Our No. 1 Public Enemy: Boise's Present Sewage System

              Our No. 1 Public Enemy:
Boise's Present Sewage System
Can Be Mastered Nov. 18th.

Boise's Cultural Center 
South Boise's Sewage

Register by Nov. 15th. Vote YES Nov 18th.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF BOISE
Boise, Idaho

Dear Taxpayer:

On Tuesday, Nov. 18th, you will face an election of major importance to you and your family. Will you be able to vote? Are you planning to vote in your own best interests? The election is on a bond issue to decide whether or not Boise is to have a sewage treatment plant. 

To be able to vote, you must be properly registered. Most taxpayers are not registered for this election. You may be among the group. Check with the information on page 4 and be sure you are properly registered. The future health of you and your family may turn upon this election. Epidemic of typhoid, dysentery, and possibly polio, could sweep again and again through the Boise Valley, menacing our health and well being. The sewage treatment plant would help eliminate this danger. The cost of the plant is low in comparison with protection it affords.

Read on the following pages more about the bond issue, the sewage treatment pland and the instructions about registering and voting.

We know you will agree that the answer is vote YES for the bond issue on November 18th. The time is short. Don't delay your registration.

Yours for a better Boise,

Elise D. Torbet.

Mrs. E.N. Torbet
President

is the
Lack of a SEWAGE
. TR·EA T'MENT Plant:!
and here's what is happening:
Untreated sewage now flows into Boise River which
is used for irrigation. In Winter, the flow is too low
to carry off pohition. In Summer, irrigation water js
polluted by the sewage discharge. The Bench area and
some of i.ts private water supplies are polluted by cesspool
and septic tank discharge. ·
This pollution is a. menace because: (1) It contaminates
not only drinking water, but soil and growing
vegetables as .well. A serious epidemic of typhoid,
dysentery or possibly polio could result. (2) It kills
fish. (3) It ruins the river for recreation.
"' South Boise sqffers especially. Here, the Boise
River backs up into the sewer& and causes flooding
of basements.
This over-all menace to the h.ealth and well-being
of Boise Valley will grow worse as population and irrigation
inc~. In 1900; when the present sewer·
system was constructed, Boise's population wa~J only
5,969. Present population is estim&;ted at 35,000.
In 1960, it should be approximately 45,000, and in
1990, 66,000. There is also a large and growing population
outside the city limits, mueh of which will
eventually be included within the city and may be
served by the proposed treatment plan.
While our present sewage waste is mostly domestie,
it is anticipated that industrial waste from packing
plants, milk plants, laundries, etc., will increase
about 50 percent by 1960. Present industrial wastes
flow, untreated; into Boise River or city sewers and
add to the :wllution.
Yes, if Boise and the surrounding area are to be
healthful, happy places in which to live, BOISE MUST
HAVE A SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT. It is
Boise's cheapest health insurance!
"'ere at'
~~s • , ,,,..:t 1'' -o...oDl'l:!t•·
w"Bo\.&e& l"'O·
,, ' ,.
It is urgent' that as large a
vote as posaible be cast! Get
your friends to vote "YES",
too! .
Why is the~ 11Act:i•
vated Slud~'' type
best Eor Bo:i.e?
Sanitary Engineers, after';~full
gating thret typea of plaataJ.!'ecommended
"activated" type u BEST,. ~use:
(1) It may be
A site near Soldiers'
been sugcuted. · ·~
(2) It isodorleea, and dra~1no rue..
(3) Unite may be added qre cheaply than
in other types. -
( 4) The original cost is lestr
.>~
Why build1t:he
·, Plant~OW?
'Your health and budget ~and your action
immediately beeause: '
(1) Sanitary engineers who .prepared the plan
advised that the health menace presented
lty our untreated sewage can no longer
be ignored.
(2) They also advise. the qst of labor. and
materials needed in buil ng the· plant are
not likely to decrease, . t may go much
higher within the ~ en ·years.
What: kind. of plant has been approved?
Sanitary Engineers and the Idaho
State Department of Public Health
have approved an "ACTIVATED
SLUDGE PLANT" for Boise.
In this plant, after sedimentation
takes place, the sewage is passed
through tanks where air, under
pressure, is blown through it. Sedimentation
again takes place, and the
sewage then is discharged as a harmless
effluent stream into i!be Boise
River.
"The-solitis-:removed from the,sedi- ·
How will Boise's
Taxpayers pay Eor
the cons truct:ion? ·
By a general fund bond i111111e of $1,666,000
\\;hich will cover the coat of constructing the
plant and necessary additional sewers; refunding
to the Federal Government the cost of
making the plaiUI; coiUitructing the garbage
grinding plant; and the cost of site, election,
attorneys' fees, engineers'' fees, right-of-way,
etc.
Municipal bonds wiij be issued by the city
and sold. These bonds will be paid off on an
amortized basis over a period of 20 · years.
This will mean a levy of. approximately five
mills based upon a $20 million assessed property
valuation in the city. This levy should
decrease Ill "'ttm' D&elm!d~aluation of 'property
increases.
The amount required to retire the bonds,
pay the interest, and also pay for supplies,
labor and materials after the plant is constructed
will be approximately $150,000 a year.
This would mean only 50c to $1.00 per month
for the average homeowner . . : or less than
the average householder pays for trash removal
each month.
mentation tanks are pumped into
closed sludge digestion tanks, where
the volume of sludge i~J reduced by a
digestion process. This process produces
gas, useful in operating the
plant and for providing heat for tanks
and buildings . . . . and a decided
ECONOMY.
The digested sludge may also be
dried and sold as a fertilizer.
A garbage grinding 'plant will be
constructed in connection with the
sewage treatment p~t, thus taking
eare "of canother. serious.· probte'Jir.----~
Can we have confidence
in ~he: men
who made the plan?
League of Wopten's Voters of Boise have
verified the fact that the Mayor and Council
have. undertaken exteiUiive investigation and
analyais of the company -which has submitted
recommendations •. Everj report hu been high·
ly favorable.
Alvord, Burdick and Howson, the· Sanitary
Engineers who made thf: recommendatioiUI
have an unusual 37-year record of distin·
guiah~ service in designing and constructing
sewage treatment plants in major cities of
the United States and Canada .••• Chicago;
Denver; Duluth; Fargo; Lincoln; Madison,
Wis.; Wi1q1epeg; and many others.·
Winnepeg saya: '"l'his firm is very m..hly
regarded by the engineering profesaion, ·and
is one of the outatanding consulting firms in
the U. S. A."
Gary, Ind., writes: "The plant operatio• is
very satisfactory. Design of plant is excelhnt
and is as simple as possible for a city the size
of Gary".
If you do not know
your precinct, or for
other voting informaation
....
Call the
City Clerk
at: 2 J 4
•
Who will have
t:he right:
t:o vot:e?
If you are a properly
registered voter and
also a taxpayer living
within Boise City limits,
you are entitled to
vote on Nov. 18th. But
you are properly registered
for this election
only if you voted in the
last run-off election for
City Councilmen. (If
you did NOT vote in
that election, you must
register now with your
City Precinct Registrar
whose name and address
you will find on
this page.)
You are qualified to
register if you have
lived six months in the
State, 30 days in the
City and 10 days in fhe
Precinct.
can
HOW
YOU help
to get the Sewage Treatment Plant?
(1) by checking your registration with your precinct
registrar TODAY. Only a fraction of city taxpayers
are now eligible to vote.
(2) by voting "YES" on TUESDAY, NOV. 18th ..
( 3) by urging your city taxpayer friends to vote YES.
A 2/3 vote is needed to carry the election!
City Registrars; and Where t:o Vote:
Precinct: Registrar
1. Marion Oliver
1204 E. State
2. Hazel Taylor
515 So. 5th
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Grace Barringer
220 E. Bannock
Mabel Saffle
1418 W. Jefferson
Celesta Briggs
620 Fort
Dora R. House
1606 N. 16th
Mrs. Sam Diamond
1118 N. 17th
Rose Morgan
1815 Bannock
Emma Lemon
2102 N. 19th
Elizabeth Rose
1416 Manitou
Ethel Schwarz
4102 Edgmont
This bulletin has been prepared by the
Phone: Polling Place:
2246-J Roosevelt School
4557-J City Hall
7968-W Central Fire Station
2406-J Y. M. C. A.
1042 Lutheran aturch
7th and Fort
1773-W Methodist Church
14th and Eastman
1271 Resseguie Fire Station
518 City Shop
16th and Front
7492-M Lowell School
2567-J So. Boise Fire Station
5679 Myers' Cold Storage
LEAGUE OF WOMEN'S VOTERS OF BOISE
after study and analysis of the repOrts of the Sanitary Engineers
who submitted the sewage treatment plan, recommendations of the
Mayor and Council and consultation with the Idaho State Department
of Public Health.