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the average death-rate for the three years, 1873-1875, before the new system of sewers was carried out, was 18.116.

Mr. PARRY: No, that is when it commenced.

Mr. COLTHURST: I am taking the average of these three years. For the three years following it is 18.3, so that, notwithstanding this enormous outlay, I don't see that any good has been done in this respect by the duplicate drainage system.

The PRESIDENT: Of course I shall be pleased to hear any further remarks, but I would remind you that time is getting on, and we have still a considerable amount of work before us.

Mr. SPENCER: Before Mr. Parry replies, I should like to say that, at the Annual Meeting at Leeds in 1880, after papers had been read by Mr. Vawser and Mr. Hewson, I ventured, in the discussion, to shadow forth the idea that you were to some extent in this matter to trust to Providence. This was thought at the time a dreadful idea, and brought down upon me some formidable replies from the readers of the papers. I find to-day that, practically, all the speakers who have taken part in the discussion, in one form or another have lugged Providence into the subject.

Mr. PARRY: I must say I am pleased this paper has elicited such a discussion; I expected it would, because I know it is a subject on which great difference of opinion exists. Mr. Spencer asked me to reply to something, but I was quite unable to catch in substance what it was he said. In reply to Mr. Colthurst, I may say I directed special attention to the death-rate in my paper, to show the little effect the works had had upon it. With respect to the remarks of Mr. Buckham, the flushing of the sewers, which requires about 24,000 gallons per day, applied in the manner I have stated, is for the purpose of purifying the drains. There are no obstructions, and the cleansing of them is perfectly satisfactory and very efficiently done in the way I have described. Mr. Hall thought it much better to purify sewers by rainfall than by flushing. My opinion is that the water we put in as it may be required is much better than allowing any quantity of rainfall to go in that may happen to come. I am rather surprised at Mr. Vawser's question, because I hinted in my paper that, if further information is required respecting the Act of Parliament obtained for Reading, I shall be pleased to insert in the paper the clauses of it which relate to the separate system, to be printed in the Proceedings of the Association. I will ask you, Mr. President, to take the opinion of the Meeting whether that should be done?

The PRESIDENT: Do you wish me to put the question now?
Mr. PARRY: If you please.

The President accordingly put it to the Meeting whether the material clauses of the Act should be inserted in the paper; and it was unanimously decided that they should be inserted.

Mr. PARRY: Then I shall be happy to supply them. In the first instance, when sewage sewers had been provided, it was intended that the old sewers should be used for surface water, and that only new sewers for surface water should be laid down where none existed. Thus there has only been a very small district that has had to be drained, and there has been no need to provide a special sewer to carry all to one outfall. There are dozens—at any rate twelve to a score-catchment areas that could be drained into existing watercourses, so that it has really been very easy to do. Mr. Jones refers to certain proceedings in Reading as being generally prejudicial. We, as sanitary engineers, are expected to deal with towns and districts in the country according to their own special circumstances. I have had to deal with Reading as Reading. The Corporation commenced twelve years ago by getting an Act of Parliament to deal with the sewage, and it was intended that only sewage should go to the farm. I was therefore expected to separate the surface water from the sewage, and I have done that. With reference to Mr. Pritchard's remarks, I do not think he has read the paper.

Mr. PRITCHARD: I listened to it when it was being read.

Mr. PARRY: Well, you say that 1,813,000 gallons of water are supplied daily to a population of 42,000. I have said that the town and district included have a population of 50,000.

Mr. PRITCHARD: That does not alter the result much.

Mr. PARRY: But it does. It must make a difference whether 1,813,000 gallons are supplied to 42,000 or 50,000 people.

Mr. PRITCHARD: It makes a difference of about 4 or 5 gallons per head; but about the half-inch rainfall, please?

Mr. PARRY: The rainfall in most parts of the town is already provided for, but I may tell you the principle on which I have calculated the quantity of water to be discharged into the sewers is very nearly as Mr. Lemon has supposed it to be. That is, I have taken the length of the roads by the width of the road, and 50 feet on each side, as sending all that falls upon it. I have taken the remaining area of the district as sending a little more than a quarter of it.

Mr. PRITCHARD: It would have been better expressed in the paper, and would have saved asking the question.

Mr. PARRY: I do not think any one would be in a difficulty about it. The half-inch rainfall is not over the whole area of the town, but only for house depths, paved yards, street surfaces, and so forth. It has been calculated by many of those who have gone into this question, that one-sixth of the rainfall goes into the ground[Mr. PRITCHARD: Meadow land]-Yes: and one-sixth runs off the surface, and the remainder is immediately evaporated. Mr. Lemon asked about Field's flushing tanks, and, in reply, I say the more any one can employ these flushing apparatus, the better for our sewers. I know these tanks are good, and have known them to work well. At the end of house drains I think they might be usefully applied, and the quantity of water put into the sewers in that way by systematic means I do not think would much interfere with the quantity to be dealt with at the sewage station.

Mr. LEMON: I asked whether, where an owner of property has adopted special means of flushing-for instance, has put down Field's flushing tanks the authorities at Reading would compel the owner to put in another drain ?

Mr. PARRY: NO: the flushing water in such a case must mix with the sewage, but the rainfall must be separated. As to the points raised by Mr. Jerram, I do not see why you should not separate sewage and surface water where you want to separate them. There may be some slops turned down the surface drains, but we cannot help that. There are other provisions made for sink traps for house slops. Colonel Jones's remarks call for no reply from me; he agrees entirely with the separate system. I may say, with reference to the question of expense, that the sum provided for completing the surface-water drainage has not been large-about 85007.

The PRESIDENT: I meant to have asked you, Mr. Parry, whether in your water supply to closets you insist upon 2-gallon flush cisterns? and whether you consider they afford an efficient flush through a house drain, say of 50 feet or more in length? Do you allow of any kind of automatic flush-tank for closets, by which, when the flush is once started, it must all be discharged?

Mr. PARRY: We do not draw a hard-and-fast line. If we found a closet flushed in that way, there would be no objection made, although we have fixed in our regulations that 2-gallon cisterns shall be provided for the prevention of waste.

The PRESIDENT: I want you to give us your opinion whether you think a 2-gallon flush sufficient through a house drain of 50 feet or more?

Mr. PARRY: It is only a 3- or 4-inch pipe, and when the discharge runs instantly through a 4-inch pipe it pretty well cleanses it. The PRESIDENT: You are in favour of it?

Mr. PARRY: Yes.

The PRESIDENT: I think we have had a very good discussion, though it has taken a rather wide range. I am sure we are very much obliged to Mr. Parry for his interesting paper.

Sections and Schedule in the Reading Corporation Act, 1881, empowering the Corporation to enforce the separation of Surface Water from Sewage in carrying out the Sewerage and Drainage of the Borough.

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Provisions of

Public Health
Act 1875 as to

24. Any drain for the drainage by a combined operation of two or more houses or buildings or of premises not within the same curtilage laid or constructed by or at the expense of the owner or owners of such drains to apply houses buildings or premises before or after the passing of this Act and to drains for after application or request in that behalf made to the Corporation by combined such owner or owners or his or their agent shall not be deemed to have drainage. been or to be a sewer within the meaning assigned to the word "sewer in the Public Health Act 1875 unless and until the Corporation have acquired the same and until the same becomes a sewer it shall throughout its whole extent up to its junction or point of communication with a sewer of the Corporation be deemed to have been and to be a drain to which the provisions of the Public Health Acts with respect to drains extend and apply and the owners of the several premises from which any sewage or surface-water flows directly or indirectly into such drain shall be liable from time to time to maintain and repair the same and in case any such drain be not maintained and repaired to the satisfaction of the Corporation the same shall be deemed to be a nuisance within the meaning of the same term in the Public Health Acts and all the provisions of the said Acts with respect to nuisances shall extend and apply thereto.

As to the

maintenance of Sewers not belonging to Cor

25. Where any sewer (not being a sewer of the Corporation) is out of repair or dangerous or so foul or in such a state as to be a nuisance or injurious to health such sewer shall be deemed to be a nuisance within the meaning of the same term in the Public Health Acts and all poration. the provisions of the said Acts with respect to nuisances shall extend and apply thereto.

Sewage &c.

26. No sewage shall be drained into a surface-water sewer of the Corporation or into the gutters in the public streets and no surface- not to be water shall except with the consent in writing of the Corporation be surface-water

drained into

sewers and

drained into any sewage sewer of the Corporation and no surface-water surface-water shall be allowed to discharge from a stack-pipe on to a footpath or into a street gutter in any case in which there is a surface-water sewer within one hundred feet of the footpath outlet of such stack-pipe.

not to be drained into sewage sewers. Stack-pipes not to be used as ventilating

shafts.

Prohibition

into sewers or drains.

27. No water-pipe or stack-pipe for conveying surface-water from any premises shall be used or be permitted to serve or to act as a ventilating shaft to any drain which communicates or which is intended to communicate with any sewage sewer of the Corporation.

28. No cesspool shall communicate directly or indirectly with any against empty- sewer of the Corporation and no cesspool shall be used for the drainage ing cesspools of any premises in any case where there is a sewage sewer of the Corporation within one hundred feet of any part of such premises. No person shall pump place or throw or otherwise cause to run flow or fall into any gutter water channel or catchpit in any street or into any sewer of the Corporation or into any drain connected therewith the contents of any cesspool or other like receptacle for the reception of sewage:

Corporation may order

drains emptying into improper sewers to be closed.

Old drains to be laid open for examination by Surveyor before

Any person offending against this enactment shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding the sum of five pounds and in the case of a continuing offence to a further penalty not exceeding the sum of forty shillings for every day upon which such offence is continued after the day upon which the first penalty is incurred.

29. Where sewage from any premises flows through any drain communicating with any surface-water sewer or where the surfacewater from any premises flows through any drain into which any sewage flows or into any sewage sewer the Corporation may by written notice require the owner of such premises within a reasonable time specified therein to cause any such drain to empty into any sewer of the Corporation within one hundred feet of such premises and if such notice is not complied with the Corporation may after the expiration of the time specified in such notice do the work required and may recover in a summary way the expenses incurred by them in so doing from such owner or may by order declare the same to be private improvement expenses.

30. No drain existing at the time of the passing of this Act and then not communicating with a sewer of the Corporation shall be made to communicate with any sewer of the Corporation until the same has been laid open for examination by the Surveyor and he coinmunicating shall certify that such drain may be properly made to communicate with sewers. with such sewer and if on examination it be found that such drain may be properly made to communicate with such sewer the Surveyor shall cause the ground to be closed and any damage done to be made good as soon as can be and the expense of the works shall be defrayed by the Corporation.

Power of owners &c. to drain into

sewers.

31. Except as by this Part of this Act expressly provided the owner or occupier of any premises shall be entitled to cause his drains used for carrying off sewage to empty into the sewage sewers of the Corporation and his drains used for carrying off surface-water to empty

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