THE HEALTH OF THE TOWN.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 October 1916, Page 6

THE HEALTH OF THE TOWN.

SANITATION" IMPROVEMENTS. | For some year, past the oucstion of in proper and up-to-date sewciage and sanitation scheme for New Plymouth has been one that seriously perturbed the minds of several individua' members of the civic authorities. It ha? ) x , ( , n " a bone of contention" at Borough Council meetings, and lias also received much verbal attention from the public generally. But little has so far been" done or attempted. The removal of house refuse, thorough drainage from all houses within the borough area, the •ewerage extension and the proper disposal of nightsoil are all initters that are of paramount importance to the borough and to the residents. The very fact that the climate here in spring and summer time is often exceptionally humid makes imperative an efficient sanitation system, and this should be one of the most important works for consideration by the controlling body. As yet, however, it has been met in a halfhearted and :lesultory manner. The everlasting .parrot-cry of "What was good enough for my father is good enough for me," seems to be the bane of tlie town . And then there come? ,the question: If our fathers could do without trams, why not we? Grant that the tram service as installed is one that will assuredly pay its way. that, like tshe much-advertised pen, it is "a boon and a blessing to men" -'(also women), was not a satisfactory sanitation'"system of primer importance? That some scheme should be established for the improvement of health conditions was at length recognised by the Council is shown by the following excerpts from the last annual reports. En passant, it may be stated that the town clerk (Mr. P. T. Bell ringer) has always been a stickler for improvements in sanitation. He says-.—"ln November last I submitted the following recommendation to the Council' Iu my last annual report I emphasised the absolute necessity ,for a more rigid and systematic sanitary inspection than has obtained m the past. . . . The multifarious, unties placed upon the general inspector made it impossible for him to carry out the whole of his duties."

"The duties of a sanitary inspector are such as call for the services of an inspector specially qualified in sanitation, and are now sufficient to kee-p one man almost continuously employed." "In every annual "report submitted by me from 101*2 attention' has been directed to the totally insufficient method of collection and disposal and house refuse."

The recommendation of the town clerk to appoint a sanitary inspector, who should also be building superintendent, was favorably considered by the Council, the upshot being that out of 45 applicants Mr. E. Day was appointed, and it cannot be gainsaid that tills appointment marked a new era in the much-needed improvements, which were commenced without delay. A VISIT OF INSPECTION, In view of the fact that the hot season is rapidly approaching, a representative of the News, in company with Mr. Day, recently took a stroll round New Piyniouth to ascertain, if possible, wihat the borough is doing in regard to the sanitary conditions of the town. A visit was paid to the new depot at Fitzroy, tile headquarters of the system lately adopted)for the removal of nightsoil. By the new system the borough provides the pans, and the whole of the work is done in daylight. This ensures a much more satisfactory service at a lower cost. The depot is situated on the sandhills near the mouth of the Waiwakailio river, and although the work was in full swing during the visit there was an entire absence oi anything in the nature of a nuisance. Good work is being done ir« the reclamation of the sand, and there is no doubt that as time goes on a large area of the sandhills in this locality will be brought to a profitable state.- Under the old contract system, with its insanitary conditions, the cost to the public would have been the same as the Council is now charging for tile present service, so that the improvements being carried out are a distinct gain to the 'borough at no additional cost. A good illustration of "how not to do things'' is to bo seen in a large collection of old sanitary pans, which were removed by the borough on the inception of the new system. These range from kerosene tins to oval boilers, mo.itly leaky, and their hundreds are now being used to reclaim trie sandhills, in which tliev will soon be ouried obliviondeep. The display is certainly discreditable to New Plymouth householders.

The removal and disposal of house refuse has also been undertaken by tin borough since April 1, so a visit was paid to the site of the principal rubbish dump in Hobson street. Here the Council has again shown its foresight in acquiring its own site, out of revenue, so that any proSt accruing from the levelling up of sections is secured to the .-atepavers. The site in Hobson street is well suited for the purpose, being a deep gully with plenty of filling on both sides, and well awav from the houses. The inflammable material is at once burnt in a large hole, while the remainder of the refuse is tipped into the gully and :overed with clay. Ample provision 'has been made to deal with fire at the tip, for it is recognised that a burning tip is a source of very great Annoyance to residents a considerable distance away. It seems si pity that some better use awinot be made of the inflammable material now being destroyed at Hobson itreet, for it is evident that many hundreds of heat units are wasted daily.

It is surprising to know that out of what was originally the borough oi New Plymouth over 150 loads of refuse are removed monthly, and one naturally wonders what happened to this stuff before the service was instituted. Considering the quantity and nature of the refuse handled it is surprising to visit the tip and find so little evidence of the fact. After the material Ims been covered with clay there is nothing to indicate that hundreds of tons of rubbish have been' buried there. The absence of flies at either depot, but>particularly at Fitzroy, was very noticeanle. The mention of flies reminds the writer that in a number of localities the house drains appear to discharge into the streets. In Watson, Leach, Lemon, Hobson and Courtenay streets, and also at Belt road and Fitzroy, this was most noticeable, and the sight and smell of the stagnant pools was most unwholesome.

Our representative learns that this matter has received the attention of the Borough Council, and the sanitary inspector is at present serving notices to have the nuisance abated. It has been proved in many instances, owing to the

subsoil of the town being of a porous nature, that if the 'house water is directed to a deep well it will soak away and cause 110 nuisance, whereas the present system of pouring it into the streets is ail eyesore and a serious menace. Surely property holders do not require a notice to abate a. nuisance when the fact is p.itcnt to every passer-by <in4 the remedy so easy to secure. If the town is to become a health resort, as it undoubtedly should, liiis matter must receive immediate attention.

The Borough Council ami its sanitary inspector are to be commended for the steps which have been taken, .and for the schemes which have been adopted during the past few months- for the cleanliness of the town, and it only remains for residents to heartily co-oper-ate with the civic authorities to secure sanitary conditions in New Plymouth that will compare favorably with anything in the Dominion both as regards efficiency, and, what is of equal importance. cost to the taxpayer.