DRAINAGE

Press, Volume II, Issue 46, 29 March 1862, Page 1

DRAINAGE

There is something catching in tho fashion to perpetrate great crimes and great follies. We imitate not only the virtues hut the vices of our fathers, and errors which are designed as beacons are ueed as guides. We earnestly wish we could take the members of the new Town Council of Christchurch, and plant them on a sweltering hot day in the month of next June, 'n a small steamer between Blackfriars and Watertoo bridge, on tho river Thames. These gentlemen would then realize to the fullest extent the result of draining a town into a river flowing through the middle of it. One of the Town Council —in fact, the Lord Mayor, Mr. Hall—has only recently returned from England, and has no doubt become fully impressed with the horrible nuisance which has been created in the last ten years in London. None who have not seen and

smelt it would believe it credible that a nation of enlightened men could have perpetrated such a folly. That the evils of allowing open cess-pools to stagnate under the soil on which a dense population lives, are very great, must be admitted; the whole surface soil becomes impregnated with foetid matter, and the wells are more or less poisoned. But the first step in remedying this evil ought to be to create some outlet for the drainage. In London the mistake made was to drain the cesspools first into the main sewers, without any consideration of what was to become of the contents of those sewers themselves. Every thing was emptied into the Thames, and a foul and dangerous nuisance was created, far more noxious than that which it replaced. London is therefore doing now, what it ought to have done at first: it is building main drains to carry off the sewage of London, at a cost of three-and-a-half millions of money. All this might have been just as well done before the drainage of the cesspools commenced. Now what the Thames is to London, the Avon is to Christchurch. Already the work of draining into the Avon has commenced : and, we are ashamed to say, the Government has led the way in this foul and stupid process, by draining, as we are informed, the new Hospital into the river. But the inhabitants of London had one excusewhich the Christchurch folk have not. The former at all events took the best available lowest level j whereas the Avon is not by any means the natural drain of Christchurch : like all the rivers flowing on these plains, the ground falls in many directions from the river, leaving it at a higher level than the surrounding country. From Christchurch to highwater mark in the Heathcote is only two miles; but by the way of the Avon it is ten or twelve miles ; shewing that the best fall is certainly not that provided by the river Avon. Again : imagine the result of throwing sewage matter into a stream half filled with water cresses. The roots of the cresses will of course form a bed in which all the drainage will be deposited, so that it can never run away; at once feeding the growth of the cresses, iucreasing an existing nuisance, rendering it far more difficult to clear them away, owing to the deposit of slime around the roots, and choking up the course of the stream. It would be hard to imagine a more ingenious contrivance for at once eradicating an old nuisance and creating a new one. The question is really a most serious one for the public, not only of Christchurch, but of the whole Province. The capital town is in some senso the property of all the country, as all go there at some time or other to transact their business. Whatever plan be determined on by the Town Council now, will be that on which we shall be compelled to act for many years to come. But if we are not to be perpetually wasting the money and energy of the country, we ought at starting to look far a-head, and begin at once to act on a plan which will bear expansion to suit the emergencies of all time. Now the first thing to be done is to have a proper map made solely with a view to drainage : that is to say, shewing the levels of the streets in the town, and of all the surrounding country. It will bo found we believe that the greatest fall lies towards the estuary into which the Avon and Heathcote run. The shortest drain no doubt would be that emptying itself into the Heathcote near Christchurch Quay ; but the land owners on the banks and the dwellers on the Ferry road would have some ground for complaint if the Heathcote were turned into a common sewer for Christchuroh. Between the Ferry road and the sea lies a tiaot of land compounded of sand hill and raupo swamp, which is, and probably for a very long timo to come will be, unoccupied and uncultivated. This district is the one which nature has pointed out as that towards which the drainage of Christchurch should be taken. Some months ago we pointed out that the system of draining towns into rivers, and so wasting the tents of the sewers, was one which was already being ranked with the errors of barbarous ages. We would, now that something is probably about to be done practically, reiterate this argument. Providence has laid down a great unchangeable law of nature. We are

asked to violate that law. The law is, that the substances taken from the earth for the food of man must be restored to the earth again in some form or other, or that the soil will sooner or later cease to produce. This is what is meant by manuring land. That which the old farmer adopted from experience tbe chemist shews to be necessary. The country pours its riches into the towns in the form of hay and oats for horses, meat and flour and vegetables for men; all which comes outof the soilof the country. These substances are submitted to the mysterious alchemy of the stomach, and are separated into their component parts: the one—a very small part—going to make up the substance of animal frames; the rest —what shall become of it ? that is just the question. According to j the ignorant processes of past ages the residue is all wasted, passed into streams and rivers, and so into the ocean; but according to the enlightened demands of modern science, this residue is sent where nature designed it should be sent; that is, back to the soil ! from which it was brought, and where it is again needed in order to supply food to new generations of animal life. What we desire then is that in adopting a drainage for our capital town we shall look to the future, not to the past. That we shall advance in the van of improvement, not lag in the rear. Thatjwe shall abandon for ever the system of throwing away the drainage of the towns, and shall begin to economize it. The I country between Christchurch and the sea offers every opportunity for such a process. The process of deodorization and preparation for manure could then be carried on" without annoyance to any one, and the sale of the manure would in a few years, if not immediately, amply repay the cost of the work. It is a question whether at any time the system of underground drainage would be the best means of removing the sewerage matter to the reservoir. However that may be, we confess we do not see a chance of any effective drainage at present. The value of the property in Christchurch would not at the present time bring one tithe of the interest on such a loan as would be requisite in order to construct drains all over Christchurch. It will be said no doubt, * Let us begin with the most populous part; let us drain one street: Cashel-street for example—and carry on that as a main drain to the estuary.' But one does not see why the inhabitants of the north bank of the river, for example, should be taxed to increase the value of the properties in Cashelstreet : and even one such drain could not be made without a general rate. Once again we would throw out the suggestion of locomotive cesspools of iron or wood. The advantage of this plan would be: (1) That every one would be taxed equally in the cost of the cesspool. (2) That the soil would be immediately relieved from the unhealthy saturation which is now going on from cesspools dug in the ground. (3) That as a sanitary measure it could be brought into operation at once; and with the amount of low fever now prevalent, that is a great matter. (4) That the whole of the outlay out of public monies expended in being devoted to the j preparation of a common reservoir for the reception of ! the sewage would be devoted to a purpose from which a return would be at once obtained. (5) That such a system would leave the way open for underground drainage, when the time should arrive when such a system might be thought desirable and could be afforded. But wholly apart from the question of surface is that of surface drainage. Walking along a public street in Christchurch at night, you might almost fancy yourself on the banks of the Thames : the stench is sometimes horrible. This arises from the vast amount of decaying matter which is thrown out into the yards and streets, and which is never cleaned or washed away. There are main streets in Christchurch at this moment in which a boat would be useful after every rain. One of the greatest wants of Christchurch, then, is that the surface draining at the sides of the streets be brought to a perfect level, so as to carry off the standing water, and, with it, all the decaying matter which would thus be washed away.

As to the latter the Town Council have a forward task before them, but as to the more d'ffi question, the drainage of the cess-pools, w e th' L Town Council would not act unwisely in invitino- f for the best scheme which could be performed 3 *** get before them all the information and ewr J ** t0 tion which may tend to throw any light on th *? cult subject which they have to solve.