H.—3l.

on the outgoing tide. Prior to the earthquake, an immense volume of tidal water swept past this outlet, and the ebb tide carried the sewage well out to sea. The floor of the Ahuriri Lagoon has now been raised to such an extent that the tidal flow is negligible, and practically the only water flowingpast the outlet is that brought down by the Tutaekuri River. This, except at flood-time, is a mere trickle, and there is a likelihood even that the river may be diverted. There is visual evidence that mixing of the sewage with the general body of sea-water is very slow, as from the hills overlooking the port discoloration of the water around the outfall can be observed even when the tank is not discharging. Fortunately the bulk of the sewage passes through pumps and is well broken up, but the increasing pollution of the foreshore and neighbouring beaches appears to be a possibility. Hastings : Water and Drainage. In Hastings the damage done to borough sanitary services was slight compared with that in Napier. A number of house fittings required replacement and a few broken sewers were found in the neighbourhood of pumping-stations. In general, however, the sewage system appeared to be undamaged, and has at no time been completely out of operation. The water-supply ceased temporarily owing to failure of electric power and cessation of pumping combined with an abnormal draw-off for fire-fighting purposes. The rising main to the reservoir was broken by the destruction of the Havelock North Bridge and until this could be repaired the pumps had to operate continuously to maintain pressure in the mains. As the result either of earthquake or drought, the yield from the twenty-four small artesian bores decreased to such an extent as, to cause some alarm, and in September and October two additional 6 in. bores were driven to a depth of 300 ft. A good flow of water was obtained, and all anxiety on that score has been removed. Analysis of the Hastings water immediately following the earthquake showed the presence of nitrites. As the old wells are comparatively shallow (160 ft. on the average) for artesian wells, and there were no earlier records for comparison, it was deemed advisable to chlorinate the water. During the driving of the two new wells careful analyses were made at the levels of the different strata, and nitrites were found to be present at all depths including the water drawn from a depth of 300 ft. As it appeared probable that the presence of nitrites was a natural feature in this particular locality, chlorination was discontinued after the end of November. That it is a purely local phenomenon is shown by the fact that other wells scattered about the Hastings Borough do not show the presence of nitrites. Buildings. Up to the 29th February permits were granted in Napier for the erection or renovation of permanent buildings to an amount totalling £342,292. The temporary buildings erected soon after the earthquake have served a useful purpose, but in the case of food premises and eating-houses have left a lot to be desired. In all new plans submitted special attention has been paid to sanitary details, particularly so in the case of hotels, theatres, and food-shops. In some cases the desire to cheapen construction had resulted in faulty design and layout in this respect; but in all cases where such faults have been demonstrated plans have been amended in accordance with the borough by-laws. Building has been active also in Hastings, but the work done and still to do is on a very much smaller scale. Approximate Cost of Paper.—'Preparation, not given; printing (1,040 copies), £67.

By Authority : W. A. G. Skinner, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 932. *

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