BoBSON. — On the Sanitary Requirements of Towns. S7 



The geological conditions existing in Christchurch, under wliicli every 

 householder can, at small expense, obtain a stream of artesian water rising 

 to the height of several feet above the ground, are very rarely to be met 

 with, and, as a general rule, water-closets cannot be introduced into towns 

 unless in connection with public waterworks, by which the water can be 

 supplied to the houses under sufficient pressure to rise into the cisterns sup- 

 plying the closets. 



In the construction of the closets themselves, the two principal points to 

 be attended to are : — simplicity in the mechanism employed, and such cistern 

 arrangements as will, on the one hand, ensure the complete flushing of the 

 pan after use, and, on the other, prevent needless waste, as it must be borne 

 in mind that every additional gallon used diminishes the economic value of 

 the excreta, and adds to the cost of pumping at the outfall. 

 In the second place, passing from the individual to the community, or frovi 



the house to the town, What are the Requirem,ents of Town Drainage / 



The requirements under this head may be thus summed up : — 



1. Surface and subsoil drainage. 



2. Discharge of storm- water. 



3. Discharge of local rainfall. 



4. House-drainage ; and, lastly — 



5. Eemoval of excreta. 



The main point of our enquiry is — to what extent can the same channels 

 be used for the several purposes ? 



Surface and subsoil drainage are two distinct things. The first is the 

 removal of water which comes from a higher level, and lies on the ground 

 simply because there is no outlet for its discharge. The second implies the 

 lowering of the water-level below the surface of ground which is either water- 

 logged by filtration from above or by springs rising from below. Christchurch, 

 thirty years back, afforded ample illustration of my meaning. The south-east 

 portion of the town, between Jackson's Creek and what is now the Caver- 

 sham Hotel, was a pond covered with raupo growing in water about a foot 

 deep, on a tolerably firm bottom ; whilst at the south-west corner of the town, 

 near the South Belt, and along what is now the Windmill Eoad, was a dis- 

 trict of treacherous peat swamp, tolerably free from surface-water, but full 

 of sp)rings, and so soft that cattle could not cross it. You will now look in 

 vain for any trace of this early state of things : the Ferry Eoad ditch, the 

 Windmill Eoad drain, and the south drain, having effectually done their 

 work of reclamation, and having, in their turn, disappeared, to be superseded 

 by brick sewers ; but if you will only call to mind the hundreds of pounds 

 which have been paid as compensation for the right of cutting these neces- 

 sary outfalls, the thousands of pounds which have been spent in abortive 



