PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TLC.O. 885
21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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paved with "vitrified" brick, which, although somewhat expensive in the first instance, is lasting and easily cleaned and washed.
68. Water supply.-The water supply has been arranged by the Commission from the Rio Grande. A reservoir (Rio Grande Reservoir) was made in the hills and water brought by a 16-inch pipe to a cement service reservoir on Ancon Hill, just outside the town. As the pressure thus obtained was insufficient to supply the Canal Commission Houses on the Hill, an elevated iron tank was erected in a more satis. factory situation and water is pumped to it from the cement reservoir for issue to houses in these parts.
A proper water installation with modern plumbing is compulsory in every house, and water is charged for hy
meter.
69. Serrage, &c.-Cesspools are nearly all done away with, and a properly installed water closet is an essential in every house and must be put in. In tenement houses there must
be a suitable wash-down water closet for every eight rooms or one for every 15 people, and it is found better for cleanli- ness sake if there be no wooden seat over the thick porcelain rim.
A system of sewers takes all the sewage from the water closets and trap drains in the town and conducts it into the
sen.
There is also a system of surface drainage which receives all rain water and that portion of drain water which does not enter the trapped drain, and leads it into the sea.
70. Rubbish.-Rubbish, refuse, &c., is collected by each householder in a special container supplied by the authorities, but which he has to provide himself with at his own expense. Collecting carts go round during the night, empty the tins, and remove the refuse to a swamp just outside the town close to the sea shore, where it is dumped and kept con- tinually burning.
71. Refuse cans.-The refuse cans are specially got out by the Government, and are in three sizes, the cost varying from $1.90 to $2.75. They are circular cans made in one piece of 22 gauge steel with heavy steel bands round the top and bottom, and vertical strips of triple angle iron at intervals down the side. The lids are convex and project inch all round the edge. In some instances, as in the poorer quarters of the town, a wooden lid, as used sometimes in the Canal Zone, is more useful, especially as the lids are often lost. These tins stand a great deal of knocking about and are very durable. Dr. Perry kindly furnished me with a copy of their specification.
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72. Market. The market is a large, partially closed-in shed with a galvanized iron roof, close to the sea shore, in fact, part of it is on pillars over the beach. This latter portion has a wood floor, that of the remainder being con- crete. In this market are sold vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and live stock, fowls, &c., the portion over the water being allotted to the last.
The meat market is not mosquito-proof, and the butchers' stalls are all wood. A new market is to be erected.
73. Slaughter-house. The slaughter-houses are situated close to the water's edge. They consist of two, galvanized iron roof sheds with walls 3 to 4 feet high, and are divided up by partition walls of cement into compartments about 8 feet by 6 feet.
The floors are concrete and sloped; one shed is for cattle the other for pigs.
There is another shed alongside where the cattle are brought and temporarily kept. Animals are slaughtered early in the morning, and the meat is all sold during the day.
74. Butchers.-All butchers have to be licensed.
75. Infertious disease.-Any cases of infectious disease occurring in the town are at once removed to the isolation wards in the Ancon Hospital, and the necessary steps taken.
76. Lepers.-Lepers are compulsorily segregated. Leper Asylum.)
(See
77. Buildings. All the old buildings are gradually being pulled down and replaced or else renovated to meet modern requirements. No building can be erected without per- mission, nor can-one be put up outside the sanitary area (water and sewage).
Land must be brought to proper level before commencing work. No roof gutters are allowed. gutters are deemed advisable they must be
Where in a renovation
f
1. Properly sloped.
2. Supported at intervals of 20 inches to 24 inches by
suitable supports.
3. Down pipes must be provided every 20 feet. Adjoining houses must either have a common partition wall or be separated by an interval of at least 3 feet, and the ground between sloped with concrete, 14 feet to be done by owner of each side.
Roof must be so constructed that all water from it falls into the street, yard, or cemented passage way. The yard must be cemented, and have a trapped drain leading to the
A sink must be placed in each yard.
swer.