TREATMENT OF SEWAGE

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27638, 20 April 1955, Page 12

TREATMENT OF SEWAGE

DRAINAGE BOARD’S PLANS

ENGINEER TO WORK IN UNITED STATES

The Reserve Bank has granted an application by the Christchurch Drainage Board for 140,000 dollars to me&t the costs of Brown and Caldwell, of San Fijancisco, consulting engineers, on the board’s new sewage treatment plant.

' The board last evening agreed that Mr D. L. Steven, of its engineering staff, should be asked to accept assignment to the consulting engineers for the period of the design work, subject to his agreeing to remain in the board’s employ during the period of construction of the plant and for a year afterwards. Mr Steven recently

attended a sewage treatment course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The consulting engineers had agreed, a special committee reported, that to their original proposals should be added a clause that plans and specifications would be prepared in such a way as to provide for the fullest possible use of equipment which was available locally or could be bought within sterling areas. As a by-product of the sludge digestion process when the new treatment works were completed, considerable quantities of gas would be available for disposal, the acting-engineer (Mr H. F. Page) reported. It could be disposed of by sale, as a fuel for generating power, for heating sludge digesters and burning to waste. Before the consulting engineers could reach a decision on the best method of disposal, information would be required on the possibility of selling surplus gas and of the existence of any restrictions governing the ’generating of electricity. Those matters would be discussed with the authorities concerned.