PEOPLE'S HEALTH

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21244, 15 October 1940, Page 7

PEOPLE'S HEALTH

DRAINAGE PROBLEM | INQUIRY IN HAMILTON I COMMITTEE HEARS EVIDENCE : The paramount importance of the health of the people was emphasised | when a committee of inquiry of the ! Board of Health sat in Hamilton yes- ! terdav at the Borough Council \ Chambers to hear evidence in regard ; to the provision of public conveni- j ences in Hamilton and the extension i of the borough’s drainage system. In j regard to authority to expend £IO.OOO j on an extension of the sewerage | system, the committee decided to ad- j journ the hearing sine die to allow I the Hamilton Borough Council, the i Waikato County Council and the j Waipa County Council to consider j some definite proposal for submis- j sion to the committee. However, in . regard to authority to expend £6500 j on the provision of public conveni- ; ences and rest-rooms the committee 1 decided to adjourn until this morn- I ing. The Hon. J. Alexander, M.L.C.. j presided and associated with him ! were Mr F. W. Mac Lean and Dr. T. R. Ritchie. The Hamilton Borough Council was represented by Mr F. A. Swarbrick and the Waikato and Waipa counties by Mr IT. A. Swarbrick. At Ihe end of the day’s hearing Mr H. A. Swarbrick submitted that the hearing in regard to the extension of the drainage system be adjourned to a date that would allow the parties concerned to consider the matter and to bring something definite before the committee. After a short retirement, the committee expressed itself in favour of Mr Swarbrick’s suggestion. \

" I Growth of Drainage Outlining the extension of the j drainage system in Hamilton, the j borough engineer, Mr R. Worley, said . ■ that prior to 1921 sewer drainage ! had been confined to the central por- I tion of the town proper. However, 1 the ratepayers had sanctioned a loan of £120.000 and the system had been j extended into closely settled areas, j Five years ago the council had in- J stiluted a plan for septic tanks to be ! installed for remaining dwellings, j This plan had been effective for the first year or two, but recently a j number of new houses had been J built and some trouble began to be experienced. Mr Worley agreed with the chairman that the position might become dangerous from the health point of view. f- jBPPreservation of Health Although the borough council and the two county councils controlled different areas they would all be in- i terested in the preservation of the health of the residents m the three | areas, said the chairman. He could , • take it that there would be no “dog-in-the-manger” attitude among the three bodies. If the population in the areas concerned continued to grow, health would be of paramount importance. If an epidemic broke out in the Waipa County, then Hamilton would be concerned, and the same position would apply in regard to the, Waikato County. In discussing the effectiveness of j septic tanks in certain soils, Mr Wor- , ley agreed that some soils would j eventually become poisonous and I septic. j

Apathy of Ratepayers Only 12g per cent of the ratepay- ■ ers had gone to the polls when the ■ loan proposals were rejected, said Mr Worley in reply to the chairman j The council had gone to reasonable ! lengths to place the matter before j; the ratepayers, but there had been ■ ( no great degree of canvassing, as j drainage proposals had been usually viewed with favour. The council ; had been surprised at the result of!, the poll. There had been some apathy in j regard to the proposal to raise a loan | for a civic purposes site in Garden i Place, and this fact had probably had 1 some effect on the drainage loan pro- ! posals. Both Mr Worley and Mr Swarbrick ; agreed with the chairman that the J outbreak of war might also have ac- ■ counted to some extent for the j apathy of ratepayers. Referring to the necessity for the ■ provision of more conveniences in j the town. Mr Worley said that Ham- i ilton. because of its central position, j was visited by many farmers and ■ their wives, particualrly on sale- | days. Apart from Hamilton itself,

there was a real need for a restroom in Frankton. Position Worse Mr J. W. Lgwis, the borough sanitary inspector, said that the position had become worse during recent years. As in most other towns, he said, there was an insufficient number of houses, and some houses were catering for more than one family. Thus septic tanks were being called upon to provide for more people than originally intended. It was most essential, said Mr Lewis, that the areas affected should be reticulated with sewerage. “In view of the health of the rest j of the community, do you consider that the 3 per cent of the residents with septic tanks should have sewerage made available to them?” , asked the chairman. Mr Lewis said he considered it most essential from this point of view. Speaking on behalf of the Fairfield Ratepayers’ and Progress League, Mr F. O. Knight, president of the league, stressed the need for adequate drainage facilities in Fairfield. In one area, he said, an open drain that was originally a stormwater drain had become practically a sewerage drain In this area the land was very heavy and of a retentive nature. The league did not think it would jbe difficult to embrace the suburb in a drainage system. Mr H. A. Swarbrick asked Mr | Knight whether it was not a fact that the open drain referred to was cleaned out periodically. Mr Knight said that he had been informed by residents that the drain bad not been cleaned out last year. Some Scheme Wanted | It was agreed that the position at | Fairfield was not good and that some ' comprehensive scheme was needed, i remarked Mr Swarbrick. i Evidence in regard to the position at Fairfield was also submitted by ! Mr H. Shallcrass, who confirmed Mi | Knight’s statements. | The question of sanitation of con- | gested areas contiguous to the bor- ! ough boundaries required urgent at--1 tention, said Dr. C. B. Gilberd, Medi- ’ cal Officer of Health for South Auck- ■; land. Many new houses, he said, j had been built in the Maeroa, Fair- ! field and Hillcrest areas and the ■ three areas were rapidly becoming j more densely populated. Fairfield . required the most urgent attention. • Dr. Gilberd referred in detail to j the position as regarded drainage in j areas close to borough boundaries, j and expressed the opinion that sep- ■ tic tanks in a closely settled area did j not make for a satisfactory state of affairs.