SEWAGE IN HARBOUR

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 153, 25 March 1937, Page 15

SEWAGE IN HARBOUR

Board Urges Improvements to City System

Attention to the state of the city sewerage system as it affects tlie harbour was drawn in the annual report presented to the Wellington Harbour Board yesterday. “For some years the board has been complaining to the city council of the amount of sewage that has been finding its way into the harbour through the various storm-water culverts discharging within the radius of the city wharves,” stated the report. "It has been admitted by the civic authorities that the present sewerage system is overloaded and that, instead of the ejector overflow pipes being used only for emergency and temporary eases of mechanical breakdowns, they, in effect, have been called upon to act as relieving sewers and, as a result, have caused the diversion into the harbour of considerable quantities of crude sewage. “Temporary steps have been taken by the city engineer to improve the present state of things, but. as far as the harbour board is concerned, it is evident that the city sewerage system requires immediate attention and better provision made for the future. In a comprehensive report to the citycouncil. the city engineer lias made it clear that extensive additions, involving a large sum of money, are required to the city sewerage system. This report lias been adopted by the city authorities. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that unless extensive improvements in the present city sewerage system are carried out at an early date, the position of the harbour board in regard to the use of these stormwater culverts as relieving sewers will require to be reviewed in order to prevent the cause of the complaints of the past.”