Sessional_Paper_1887-1888 — Page 391

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At the place of exit of main sewers at the Praya, it is found that the openings are in some instances guarded by metal valve flaps, and in others they are not so guarded.

The outfalls of the sewers in the Western District are not guarded by such valves and the mouths of the sewers are open to the North-East monsoon during the whole of the winter months. Seeing that the main sewer in Centre Street is sealed at the top (at the junction of Robinson and Bonham Roads) by a water trap; it follows there is created in the sewer in Centre Street a pressure of sewer gas when the tide is low and the wind high, the outlets for which are house-drains and surface water inlets. An insanitary state must thereby be produced, capable of seriously affecting the health of the residents in the neighbourhood of such a drain at the higher levels.

In the Western District it is found that at the top of the main sewer which runs down Centre Street no ventilation shaft has up to the present moment been provided; but that instead a water trap situated above Cowper's tank, at the junction of the Robinson and Bonham Roads, prevents the exit of sewer gas at that level. With imperfect ventilation below, this no doubt constitutes a serious danger, the more so that the trap from insufficient water to cover the dip is frequently inefficient and at such times allows of the exit of insufficiently oxidised sewer gas. That this is being dealt with is evident, for already a ventilating shaft is being constructed whereby the gases may ascend to a safe distance (according to the present level of house building) up the hill- side; but up to the present moment the conditions noted in the previous paragraph are in existence.

Here it may be advantageous to point out the difficulty, not only of flushing the sewers, but of even obtaining sufficient water to fill the traps after cleansing. The custom followed in dealing with the cleansing of traps is, that twice a week, the foul water is taken out and clean water substituted. The amount of labour this involves is enormous. As many as 80 buckets of water are required to fill up some of the larger traps, and the average number required for the Western District alone, where 114 traps of different size are in action, amounts to 36 buckets per trap. The difficulty of obtaining water from the streams in the neighbourhood is, at certain seasons so great, that water has to be carried from the sea, up a steep hill, as far in many instances as half a mile. The hours available for such work are from 12 at night to 5 in the morning, at which hour the workmen are required for other necessary duties. If by five o'clock sufficient water cannot be collected, and it is at times impossible to get such done from the allowance daily diminishing in the streams, it is plain that the supply being irregular, the traps are liable, to be imperfectly filled and hence their occasional inefficiency. In some instances coolies have been found to deliberately open the moveable grating over such traps, and to draw water for household purposes from these traps. This, in addition to the evil arising to household sanitation, renders the traps inefficient.

2nd. The condition of the houses as obtained by a house to house visitation.-The older houses in the neighbourhood may be said generally to be in an unsatisfactory condition. In some instances as is the case at the Berlin Mission, the drains are for the most part open, but the bricks are blue and consequently unsuitable owing to their porosity, the bricks moreover are badly laid and frequently displaced by the roots of banyan trees. The ground in the neighbourhood of such drains is sodden for a con- siderable depth and a mass of black filthy soil obtains.

In some instances again the houses are in direct communication with the main sewer, there being no attempt, or but an imperfect one at trapping or disconnection. In a few and these the most unhealthy houses the basements are occupied.

In all instances the coolie quarters are defective as regards both their dwelling ac- commodation and latrine arrangements. The dwelling quarters are in many instances built against the hill side, not raised from the ground and directly ventilating into the main sewer and in some instances were found to exist over the latrines. The latrines