Sanitary Report,

Bruce Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 51, 28 June 1909, Page 4

Sanitary Report,

Dept. of Public Health, Head Office, Wellington, 10th June, 1909 His Worship the Mayor, Kaitangata, Sir,—l have the honour to forward Dr Finch's report upon the sanitation of your Borough. 1 believe a misapprehension exists as to the action of the District Health Officer, Dr Ogston, with regard to the above. I am told that some members of your coun cil are of opinion >tliat a previous re port on the sanitation of' Kaitangata has been held back. This I beg to assure you is not the case, nor has Dr Ogston or his Inspector ever intimated that they were reluctant to furnish such a report if called upon to do so. In justice, therefore, to those concerned, I trust that you will remove that impression if such exists.— I have, etc., T. H. A. Valentine, Chief Health Officer. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CHRISTCHURCH, Juno Ist, 1909. Memorandum for tho Chief Health Officer, Wellington. I beg to inform you that in accordance with the honourable the Minister of Public Health's instructions, I visited Kaitangata on 29th May, and I beg to report as follows on the sanitary condition of the town : Kaitangata is a Borough with a population of about 2000. There aro about 385 houses which are fairly scattered and there is no portion of the town which , is very congested. The rate on the annual value is 1-/3 in the £, which produces £4BB per an-! num. The only indebtedness of the! Borough is a l°a n of f° r ! interest on which a special rate of 4d in the £ is struck. The total incomo of the Borough from various sources, including special rate, is about £960 per annum. i Water Supply.—The only water sup- | ply is from rain water collected in tanks. Drainage.—Most of the town is situated on the side of a hill, and thero are about seven natural gullies which serve to drain the surface water. On the lower side of the main street Eddystone Street—ditches have been dug out which lead this water to the Matau River. The ditches below Eddystone street are under the control of the Borough Council. On the upper side of Eddystone Street the ditches, and in some cases pipes, are on private property and subject to no control. In Exe Street and Bridport i

street the ditches are /oul, owing to domestic drainage getting into them* On the upper side of Exe Street pipes have been laid by the private property owners, and connections have been made from the houses on cither side o£ the gully. The same applies, though to a less extent, in Bridport Street. The other ditches receive little, if any, domestic drainage and are reasonably clean. The connections that have been made with theso 'pipes and ditches in different parts of the town have been made without any supervision and without any proper traps or ventilation. Removal of Rubbish.—There is no general rubbish removal service, but a depot for the deposit of rubbish has been set aside and rubbish is only supposed to be removed to depot by licensed carriers. At the time of my visit there were a good many cart loads of rubbish deposited near tho depot, but not at the proper site ; there was not much ofFensive matter,

however, among this rubbish. Nightsoil Service.—There is no public nightsoil service. A large majority of the sections are £-acre or over, but there are a few sections rather small for tho deposit of nightsoil. Sanitary Inspector.—The Town Clerl? acts as Sanitary Inspector, and is paid for his dual duties £l2O a year. A lior.se to house inspeotion has been made by Inspector Gladstone in 1907. On other occasions special inspections have been made by the District Health Officer and Inspector Gladstone. By-laws.—The present set of by-laws came into force about 20 years ago. They are not very suitable for tho town and are more honoured in tho breach than in observance. Infectious Disease.—A- case of diphtheria occurred in February of this year, and there have since been about six other cases, one of which has proved fatal. Four of these obtained their milk from a dairy, which was found to be in a filthy condition by Inspector Gladstone and was reported to the Stock Department, who got improvements carried out. All tho houses in which occurred had defective house connections _ with one of the drains, gullies, or ditches already mentioned, Vital Statistics.—Death rate : There is nothing remarkable about the death rate, which is somewhere about 10.50 per 1000. There have been no large number of cases of infantile diarrhoea, and there have been only two deaths from infectious disease other than tuberculosis, namely, one from enteric in 1904, and one from diphtheria in this year. Birth Rate: The birth rate is well above the average, being about o2 per 1000. Remarks. —The recent occurrence of I a case of diphtheria in the town, and the existence of dirty drains appear to have given rise to much discussion and feeling in the Borough. Generally speaking, Ido not think it can be said that Kaitangata is an unhealthy Borough, or that it is in a grossly insanitary state. There are certain defects which can be easily remedied, and there are larger improvements which should be considered and carried out if practicable. As the town i depends for its existence almost entirely on the continuance of the coal mines it is probable that the ratepayers would not be prepared to saddle themselves with the responsibility of any large expenditure. ; With reference to the cause of the . cases of diphtheria, I think that, put- 1 ting aside the strictly bacteriological < point of view, tho defective house con- < nections are probably as much respon- 1 sible as tho defective larger drains. The dirty dairy may also have had a share in the cause of the outbreak.

RECOMMENDATIONS. Water Supply.—This is the most important large improvement in sanitary matters that Kaitangata should undertake. There is no possibility °f n gravitation supply. The nearest available source for a water supply is some distance from the town, and in any scheme that was adopted pumping would bo necessary, so that tho scheme would be an expensive one, both in first cost and maintenance. I do not think any report has been obtained on the approximate cost of a water supply. Inless there is good reason to believe that the cost would be certainly more than the borough could attord, the council should take steps to ascertain the approximate cost of a public water supply.

Drainage. The town is well situated for natural drainage, and as the Matau river is already polluted and would not be considered a suitablo source of water supply in the neighbourhood of the town, there would bo no harm in draining ordinary household drainage into the river. An underground drainage scheme for tho borough need not be considered at present, as there is certainly no need for such a luxury. The present system, or lack of system, of drainage must be taken in hand and properly dealt with. There appears to be two alternatives

(1) All house drainage must be prevented from draining into ally ditch or gully, and must be disposed of on the householder's sections.

There are probably 110 houses with less than a J-acre \vhich_ are not at present disposing of their drainage on the sections ; consequently I do not think any nuisance or danger to health would arise if everyone had to dispose of their drainage on their own sections. The sub-soil in most parts of the town is of a sandy nature. Tho borough would, I presume, have power under section 284 of ''The Municipal Corporations Act 1908" to stop any offensive matter being drained into drains of which they have control. (2) If householders are to be allowed to dispose of their drainage into ditches or sewers, it must be dono under proper methods. Each house connection must be properly trapped and ventilated, and the drains properly laid. The pipes into which they at present connect must be treated as sewers and ventilated. The drainage into which tho present drainage discharges must either have a suitable concrete inver.t or proper pipe sewer laid down. The first alternative would be the most economical, and would not bo prejudicial to the public health, as long as householders took the trouble to dispose of their household drainago in a proper manner. Nights oil Removal. Owing to the scattered nature o! the

i town, and the general large size of > the sections, the night soil could coni tinue to be buried in the sections without any clanger to public health on that score. It is the exception, however, for the ordinary householder to empty his pan sufficiently frequently, or to dispose of the nightsoil in a proper manner. For thoso , reasons, therefore, it is always adj vantagcous for a town of the size ol j Ivaitangata to have a n.ightsoil removal service, apart from the convenience of such a service. By-laws, The borough should adopt a new set of by-laws dealing more specifically with such sanitary matters as accumulations of refuse, removaf of nightsoil, structure of privies, etc. Sanitary Inspection. Judging by experience gained in similar towns in Canterbury, it is impossible for an officer of the Health Department to give sufficient time to detailed sanitary inspection, and if this is left to the local authority it is usually not properly carried out owing to consideration of local interests, etc. Kaitangata appears to bo no exception to this rule, and it would certainly improve matters if they 'contributed towards the salary of an independent inspector, who would be under the control of the Health Department. For the information with respect to the cases of diphtheria and for other details with respect to the sanitation of Kaitangata, lam indebted to Dr Ogston, District Health Officer, who kindly showed me Inspector Gladstone's reports on these cases, and on a house-to-house inspection made j in 1907, For much other information, I am indebted to the Mayor and Town Clerk, who accompanied me on my visit of inspection. (Signed.) H. E. FINCH, District Health Officer.

DISCUSSION*

Cr Wilson : I move that the report be received. ' Cr Hislop seconded. I Cr Coulter : I move, as an amendment, that the report lie on the table for a month. lam led to believe that a misapprehension exists as to a report from Dr Ogston., There has been nothing said at the council table about yetting a report from Dr Ogston, and apparently yon must have misled the Minister. You have taken it upon yourself to lead the Minister to believe that there was some misapprehension in the council. I question your authority to write to the Minister without the council taking some action. The report should have been on the table when you got it for councillors to see. I question your right to act without the authority of the council, and I also think you have misled the Minister of Health to believe that the council asked for a report.

Cr McVie seconded Cr Coulter's proposal. He thought the report should be 011 the table for a month for consideration.

The Mayor : I take the full responsibility of getting the report, and lam going to put the matter before the council in the way I think proper. At the election I said I would take steps to have a sanitary report, and 1 have done so. lam responsible to the ratepayers for my action, and 1 consider it thoroughly justified. No doubt Cr Coulter may think different, but I can't help that. Cr. Coulter : Did you lead the Minister to believe a report had been asked for by the Council ? The Mayor : I did not lead him to believe anything. I have read all the correspondence. Cr. Coulter : Then how does the letter speak of a misapprehension. Where did he get his information. The Mayor : No doubt he was cognisant of what was going on here. I sent copies of all reports and correspondence. A Councillor :It is apparent that the late council asked for or expected a report. Now it apf)cars two came from the sanitary inspector that we know nothing about. The Clerk produced the last report received, dated 1907» He knew of no others.

After more talk on the point, Cr. Carson : Can you tell me when last report was laid on the table or considered by the Council V The Mayor : I can't tell you. I would like to know. Cr. Espie : A report was never asked for. Cr. Carson : Cr. Coulter asked for one. Cr Coulter : I only asked if any report came, knowing the inspector had been here. The Mayor: You were told none came. Cr. Coulter : Seeing a report was sent in, it cannot rest here. We must sift the matter to the bottom and see what became of it.

Cr. Carson : Apparently reports have been sent, but no one knows anything of them. Now a report has come, and to my way of thinking it is in order, but I think it should lie on ! the table for a month for considera- j tion. { Cr. Hunter pointed out that the am-j endment was not an amendment, the { report must bo received before it could; be dealt with. Cr. Coulter said he intended the report to lie on the table for a month before being received. Councillors wore generally of the opinion that the report should be received, and this was done. Cr. Coulter's motion was then dealt with. The Mayor : If this matter is deferred and more cases of diphtheria break • out, I will not take any responsibility regarding it. Cr. Coulter : You cannot disclaim; responsibility. There are the, by-laws, j and it is your duty to enforce them. The Mayor : It is the Council's duty, j Cr. Espie : There was no need foi>' any report. We have the by-laws and they should have been nut in. force. Tho Mayor : You seem to know alh about it. As an old councillor you should have seen the by-laws were put in force. Cr. Hislop thought it well that the report should stand over for consideration. He thought the Mayor had acted guite right in getting the report. Apparently the late council had been a bit lax. Cr. Coulter : If the old council were lax the present one vma more so.

Cr. Hislop : The present Council has only been in office two months. Cr McVie thought it would bo inadvisable and dangerous to dispose of the house water on the sections.

The motion to adjourn consideration of the report was carried. Cr. Coulter said that though they had adjourned consideration of the report, there was no reason why they should delay anything they could do to remedy matters. He moved that the drain on the south side of Exe street be piped. It was very unsightly, and a cause of complaint. Cr. McVie seconded the motion. The Mayor said he did not know that piping would remedy the evil, but it was a very unsightly drain and had better be piped. The motion was carried, work to be done by day labour as soon as possible.

The question of filthy water being turned on the streets was mentioned. Cr. Coulter read the by-law on the subject, and said they hah power to deal with this matter if it was the cause of the trouble.

Cr Carson : I think this report and what has been said will be productive of good, and that it will bear good fruit. No doubt the ratepayers will take notice of it and remedy matters; if not the council will see what will have to be done at the next, meeting. The report is a very suitable one and has not cost anything, and it will not cost much to put into operation. Jlei thought the Mayor was entitled to their thanks for getting the report. In the meantime he moved that the meeting now adjourn and that the report be considered that night three weeks.

Cr. Coulter seconded the motion, which was curried.

The meeting then closed