Behold the infamous “SSO #72”, the systems most loathesome of all of Baltimore Sewer Systems purge points. It’s the sewers and residents of Baltimore city’s North East corridor, second chance and hope, during times of heavy precipitation.
It was cutting edge at its time and for the time being still serves its purpose well. It sits approximately 200 meters deep inside of the Jenkins Run Drain. Left hand side, not long after the first accessible manhole portal that sits on the right. The flap valve resembles the other observed CSO/SSO discharge points in system, that have this sort of flap valve. Exactly as you see it. The brilliant and strategic design choosing the Jenkins Runs drain to bleed itself. Ultimately, the perfect interceptor to do this job. Already built to accommodate a high volume of discharge, figuratively speaking, Jenkins Run really is like the I-83 of sanitary sewerage, quick release, straight shot into the Underground Jones Falls River.
Oh the news, the press that CSO/SSO #72 receives. Its practically famous. However, after a visual inspection of Outfall No. 72 at 428 East Preston Street, one cannot place blame on it for all the building problems they are having over there. There are reports of cracks showing up on the walls of buildings, lamp post settling straight down into the ground. Well its not Outfall / SSO / CSO #72 thats causing this. Its the settleing of the earth that was never there in the first. That is when the Jones Falls River was engineered to make a sharp bend south and that whole area was back filled with dirt. At any rate, focusing on another gripe of Outfall #72 and that is the discharge of sanitary sewage into the river. Its well known that accumulations of sewage into entities of water does not phase well for life but sometimes rising to the top means taking risks. And that’s exactly what happened through 1904-1912. The city laid the most advanced sewage system of its day. The inherit risk being, the lack of funding and budget to undertake the same sort of advanced momentum that the city once had but during the 20th century.
CSO/SSO with the highest volume (>4,000,000 gallons) of underground discharges (ref 1.)
CSO/SSO with the highest duration (>600 minutes) of underground discharges (ref 1).
If she opens when your downstream coming up, your in a heap of trouble. If she releases and while your still north of her coming back out, your finding another way out or going to be holed up a while.
Judging by the size of the iron pipe, it most likely discharges at pressure. Slamming against the tunnels wall that sits 12 feet away. The outer iron pipe is approximately 30cm (12 inches) and while peering inside a smaller iron pipe is met approximately 15cm (6 inches) in diameter.
Image is copywrited. Full resolution image available by request and/or persmissions.
| Jenkins Run Storm Sewer Tunnel | Jenkins Run Stream | Guilford Avenue / Jones Falls Conduit Construction Tunnel|
Jenkins Run Stream is an ancient stream drains into the Jones Falls River Basin. It still exist today but pretty much has been forgotten due to it being covered over and buried in an underground culvert or tunnel. The original upper portions were constructed in the late 1870’s . Its construction spanned over a period of 30 years related to general mismanagement, lack of funds, numerous pitfalls and delays. Like many storm water drains buried in Baltimore, difficulty arouse from the varying geological conditions and numerous springs encountered. The torrential nature of this stream during periods of extreme downfall would succumb to violent flooding. Compounding these complications included poor workman ship of its contractors. Which, on a few occasions required the reworking of the drains foundation at one point. A a remarkable interceptor, with a robust history that is not even touched in this writing.
The Jenkins Run Storm sewer, intercepts and drains a moderate portion of the North Eastern drainage basin of Baltimore City. Most notably the Carter Alley stream (which had already been buried for some time) was junctioned into the tunnel via the Old Carter Alley Sewer. The At one point it crosses under the Union Railroad tunnel and in turn serves as a drainage point via a 33cm (13 inch) cast iron pipe(ref.). Its tunnel network traverses through a portion of Greenmount Cemetery. At one point the tunnel even crosses near a section of old graves. It is quite well preserved and shows little signs of wear. Tunnel sections vary significantly throughout including: height, width, design and material composition.
The “newer” lower interceptor tunnel was finished in 1912, with the completion of the JF conduits and the Guildford Avenue Diversion tunnel. Chief Engineer Calvin Hendrickson awarded the work contract to the “Fisher Brother Company”. Hendrickson reported to the Baltimore Sun during a walk through tour that this final portion of the tunnel was bored through solid rock to the size of 365cm (12ft). At its deepest point the tunnel lies 16 meters deep (52 feet). Its construction team were described as looking like “miners”. The most modern 20th century methods were used to in its boring . Costly modern machinery that ran off compressed air were used and the workers had the luxury of electrical power to light their work area. Power being provided by a generation plant off Preston street. (ref.c)
It should be noted that before its completion, the lower portion of the Jenkins Run Interceptor drain was used as a haulage construction tunnel. Materials were hauled in and out of the tunnel. Much of the excavated rock was processed and used in the concrete mixtures in the tunnels found downstream. At its completion, the loathsome CSO / SSO #72 was placed. It boasts a significant steep grades, staircase / drop falls, full brick tunnels, brick arch horseshoe tunnels, masonry granite, overhead flume, long curves, numerous stone granite side drains and a CSO/SSO purge discharge point. In the upper mid section of the tunnel, houses a sizable double junction chamber. The western tunnel is old granite stone construction drain, that doesn’t work well. Standing water and old air back in there . The eastern shaft is the continuation of Jenkins Run. Basically, the further you go back, the older is gets. And the Jenkins Side goes back deep, well above North Ave and with its limited surface access presents the most fearsome environment in an already dangerous city.
Jenkins’s Outfall
Historical Quotations:
“The Jenkins Run Drain empties into the Jones Falls between Preston and Hoffman streets runs northerly via Carter alley to a point 135 feet north of Lafayette avenue and thence northeasterly to a point in Boone street north of Twentieth street For 3,270 feet to a point in Walcott street it has cross sections of from 163 to 49 square feet and is built with a segmental arch Above this it is circular and 10 feet 6 inches in diameter It drains nearly 900 acres including Homestead and that part of Waverly east of the York Road It has two principal branches
In Hoffman street to Home wood avenue 4 feet in diameter
In Girard avenue to Barclay street 3 feet in diameter .”
(ref. 1)
“The heading of the tunnel under Guilford avenue has been extended from the entrance of the retaining wall between Biddle and Chase streets to a point 250 feet beyond Preston street a total distance of 8oo feet The heading of the Jenkins Run Sewer tunnel has been extended through to meet the large tunnel a distance of 430 feet The rock excavated from this tunnel is being crushed and used to form the concrete conduits in the bed of the Falls below Chase street.”
(ref. 2)
TUNNEL EXPLORATION NOTES:
Exploring a massive 12 foot drain, from within another massive drain requires knowledge, planning, physical fitness and wit. Such a treacherous adventure should not be carried out by a casual urban explorer, the ill prepared or weak hands. When this drain was discovered, research seemed to point that this tunnel was draining what was once known as “Jenkins Run”. An ancient stream that was buried & covered over well over a century ago and is the largest buried stream outfall in the Jones Falls Conduit system. Every time this tunnel was passed, a strong curiosity beckoned for its penetration. What lies inside was an unknown, granted its overall large size, one could only assume it was the beginning of a large storm sewer network. If subsequent research was on point, it seemed that sizable chambers may lay within. Years later, infiltration was undertaken and the curiosity laced with patience & preparation paid off. A strong wind pours out of this tunnel, however, it was decided that subsequent exploration would require a Multi-Gas Detector.
The Buried Outfalls Entrance into the system The tunnel briefly bears right before straitening out, most likely for hydrological considerations as it meets the underground Jones Falls river Jenkins run and Carter Alley Junction Chamber Looking up the stairway towards the later portion of it.
The original Jenkins Run diversion chamber photo source (ref .2)
A quick video glimpse of Jenkins Run Outfall
references:
a)Report of the Sewerage commission of the city of Baltimore , 1897
This post was one of my earliest posts, in the early days of walking around parks looking for holes. Basically I was trekking down the outskirts of Wyman Park looking for the infall tunnel of stoney run and it described what I thought was a specialized infall intake doing its job of filtering trees and debris from the drain. It turned out that it was just an infall that was buried in debris. Below the text describes how I had to climb on top this massive dam of trees and debris. Peering down into the debris hearing the water moving and apparently dissapearing into the side of the ridge, my imagination ran wild thinking of this stream at flood stage comparing it to a bathtub’s whirlpool.
The intake sits buried under multiple flood seasons of massive tree trunks and any sort of debris you can imagine. 5-7 meters deep. Peering down at the intake is done at height. Dry Debris from flood stages sits as high as 5-8 meters above the intake. Painting a clear picture of this area. If that this area fills up like a pool, trees, mattresses and debris bobbing about making circles around the vortex of the intake. During periods of heavy rains and flooding this is the last place any soul would want to be, as there is no doubt turns into a whirlpool / hydraulic vortex.
This area is accessed through troves of poison ivy patches, and animal trails that traverse at 30 percent grade. The original idea was to visualize “a mouth” or open conduit system.
