OK THE BIRMINGHAM, TAME, AND REA DISTRICT DRAINAGE. 501 



Birmingham of which the authorities had made any efforts to deal with 

 their sewage, whilst on the other hand there were several districts 

 urgently in need of sanitary reform that had been nnable, owing to their 

 positions in relation to other districts, to take independently the necessary 

 step except at a prohibitive cost. 



Birmingham and its sewage farm holding by virtue of its position 

 the key of the situation, and the Corporation anticipating that great ex- 

 pense and inconvenience must ultimately arise if some united action were 

 not taken, it was decided to apply to the Local Government Board, under 

 the Public Health Act, 1875, for an order to form the following urban 

 and rural sanitary districts or portions of them into a united district for 

 the purpose of sewage disposal, viz., the Borough of Birmingham, the Local 

 Oovernment Districts of Aston Manor, Handsworth, Smethwick, Balsall 

 Heath, Harborne, and Saltley ; the contributory places of Aston, King's 

 Norton and Northfield, and Perry Barr ; and portions of the districts of 

 the West Bromwich Improvement Commissioners, and of the Solihull Rural 

 Sanitary Authority ; the principle of selection adopted being to choose only 

 those districts lying round Birmingham which were restricted in their 

 outlets, or which had no reasonable facilities for establishing purification 

 works of their own. 



An inquiry lasting several days was held by J. T. Harrison, Esq., the 

 Government Inspector, at the Public Offices, Birmingham, in which the 

 West Bromwich Commissioners proved to the Inspector's satisfaction 

 that they were in a position to establish their own purification works, and 

 the Rural Sanitary Authority of Solihull, having also recently prepared a 

 scheme, was likewise omitted by the Inspector. 



All the other districts were formed into a united district, under the 

 title of the Birminglnim, Tame, and Rea Main Sewerage District, the Pro- 

 visional Order coming into operation on September 29, 1877. 



The Joint Board consisted at first of twenty elective members, chosen 

 from the members of the various constituent authorities, of which the 

 Borough of Birmingham sent eleven and the others one each ; and two 

 ex.officio members, viz., the Mayor of Birmingham and the Chairman of 

 the Aston Manor Local Board. The district was enlarged in 1881 by the 

 addition of the parish of Sutton Coldfield, but no alteration was made in 

 the constitution of the Board until Sutton Coldfield was incorporated 

 early in the present year, when the number of members was increased to 

 24, Sutton Coldfield sending one member and the representation of the 

 borough being increased to the same extent. 



The first meeting of the Board was held December 6, 1877, when Mr. 

 Alderman Avery, a gentleman well known in connection with the sanitary 

 work of the Borough of Birmingham, was elected Chairman, a position he 

 still occupies. 



The duties of the Board are the acquiring of such lands and the con- 

 struction and maintenance of such outfall works as may be necessary 

 for the purification of the sewage of the various constituent authorities, so 

 that it may be discharged into any streams or watercourses without breach 

 of the Rivers Pollution Act, 1876. It is incumbent on each of the con- 

 stituent authorities either to construct such intercepting sewers as may be 

 required for conveying the sewage of its district to the outfall works, or 

 otherwise to arrange terms with one or other of the constituent authorities 

 for the user of such sewers as may be necessary for that purpose. The 

 Joint Board exercises supervision over the size, character, and direction 



