COX'S CREEK DRAINAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 26, 31 January 1910, Page 4

COX'S CREEK DRAINAGE.

The letter on the drainage of Cox's Creek, which appears in our correspondence columns to-day, over the signature of-Mr.: J. A. Warnock, raises a question which seriously concerns not only the residents of" Grey Lynn and Ponsonby, but the whole population of Auckland. Briefly, the trouble is that the flat at the mouth of Cox's Creek is in a highly insanitary condition. The fact, as Mr. Warnock says, is painfully obvious to anybody who will take the trouble to ■walk down or around the gully at low tide; and the reason is not far to seek. Two sewers discharge into the gully at points several hundred yards above the bridge, and as this means that a considerable volume of miscellaneous sewage is emptied into the shallow upper waters of the creek, a long way from the sea, it is easy to understand why the Grey Lynn Borough Council takes rather a serious view of the situation. As. a matter of fact, typhoid has been prevalent in that neighbourhood during the past twelve months, and considering that the large expanse of mud flat at the creek's mouth has- been for years past slowly saturating itself with stagnant sewage, it is not difficult to -understand why Dr. Purdy regards the systematic drainage of thi3 district ac a work of grave public urgency. As the land drained by Cox's Creek lice largely within the city boundary, it would appear to be the duty of the City Coiincil to attend to the matter at once; and we are glad to have an opportunity of emphasising the demand put forward by Mr. Warnock that steps shall be taken in this direction without delay.

To do the City Council justice, our civic fathers have already referred the question to their engineer; and last week Mr. Busli reported against the Grey Lynn Borough Council's proposals. His first reason is that it would be waste of money to clean out Cos's Creek, as it is already cleared daily by the tide. This statement must' be taken closely with Mr. Bush's assertion that "no great benefit would be effected from a health point of view" by carrying out the work. We cannot imagine how Mr. Bush reached either of these conclusions, and against his views we can set the emphatically expressed opinion of the District Health Officer. Besides, it needs no special engineering knowledge to convince any man that sewage pouring continuously over a mud-flat must be injurious to public health; and as to the idea that , ' the gully flushes itself, we can only wonder whether Mr. Bush has paid much personal attention to the state of Cox's Creek at low tide. However, Mr. Bush has a further objection to the proposed scheme on the score of expenditure. The open channels suggested by the Grey Lynn Borough Council, and described toy Mr. Warnock, would cost about £3500, and the cost would be borne jointly by Auckland and Grey Lynn in equal proportions. But Mr. Bush thinks that instead of spending all this money we had better wait till the city drainage scheme is completed, and the main sewer gets out as far as Cox's Creek: The answer to this argument, of SKduT*e;-ia--th4t though the main sewer will intercept all these local drains, and pick up the sewage that is now saturating the flat, this desirable consummation will not be possible for perhaps seven or eight years; and meantime Cox's Creek is.being converted into a hotbed of pestilence that may at any moment seriously menace the health of the whole community. However, there is another question involved to which Mr. Bush evidently attaches some importance. If our readers will consult Mr. Warnock's letter, they will see that the natural effect of constructing, an open channel, -carrying off the sewage and running out of the gully as far aa the' bridge by Cashmorels Mill, would be to drain the whole flat. In a very short time the mudflats through which the creek empties into the sea would become dry land; and thus the reserve which has been set aside for public recreation purposes at the mouth of Cox's Creek, will come into existence. Mr. Bush seems to think that : this is rather an argument against the scheme, and refers in disparaging terms to the proposal "to provide a park for Grey Lynn." But even if the ultimate result of the scheme will thus De-neftt Grey Lynn, that is surely no argument against adopting a course that seems so manifestly necessary to the protection of public health in the city, as -well as the suburbs. If an infection of any ldnd originates in the district through bad sanitation, it -will certainly not content itself with killing-off people on the Grey Lynn side of the creek. Moreover, when the flat is drained, the park to he formed there will be just as useful to the residents On the city side of the boundary as to the people of Grey Lynn. For the purposes of public Tccrention, as well as from the standpoint of public health, city and suburbs are one; and the reserve to be created 'out of the mudflats on Cox's Creek will be a most valuable annexe to the Bayfleld Park, which runs down to the creek from the Ponsonby side. We mention this aspect of the case merely because the point was raised by Mr. Bush; but infinitely the most im.portant side of the question concerns the health, and safety of the whole population of Auoklanci. We must not forget to observe that, as Mr. Warnock points out, Grey Lynn has done its best to take proper sanitary precautions by carrying the outfall of its own sewers -well out into the tideway of the creek. The danger of which we complain is paused by two main city sewers draining a large and thicklypopulated area, which discharge into the creek hundreds of yards above its natural outlet. It is surely the duty ■of the City Council to abate a dangerous nuisance caused by its own defective public works system, and, considering the relatively small amount of money required and the strong language used by the District Health Officer on this subject, -we trus.t that the protests of Mr. Warnock and his colleagues will speedily have the desired effect.