Houses In Sewered Areas Ordered To Connect

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29237, 22 June 1960, Page 14

Houses In Sewered Areas Ordered To Connect

Owners of property in the New Brighton area who have had sewer connexions available for four years or more will be advised by the Christchurch Drainage Board that if their properties are not connected within six months the board will compel a connexion.

The instruction will also apply to properties with septic tanks, as only the water closet is connected to the septic tank, and the problem caused by sullage water is also present in such cases.

In deciding this last evening, the board agreed that the procedure would be its general policy for all areas of its district after sewer connexions had been available for four years.

The City Council had been giving attention to the charge to be levied for sanitary pan collection this year, as extra work was involved in the more frequent flushing of side channels into which sullage was discharged, a special committee reported. Some immediate action by the board, especially in the central area of New Brighton, would be welcomed by the council. There were 102 unconnected properties in the central area bounded by Lonsdale street in the north and Hood street in the south, the committee said. All the streets had been available for connexion since 1955-56. The total number of unconnected properties over the whole of the New Brighton area on which the council levied a sanitation fee was 884.

The availability of drainlayers would be the determining factor in deciding the'rate in which notices to connect were served, the committee continued Generally, the connecting of the area had been carried out by drainlayers living in the area, and they were limited in number and appeared to have plenty of work in hand. Finance would not present a difficulty, but if too great a rate of connexion was the shortage of drainlayers would probably be reflected in higher quotes, 'with consequent rejection by the board of the loan application.

Close liaison with the City Council should be maintained, as it was understood that some substandard properties were likely to be served with demolition notices