THE KAIKORAI SEWER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22504, 23 February 1935, Page 11

THE KAIKORAI SEWER

TO THE EDITOR

SIR, —As one who has lived in the Green Island district almost all his life. I ;wish-to draw the attention of the power# that be to the abominable state of what was once known as the Kaikorai Stream. At the present time it is in the

most" filthy condition I have" ever known -it to. be,, and, ~to, make matters worse, gome senseless idiot one night last week tipped a load of rubbish, consisting of rotten fruit and vegetables, off the bridge on to the road that leads to the Southern Reservoir into this, as I would call it, open sewer. The water that arises from ,the source of this stream is utilised by industries higher up the valley, and what remains reaches the stream in a, polluted condition before it reaches the Green Island Borough, \yere this pollution of the stream due to the><Green Island industries alone we should not complain so much. Truly, we are a long-suffering, people, but the limits of our endurance are about exhausted, and we must insist on better conditions fop the future. Tne writer remembers when trout 1 frolicked in this stream, and when, as children, we bathed there, but now the only apparent life that lurks there is. the mischievous mosquito, whose attentions are becoming unpleasant and a potential danger is presented by these, diseasecarrying insects whose habHat is the adjacent swamp where the Kaikorai empties its polluted sediment. The stench through the length of the borough is something to be remembered. Even a a we were sitting in our municipal r picture hall oh Saturday night we could riot escape thift irksome odour. • Another matter with a serious aspect to it which I wish to mention is the house fly nuisance. A fortnight ago, during an inspection by the Mayor and some of the councillors of, the by-products industries in the Green Island borough, we came across a compost heap, consisting of the cleanings out’ of a filtering tank. On examining this compost, we found it was a moving mass of flies in different stages of growth from the egg to thd full-grown fly, .and during sunshine hours thousands are rising to invade the residences in the vicinity. One man declared he could not see his dining room table for them, and at one house which I visited I could almost hear that statement out, despite the numerous fly killers which the householder was using for . their destruction. If these incubating heaps are necessary, then the management of the firms that, are concerned should see that some strong solution is used to destroy all insect life. We do not desire to embarrass any industries, but where the health and comfort of the community are at - stake we must insist that a reasonable amount of precaution is taken in the manufacture of their products. I trust that the ratepayers of the whole of the district will support the present council in its endeavour to have the borough cleaned up.— 1 am, etc., F. H. Wright. Green Island. February 19.