consisted of “Construction of 24- and 18-Inch sewers."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to reconstruct a broken sewer line along and around Broadway in Passaic, New Jersey ca. 1936. The project would provide 150 men work for six months. Most of the cost of the work was borne by the federal government.

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an extension of the sanitary sewer up Broadway Terrace from Harbord Drive to Sheridan Road (just below the brow of the hills near Lake Temescal).  (Oakland Tribune 1937) The current state of the sewer line is unknown. Broadway Terrace is a major artery with water, gas, telephone and internet lines, and the concrete roadbed has been repeatedly cut through and repaired.   Judging from the placement of manhole covers, there appears to be two sewer lines running parallel along this stretch of road and another, probably older, line in the old Broadway Terrace...

"Hackettstown is receiving full value of Federal work relief money and is accomplishing a much needed improvement. The clearing and widening of the brook that flows back of Park Avenue, then through the dump meadows on Franklin Street before it empties into the Musconetcong, is a worthwhile project from a sanitary point."

A lattice steel public toilet built similarly to the one next to the Rose Bowl nearby. Two plaques on the front read "Built by United States Work Projects Administration 1940" and "Renovated by Public Works and Transportation Building Systems and Fleet Management Division 1995."

Description of a New Deal project in a 1937 annual report: "During construction of a roadway along the southerly side of the Neponset River in Milton, 8 feet of earth fill was placed over the High-level Sewer near the corner of Brush Hill Road and Brook Road. This is a W.P.A. project, under the supervision of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, and no permission was given by this department for making this fill. No damage to the Metropolitan Sewer has resulted from this construction."

This PWA project was originally listed as "Burlingame sewage disposal plant."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed sewers in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. A 1936 photo shows construction at Bushwick Ave. & Vanderveer St.

"Besides constructing the amphitheater, workers from the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) also helped drain the ravine which Cain Park is situated in, covering up and culverting the creek that ran through its center. Attractive landscaping, tennis courts, ball fields, and walking paths completed the transformation of the former "wild" land into a public park."

The Works Progress Administration completed drainage system improvements at Camp Conley in Point Pleasant WV. Construction began on the camp in 1927. Named for Wiliam Gustavson Conley (1929–33) in 1929. The state police used the camp to train in 1928 and 1935. In 1935, the guard applied to the WPA for drainage improvements. The camp was used twice by Governor Homer Holt as a refugee camp there for 1933 and 1937 flood victims. The Camp Conley appears in the property maps in a subdivision of housing dating to the 1940s to 1950s. The site appears no longer extant.

The Works Progress Administration completed upgrades to the drainage systems at Camp Dawson in Kingwood WV. Guard. Camp Dawson was established in 1909 when almost 200 acres were acquired along the Cheat River, just south of Kingwood in Preston County. Fell into disuse ca. WWI to ca 1928. In 1928 when it was revived as a training site for the West Virginia State Militia.  

"Between 1935 and 1940, Massachusetts and the federal government, primarily using Works Project Administration funds, constructed 63 buildings (all but Buildings 102 and the old Williams Hospital have since been demolished) and two, 500-foot (150 m) wide turf runways at Otis Field. The project was the largest WPA project in state history, employing over 600 workmen. In 1938, Governor Charles F. Hurley dedicated Camp Edwards, named after the former commander of the 26th Infantry Division, Major General Clarence Edwards." (Wikipedia) WPA Bulletin: The Bourne WPA Notional Guard Camp Project is the largest undertaking of this kind in the country. It is twenty-three square...

The WPA conducted a large-scale reconstruction project at the Cape May Naval Air Station, located at the easternmost part of Cape May. A thorough history of the installation can be found at Abandoned & Little Known Airfields (airfields-freeman.com). There are few traces of the New Deal- and WWII-era installation remaining, though an abandoned runway is still visible. The facility is now the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center. Cape May County Gazette wrote in 1936: “One of the finest WPA projects granted this section is the rebuilding of the U.S. naval Air Station at Cape May, on which work has already been started....

"In 1929, one of Capitola's biggest goals was to 'carry the present sewer outfall much farther out into the bay.' Work on a new sewer outfall, built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, was completed in 1933 on the site of the old Capitola Hotel bathhouse under the Depot Hill bluff. The WPA plant was praised for its efficiency but gradually became an eyesore that was located too close to both the beach and a favorite local surfing spot - known for years as 'Sewer's.' Esplanade Park replaced it in the 1980s."

This WPA photo shows WPA workers "cleaning, straightening, and improving storm drain" on Casleton Ave. in Staten Island (then known as the Borough of Richmond).

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a sewer installation / improvement project along Cass Avenue in Woonsocket.

“Lincoln County was not far behind Clark County sites in terms of federal funds spent on park developments. The county received approval for a fair share of state-operated recreational facilities that's to the collective efforts of the county commission, the Caliente Chamber of Commerce, state senator L.L. Burt, and Congressman Scrugham. Lincoln County was anxious to promote its little-known natural attractions, including the intense red spires and erosional features at Cathedral Gorge. After purchasing park properties with federal Public Works appropriations funds, Congressman Scrugham and Senator McCarran secured a CCC camp for Panaca to build new parks. A full company...

Cedarhurst's old sewage treatment plant and its sewer system were constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration project during the 1930s. The plant was located at the northwest corner of Peninsula Blvd. and Hanlon Dr., and is next to Lawrence's present high school. The plant has been (if not fully) largely decommissioned; "flow was diverted from the Villages in 2011." (Nassau County) The "buff-color" brick plant building and its adjacent treatment tanks still stand as of 2014. The PWA project, which was completed November 1935, replaced an "outdated septic tank" and the total construction cost was $445,474. The...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a sewer project on Charles Street in York, Pennsylvania.

The Works Progress Administration built a new cistern and carried out the repairs and extension of the water and sewer systems, at Christiansted Hospital. Today, the facilities, known as Old Hospital, are vacant and in an advanced state of disrepair.

The city of Lodi and the WPA constructed and installed 15.8 miles of water mains, 101 fire hydrants, 8.8 miles of sanitary sewers and manholes, 12,230 feet of storm drains and manholes, catch basins. Almost every street and alley has been graded and oiled, 21.5 miles of curbs and gutters constructed, sludge disposal plant decanter constructed, Lockeford Street and School Street work finished.

The WPA developed a "wholly new sewage system" for City Island, which had previously "depended on an antiquated system of individual street sewers, cesspools and septic tanks."

The WPA built this sewage treatment plant in Auburn in 1940.

New Deal federal works programs completed widespread infrastructure improvement projects throughout Oakland, Maine. Michael J. Denis's report "Some Tidbits of Oakland History" details the following: "Clyde G Blake, the new road commissioner, noted in 1934 that most roads were widened, 825 feet of stone base road was laid on Ten Lots Road, 3350 feet of state aid road was constructed on Fairfield Street, and 4000 feet of Rice's Ripps Road, 900 feet of Summer Street, and 800 feet of Fairfield Street were resurfaced. Hosea Ireland was back as commissioner in 1935. He noted 2950 feet of improved road on Fairfield Street, 900...

The federal Civil Works Administration constructed a sanitary sewer along Clarksville Street in Greenville, Pennsylvania between 1933 and 1934. The road continues to be a major artery in the town.

The park was built by CCC Co. 3804 who were at the park from the spring of 1935 to Aug 1940. According to "Parks for Texas," CCC work includes the dam and lake, a limestone residence and maintenance area, entrance portals, and fireplace units. Additional work was completed by the WPA in 1941, including a bathhouse and concession building, plus a water and sewer system.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a project "which consisted of sewer extensions on lower Clinton street ..." in Delaware City. The project was completed in Jan. 1934.

Founded in 1813, Colby College is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. It moved to its current location in the 1930s with significant help from the New Deal: Former Colby student Leonard C. Cabana (class of 1933) wrote recently that "by the time the Great Depression was sweeping the country, 'the new Roosevelt administration began implementing a hail of New Deal agencies to create jobs for the unemployed. It was my privilege to work under one of these, the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It poured in a million dollars (worth probably over $20 millions today) into...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a sewer construction project by Coney Island Creek at Shell Road in 1936.

The Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant came into operation in 1935. It was constructed with the help of the PWA.

As part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project a combination sewer was built along Cottage St. from Porter St. to Maverick St. P.W.A. Docket No. Mass. 4193-N

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed a drain pipe that enabled better drainage for Cottage Street. Middletown Times Herald: "Cottage street drainage will be effected by a reinforced rain pipe which will run from street southerly arid parallel with Wisner avenue to about 200 feet north of Wickham avenue and then easterly and parallel with Wickham to a point near the city line. The pipe will cover a distance of approximately 1,200 feet."

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) reconstructed County Street in Attleboro, Mass. WPA Bulletin: County Street, Attleboro, is being excavated and refilled by WPA with a seven-inch stone asphalt penetration pavement. On the south side of the street eight sewer man holes will be reset.

"Geographically, the Crescenta Valley extends eastward from the Los Angeles City communities of Sunland and Tujunga through a portion of the City of Glendale and the County territories of La Crescenta and Montrose to the incorporated city of La Cañada Flintridge... After the disastrous flood of 1934, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District embarked upon major construction of dams, channels, debris basins and continued efforts to control erosion."   (https://www.villageprofile.com) According to the Feb 1934 California Highway and Public Works magazine, "Several thousand C.W.A. relief workers were rushed to the flooded area to render aid to...

This culvert is stamped with a Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) shield in the top of the curbing on either side of the road. The culvert runs north-south with the tunnel approximately 3 ft. high and 5 ft. wide. It crosses CR E1040 (Bramble Street). It is located southwest of town and handles water run-off. We did not see any creek nearby.

This Works Progress Administration project in Exeter, NH provided employment for fourteen people and completed key repairs on a local culvert. The federal cost was $870.04

This Works Progress Administration photo shows one of the culverts constructed by the WPA in Blasdell, New York. The WPA caption locates the culverts on the following streets: Avon, Orchard, Gilbert, and Merian (WPA). More information is needed about the present status and exact location of the project.