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Page 39
The evils which have arisen from the sewering and draining of towns
have been of a twofold character. First, in the increased pollution of
rivers and streams into which the sewage, in the earlier stages of
these works, was poured without any previous treatment; and secondly,
in the production of sewer gas, which up to the present moment seems
so difficult to deal with. These concomitant evils and difficulties
attending the execution of sanitary works are in no way to be
underrated, but it still remains the first duty of town authorities to
remove, as quickly as possible, all liquid and other refuse from the
midst and immediate vicinity of large populations, before putrefaction
has had time to take place.
There are some minds whose course of reasoning seems to lead them to
the conclusion that the evils attending the introduction of modern
systems of sewerage are greater than those of the old methods of
dealing with town sewage and refuse, but the facts are against them to
such an extent that it would be difficult to point to a responsible
medical officer in the kingdom who would be courageous enough to
advocate a return to the old regime of cesspools, privy ashpits, open
ditches, and flat bottomed culverts. The introduction of earth closets
as one of the safeguards against sewer gas has made no headway for
large populations, and is beset with practical difficulties.
In the Midland and Lancashire towns the system known as the pail or
tub system has been much more largely introduced as a substitute for
the water closet, and it has, from a landlord's point of view, many
attractions. In the first place, the first cost, as compared with that
of a water closet, is very small, and the landlord is relieved for
ever afterward I believe, in most towns, of all future costs and
maintenance; whereas, in the case of water closets, there is
undoubtedly great difficulty in cottage property in keeping them in
good working order, especially during the frosts of winter. There are,
however, many objections to the pail system, which it is not proposed
to touch upon in this address, beyond this, that it appears to be a
costly appendage to the water carriage system, without the expected
corresponding advantage of relieving the municipal authorities of any
of the difficulties of river pollution, inasmuch as the remaining
liquid refuse of the town has still to be dealt with by the modern
systems of precipitation or irrigation, at practically the same cost
as would have been the case if the water carriage system had been
adopted in its entirety.
The rivers pollution act gave an impetus to works for the treatment of
sewage, although much had been done prior to that, and Leicester was
one of those towns which led the way so early as 1854 in precipitating
the solids of the sewage before allowing it to enter the river. The
innumerable methods which have since then been tried, and after large
expenditures of money have proved to be failures, show the
difficulties of the question.
On the whole, however, sewage farms, or a combination of the chemical
system with irrigation or intermittent filtration, have been the most
successful, so that the first evil to which the cleansing of towns by
the increased pollution of rivers gave rise may now be said to be
capable of satisfactory solution, notwithstanding that the old battle
of the systems of precipitation versus application of sewage to land
still wages whenever opportunity occurs.
The second evil to which I have made reference, viz., that of sewer
ventilation, seems still unsolved, and I would earnestly entreat
members, all of whom have more or less opportunities of experimenting
and making observations of the behavior of sewer gas under certain
conditions, to direct their attention to this subject. It is admitted
on all hands that the sewers must be ventilated--that is, that there
must be a means of escape for the polluted air of the sewers; for it
is well known that the conditions prevailing within the sewers during
the twenty-four hours of the day are very varying, and on this subject
the early observations of the late medical officer for the City of
London (Dr. Letheby), and the present engineer for the City of London
(Lieutenant-Colonel Heywood), and the still more recent investigations
of Professor Pettenkofer, of Munich, Professor Soyka, of Prague, and
our own members, Mr. McKie, of Carlisle, Mr. Read, of Gloucester, and
others, are worthy of attention. It does not, however, seem to be so
readily or universally conceded that a plentiful supply of fresh air
is of equal importance, and that the great aim and object of sewer
ventilation should be the introduction of atmospheric air for the
purpose of diluting and oxidizing the air of the sewers, and the
creation of a current to some exit, which shall, if possible, either
be above the roofs of the houses, or, still better, to some point
where the sewer gas can be cremated. The most recent contribution to
this subject, in direct opposition to these views, is to be found in
the address of Professor Attfield to the Hertfordshire Natural History
Society and Field Club, in which it is laid down that all that is
necessary is a vent at an elevation above the ground, and that,
therefore, the surface ventilators, or other openings for the
introduction of fresh air, are not only not necessary, but are, on the
contrary, injurious, even when acting as downcast shafts.
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