THE SEPTIC TANK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81863, 12 October 1906, Page 2

THE SEPTIC TANK.

"If we don't have an epidemic in ,{ New Plymouth this summer, well my name's not what it is," said a leadingresident the other evening' in convt. saiion with a representative of this journal. And thei. ne describe la. vivid terms the hoir.ule odour slJ* gishly (lowing from the effluent pipe of tho septic tank, and, of course, the tank had to bear the blame of the awful siench.

So on Thursday afternoon the newspaper scribe strolled round by the supposed stench-producer, right in the heat of the day. The saint muiky, muddy, evil-looking stuff poured out of ihe big bent pipe ana trickled over the gravel shoal. There was no srnell, except that of iht neighbouring gasworks sewer outlei

—but, whew! an onrush of watei from the lift at a neighbouring ware house stirred up the filth at tho bellmouth of the septic tank outlet, ana qhen there certainly was an odoui that ought not to greet one's nostril in the heart of the metropolitan town, and from what is claimed to be at. up-to-date method of dealing with sewage. The principal trouble hen seems to be that the tank effiuent K allowed to collect at tho mouth of tht pipe instead of being caught in tin rapid flow of water and carrier prumply to sea. But an all-wise designer placed the effluent on the shal low side of the river where there it, little motion, instead of carrying tht pipe to the other side under the wan where there is always a good current and a fair quantity of water. li people could not see the effluent, perhaps they would not notice the smci, so acutely, or they might look elsewhere for tho cause. A casual re mark elicited the information tha. the gas from the tank—which wat intended, we believe, to be utilised in lighting the municipal stores tha were lo have been over the tail!;, Ihu which now escapes by means ol a vent-pipe running up the side of Messrs Burgess, Frasei and Co. s three-storey warehouse—sometimes floats in the windows oi that bui cling, and giv;s considerable offence to the workers there.

But our invesiigat'om) tin; fact once more that the bulk ol /-he objectionable srncill, comes from the septic tank, though this offonds sometimes, but from the gas works sewer emptying- into the river lower down. If the Borough Council gives Mr Kendall power to abolish the tank nuisance by carrying the effluent into the river current, then is no doubt he will Quickly do so.