THE DRAINAGE QUESTION.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 899, 12 May 1877, Page 3

THE DRAINAGE QUESTION.

A meeting of ratepayers, convened bj circular, was held at Mr Charles Clark's rooms i last evening. It will bo remembered that at a similar meeting held some time ago a deputation was appointed to wait upon the Drainage Board and convey to tbeni certain resolutions. This was done, and the present meeting was convened in order to state what had been done, and also, as the plans of Mr Carruthers had been before the public some time, to come to a decision upon them. Amongst those present were Messrs Wynn "Williams, John Anderson, Wallace, J. Ollivier, Bamford, Davis, Attwood, Montgomery, Andrews, J. W. Morton, W. J. Fisher, Pavitt, Hopkins, W. Wilson, Drs Frankisb, Turnbull, and others. On the of Mr. John Ollivier, Mr John Anderson was voted to the chair.

Tho Chairman, in introducing the business of the evening, said that lie wished that some other one had been appointed to the chair who had more knowledge of the business tha he had. However, Mr Ollivier and others would explain the nature of the meeting. Mr Ollivier said that as Mr Anderson hud said the meeting had been called by circular addressed to the ratepayers to consider a plan submitted to them by the Drainage Board as emanating from Mr Carruthers. At a meeting held some time back, a deputation was appointed to have an interview with the Board to get something definite as to tho plan of Mr Carruthers. They had that interview, and the members of the Drainage Board were only too willing to afford all tho information they had —which, heaven knew, was little enough—and it was decided to have the plan lithographed. This had been done, and he was very glad it had been. They had thought it necessary therefore, now that the public had had time to consider the matter, to convene a meeting of ratepayers to see what they thought of it, and also to tell them what they as a deputation thought of it. In view of this they had thought it right to get the opinion of a. professional man, so that their opinion might not be unsupported, and they had selected a gentleman of high reputation, and one who stood high in England and here. He need say no more than that they went to Mr Bray. There were two ways of getting an opinion, one was as a private individual, which was worth nothing, and the other was the opinion of a professional man as such, and upon which he staked his professional reputation. He would say that when they -waited on the Drainage Board with certain questions they gave a reply to them, especially as regarded the carrying away of the sewage. That opinion, however, was, ho said, quite set aside, and they had to take the plan now before them, which they asked them to supplement by any remarks they might deem necessary. The concluding paragraph of the report of Mr Carruthers quoted on the plan stated " that the whole sewage of the city of Christ church and the suburbs will thus be collected at the outfall, and will How into the estuary." This was dated 27th March, 1877, and bore the imprimatur of the Christchureh District Drainage Board. He would now before making any further comments read them Mr Bray's report as follows : Christchureh, May 9th, 1877.

J. Olliviev, Esq. Sir, —Having been requested by you to furnish you with my opinion on the drainage scheme of tho Christciiurch Drainage Board, so far as it has been made known to the public by the publishsd lithographed map and sections, I have given the subject serious consideration. As the map is not signed, it is not clear whether it is a copy of an original plan or a mere office compilation. It is remarkable that the red figures given on the sections to show the level of the drains proposed by the Board always refer to the tops of the drains, 1,2, to 4ft. above the bottom of the intended drains. The bottom of the outfall drain is is figured 37ft. Sin. at the town belt, and at the estuary, three miles distant, it is figured 33ft. sin., showing a fall of only 4ft. 3in. in the whole length of the drain, which was supposed to have 9 or 10ft. fall. All heights have been referred to an unknown datum —the floor of the Cathedral —instead of referring them, as is usual (and as is done in all London drainage plans) to high water, and the height of this Cathedral floor above high water is not given, so that it is difficult to compare the levels of the city of Christciiurch, formerly published, with the top levels of the proposed drains. I assume the Cathedral floor to be 15ft. Gin. above high water, which is Tery near correct. The map contains three districts, distinguished by the colors of the proposed drains, but no boundaries are given whereby to ascertain the area of the rainfall to be considered in each. The Northern district, about two and a quarter square miles, is colored brown, and the drainage of this area is taken to tho East town belt, where it is either to be discharged into the Avon, or to be pumped into a sewer along the East belt and conveyed to the outfall drain. The High Level district, about one square mile, is colored blue, and its drainage is to flow by simple gravitation to the outfall drain. The Southern district, about one-half square mile, is colored red, and is to be drained down the Ferry road by a deep drain, carried to Ift. below low water, and discharged into the Heathcote, or to be pumped along Hargood road to the outfall drain. The whole of this drainage is thus brought to the estuary, about half-mile below the Swing bridge, where it is to discharge itself on the five square miles of mud-flats and river, unless the deposit of sewage mud in the upper and narrow part of the estuary is found too offensive. In such case some fresh scheme uiust be elaborated for pumping the sewage by pipes, or by an aqueduct over the low foreshore to the sea, distant about three miles. There can be no doubt in the public mind that if the watercloset system is permitted, and any fecal or other solid matter is allowed to be introduced into the drains, the discharge of the sewage, or even of the overflow in times of heavy rain into the Avon, Heathcote, or _ the estuary, must soon become most prejudicial to public health. This is the more to be feared when it is considered that the newage of nearly two-thirds of the whole area dealt with, including all the city of Christciiurch, north of Tuam street, is to be brought to the Avon, at the East town belt, to be there discharged into such a sluggish stream flowing through a district of suburban residences, whenever the pumping is discontinued, or the quantity exceeds the power of the pumps. But in order to obtain the supply of water required for moving this solid matter along the drains, the Board propose to construct them below the water level of the different creeks, from which the water for flushing is to be taken. This requires miles of drains, to be laid above 10ft. deep ; and wherever they are laid through sand, these deep drains will be in quicksand, which will insinuate itself day and night into the pipes, through the slightest defect of joint caused by haste or carelessness of the workmen, until the pipes are filled up, as has already been experienced in the Lichfield street pipes. If, however, the Board will absolutely pre hibit the introduction of any solid or fecal matter into their sewers, and content themselves, for the present generation of ratepayers at least, with surface drainage, many of these difficulties maybe avoided, and a very great reduction in cost of construction maybe effected. Twenty or thirty years hence any system of deep sewage may be constructed, when the increase of population and of rate roll may render it desirable. A system of surface drainage by concrete side channels discharging their fluids every fifteen or twenty chains into sewers, is better adapted to the present population than a system of waterclosets, requiring either a system of waterworks to supply the cisterns, or an artesian well and force-pump to each house, and connecting drains from every new house to sewers 8 to 12ft. deep. If tho streets are to be thus cut up, what amount of rates will keep them in repair 'i But whether the solids be excluded or not, the plan adopted by the Board, which they have now laid before the public, prior to accepting the tenders (which have been already invited for part of these objectionable works), is to bring three-fourths of the sewage to the Avon and the i HdathCot'e, antl to erect pumping stations in the I vicinity of these rivers, for raising this three.

fourths of the sewage, or part of it, by steam power, and to discharge it into the outfall drah'. \ny savage not so raised uy pumping must flow aito Un; river. Only one-fourth of the sewage is conducted by gravitation to the present outfall drain, although ibout four-fifths of the whole area is from 7ft. to 25ft. above that outfall, and might easily have been drained into it. About 250 acres of the city, south of the river, and in proximity to the oatfall drain, that would easily drain into it by gravitation, are drained to the Avon pumping station. The sections show that the low, swampylooking district at the Edgware road, near St. Matthew's Church, is 14ft. above the outfall drain, and only two and one fifth miles distant from it. This land, if drained 3ft. below the surface, would have a fall of sft. per mile to drain it by gravitation only. About 150 acres along the banks of tho Avon are less than 7ft. above the outfall, and might be allowed, for a time, to drain into the river. But all the rest of the northern district, which the Board have decided to drain to the Avon, or Avon pumping station, may be drained by simple gravitation, and the pumping station bo omitted, if the Board will exclude water-closets and solids. Yet there are several civil engineers on the Board, who were elected by the ratepayers that they might secure thorn from any such ill-judged schemes. But from the reports given in the papers, it appears that this scheme was accepted as soon as proposed, one of the civil engineers moving the adoption of it, as if the members of the Board felt incapable of sifting into the merits of the scheme, and threw all the responsibility on their engineers. But they must be responsible to the ratepayers for thus relinquishing their trust, to one who could lead them to such waste of public money. The members of the Board need only look into the scheme, to sec that most, if not all, of the pumping may be avoided, and that ;is a useless waste of public money. In the southern district the same system of deep drains has been adopted by the Board, in order to take water from Jackson's creek for flushing the excreta along the drains, thus needlessly increasing the amount of sewage to be pumpod. But if the Board seriously intend to pump the sewage of this district into the outfall drain, and not to discharge it into the Heathcote, they may dispense with eighty chains of the Perry road sewer, by taking it up Ollivier's lane to the outfall drain and establishing the pumping station there. Nearly two-thirds of the work under offer to contractors may thus bo dispensed with, and the other third may be simplified and reduced in cost, if water-closets and deep drains are given up. It may be alleged that the introduction of watei'closets makes the sewage far more valuable as manure; and that the Drlinage Board have secured valuable irrigation reserves, shown on their lithographed plan, on which reserves the sewage may be most beneficially expended, and produce luxuriant crops off otherwise barren sands. This may be perfectly correct; but it is hardly the wish of the ratepayers to have the rates increased annually by 9d or Is in the £, to try any experiments in amateur farming. In England, where it is necessary to avoid contaminating the rivers, because of the towns situated lower down on such rivers, sewer farming and other costly expedients have to be resorted to for preserving the purity of their rivers. And the ratepayers here have precisely the same object in view in protesting against the introduction of the costly wattrcloset nuisance. In towns in England where the pan system has been fairly and judiciously carried out, it has proved the cheapest. I am, &c, W. B. Brat. The proposition lie begged to move was as follows: — That the question of the drainage of Christchureh and its suburbs remains in the same unsatisfactory position as it was before the publication of the plans—--Ist, Because there is not shown any reliable estimate of cost; 2nd, Because tho plan evidently on the face of it contemplates a system of underground sewerage conducting the whole sewage of the city and suburbs to the estuary; 3rd, Because there is no evidence of a definite principle of action on the part of the Board. That in the opinion of this meeting a system of underground sewerage for anything beyond the mere purpose of surface drainage, is in excess of the requirements of the district. That this meeting therefore protests on behalf of the ratepayers of the district against the adoption of the plan proposed by Mr Carruthers. The motion was then put and carried unanimously, amid loud cheers. Mr Wynn Williams rose to propose the next resolution as follows : "That steps be taken for calling public meetings in Christchureh and its suburbs, in order to submit the resolutions passed by this meeting, with a view to obtain the opinion of the body of ratepayers on the subject, and that the" result be forthwith communicated to the Drainage Board." Mr Bird seconded the resolution. Mr Ollivier said what was intended was to fake as it were a. pbbheite of the whole drainage district, by calling meetings in every part of it. He hoped therefore that as many gentlemen as could do so would attend these district meeting. Mr Hopkins desired to point out that, at their next meeting, the Drainage Board would be in a position to accept tenders for a portion of Mr Carruthers's scheme. Now Mr Bell had Gaid that if they carried out any portion of the scheme, the whole must be done. It was therefore necessary that some steps should be taken at once to prevent the Board going on with the scheme. Mr Ollivier stated the dates of the meetings proposed to be held. The motion was thon put and agreed to unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the proceedings.