The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1907, IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENT DRAINAGE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2111, 20 June 1907, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1907, IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENT DRAINAGE.

Among Hie problems at present confronting the citizens of this town, the niost important' is that of drainage. An' adequate 'system will become a possibility, and at the same time a necessity, when the water supply to the town is provided. It has been -stated that in Gisborne tlie sandy soil would act as a sufficient drain for. our waste water and household refuse, even -with the additional amount of waste water due to the installation of a water supply. But the greater part of the town stands on a fiat .very little above sea-level, so that the level of the subsoil waiter is not,»a great depth below the surface, and its movement is sluggish. If all the waste from houses and stables be poured into this it will become, contaminated over a large area. As the population increases and the town and suburbs become more crowded, this condition will become aggravated. A large group of diseases,_ notably typhoid, cholera, diphtheria, and manv of the intestinal _ disorders of children —these last being the cause of the majority of deaths in the first ‘year of life—are undoubtedly due to o.rganisms which can live _and multiply for long periods in moist soil near the. surface. The of life for these low organisnjs are. simple—war.mth, moisture, and food bein" all that \is required. With a plentiful supply of water to the town, and an imperfect system of drainage, the above conditions will be admirably fulfilled. The moisture of the soil and the high level of the subsoil water will favor the growth of the organism at the surface, especially when rain has fallen. When dry weather follows, those organisms, mixed with dust, are carried by wind, by fleas, and other agencies into houses, where food and drink-will become infected. Hence we find in .towns without efficient drainage, especially in warm climates such as this, a period of hot weather following rain is a time of danger to public health. This has been the experience of Auckland and Onehungu, ’ where every. summer brought hundreds of cases of typhoid, until recent years, when with improved drainage each years shows a smaller. number of victims. The question as to whether the suburbs are to be included in the drainage scheme is largely one of expense. While we are unwilling to see the burdens of the ratepayer increased unnecessarily, it may be pointed out that there are disadvantages in first supplying a small area with a system of sewage to be extended later to a larger area. In the first place, the central part of the town, which is alone to be supplied, will every year become less a place of residence, whilst the greater part of the increasing population will live in the suburbs. If a complete system were installed, every house when built would be fitted up with all the necessary apparatus for drainage; but if the system is to be limited to ;<j small area, the houses built outside t£is area would naturally not be fitted up, whieh would necessitate _ expensive and troublesome alterations at a later period, when the system is extended. In any system of sewage it is equally .a disadvantage to have the main and the branch sewers too small or too largo for the needs pf the town. According-to the present scheme, the sewers will be constructed of a. size, sufficient for the drainage from town and suburbs in future; wliilo for many , years only a small part of this area, will be included in the system, so that enough water will not the .running through to enable Hie sewers to act As is well known 'to any who have studied the question practically, the larger the drain or sewer in proportion to the amount of water' conveyed, the greater is tlie probability of blocking and stagnation. Until we have a complete system of drainage we can never be secure from epidemics of infectious disease. Our present com. parative freedom should ■ not lull us into false security. By grudging the expense of a < few thousand ' pounds, we risk the lives and. health of all the inhabitants of the town.