CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 259, 8 November 1897, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE CITY WATER SUPPLY AND

DRAINAGE.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—The excellent leader dealing with the health of Auckland which appeared in a recent issue of the " Star " was no doubt' read with great interest by the majority of your subscribers. I beg to make the im. portance of the subject my excuse for &&. ing you to accept a comment on the article In your dealing with the subject three points are raised, which are : — (1) Is our water supply sufficient?

(2) Is it pure? (3) Is the adopted system of sewerage carried out to the extent or at the rate that it should be ?

Though other relevant matters arein. troduced such as food supply, I shall .co n . fine myself to the engineering subjects, as of these I profess to have some knowledge. Your article points _ out the probable necessity of augmenting the_ supply 0 { water in the near future, and it is evident from the recent discussions by the AuekCity Councils that they also recognise this want.

Judging from the present pronounced prosperity of Auckland, and the extensive building trade being carried on, this question must soon be solved.

It must be borne in mind that the source of the water supply must be kept pure afc all costs. The only way to ensure this condition is to secure the whole of the area, of a watershed against occupation by residents or farms. The advantage to be gained by selecting a site at once is that probably any private interests can be more cheaply dealt with now than in the future. :

The interest on the purchase money can, until the land is required for water supply) be met by the rents accruing' from ths letting of any improved or good land within the area so purchased.

Question No. 2 relates to the purity-'of the present supply, of which you statein your article " you have no doubt.'' I regret that my opinion is not so favourable. While our supply is drawn from the lower' levels of a valley, a great deal of the area of which is thickly populated, even suppose the system of house drainage and street reticulation be carried out in the most approved scientific manner and carefully intercepted, doubts will always exist. These doubts may be based upon sentimental grounds only, but still are injurious as affecting the popularity of the city. But when one takes into consideration the fact that the sewerage; of the district forming the inhabited portion of the watershed is in its present bad condition, there are grounds for the gravest fears. Over a very large area of the basin, the barbaric system of cesspits prevails, while in other cases the sewage is allowed to find, its way into the creek forming the natural watercourse of the valley, and which passes close to the source of our water supply. Can it be supposed that the subsoil water is not polluted under this condition of affairs ? And are we so sure that none of this polluted subsoil water finds its way into our street mains. No watershed used as a source of water supply should be inhabited, but it is now too late to free the present source from chances of pollution.

With reference to the third question, that of sewerage, 1 need only say that while the abominable cesspit system ba allowed in any but very isolated position! Auckland cannot be considered as up-to« date. A cesspit is not only dangerous to those who use it, but a menace to others living near, especially so when constructed on the principle, or want of principle, at present in vogue. Within the last few days I have had occasion to have one opened, and the state of things presented would have been an object lesson to any advocate of the system. A dwelling waa connected to this cess by an ordinary covered pipe drain without the least pretence to such safeguards as trap, water seal, or ventilator, the result being that any noxious gas generated found its way, witt out other means of escape, into the kitchen. I Avas lately, while in conversation with a gentleman whose daughter is recovering from typhoid, told that probably the cesspit was not the cause of the attack as, had it been so, other members of the household would have been stricken. This may be logical, but not conclusive. The adopted plan of running all the sewage into the harbour directly opposite the populated areas cannot be looked upon but as a temporary expedient, which some day, soon will be changed for a better method. What that method will be remains to be seen. Until the time some improved method of dealing with sewage is devised, it would be better to use no water closets.

The system in vogue for the removal of nightsoil can be greatly improved, where not wholly done aAvay with, by substituting the sealed double pan system, under which removal can be made in the daytime without giving the least offence to the most whimsical. A great danger to health exists in the filthy state empty receptacles are returned for use, a contingency that does not occur with the double pan system. There is one matter apart from either water supply or sewerage affecting the health of the community upon which 4 should like to touch, and that is m manner in'Svhich any new street metalling is blinded; the material used for blinding need not be filth. Surely something cleaner and as good as road scrapings can be found. A visit to a stack of drying street scrapings will convince anyone of the danger of inhaling this material in the form of dust. The marvellous amount of this dirt which one sees scraped off one part of Queen-street and placed on another part is quite sufficient to explain h°w so much dust rises with the least wind. This form of dust must be most injurious and is unnecessary in the construction or a macadam road. , The whole question of health for tue community is so very important and depends so much on the manner water supply and sewerage works are conducted that tne performance of all work in connection therewith should be controlled by. a responsible body, such as a Board of i'uDiic Health, which would have power to mate constant inspection of private property, and insist that the carrying out or m house drainage, etc., by private owner w done in accordance with their regulations. I am, etc

Percy Ward, C.E. Late Resident Engineer at South Melbourne for the Metropolitan Board w Works.