HH62/2/RENFRE/49

Transcription

[Page] 48

At Kilbarchan, in the course of the summer, an old built branch-
sewer was found to be silted up, and considerable nuisance resulted.
By arrangement with the proprietors of the properties draining into
it, we were able to envolve an agreement for the construction of a
new sewer. Mr. Murray provided the necessary plans and speci-
fications for the substitution of a pipe-sewer, with an automatic flush-
tank at its head, and subsequently superintended the execution of
the work. This is probably the most efficient sewer in the county
landward.
Our attention was early directed to the condition of Blackstoun,
the unhealthiness of which has been proverbial in the District. There
I found the worst feature in the case to be the system of drainage,
which consisted of open gutters running along the side of the road,
in front of each row of houses. The roads had never been properly
made and were uneven and porous; liquid and solid filth alike was
tossed into the gutters, which, with but little fall, were scarce other
than elongated cesspools. After I had had an interview with the
proprietor on the ground, he agreed to provide a system of pipe-
sewerage for the village, with slop-gullies conveniently placed, accord-
ing to plans and specifications to be prepared by Mr. Murray, which
scheme has since been carried into effect under Mr. Murray's super-
vision. At the same time the proprietor agreed to limewash, for the
first time, the grimy exteriors of the brick 'rows,' and to repair the
roadway. The result of the whole has been materially to improve the
appearance and sanitary condition of the village. I may mention, in
passing, that after some pressure, about the same time I secured the
lime-washing of the exteriors of the houses of the whole village of
Inkermann - which, also, had never been touched before - the general
effect being most gratifying. People are much affected by their sur
roundings, and I am satisfied that I see an improvement in the clean-
liness of the interiors in these villages, since the exteriors have been
cleansed. It is my intention, therefore, to insist upon the free use of
the lime-washing brush in such villages all over the county.
At Howwood, complaints have been made for years of the condi-
tion of the road-side channel on the Lochwinnoch Road, into which
the sewage of a series of houses discharged; and also of the discharge
of sewage into a ditch running from the side of the highway near the
Station. I advised the Committee to proceed, under the 24th section
of the Public Health Act, for the substitution, at the expense of the
proprietors, of a pipe-sewer in lieu of the road-side channel; and to

[Page] 49

lead the sewage from the point at the road-side which is the point of
outfall for the most of the sewage of the village, in a pipe-sewer laid
along the ditch in which the sewage stagnated, to a point at which it
might discharge without nuisance, for the irrigation of the field. The
Committee agreed to this procedure; Mr. Murray drew out plans
and specifications for the work; and at the end of the year, after full
illustration of 'the law's delays,' a tender had been accepted for the
execution of the work.
A preliminary inspection has indicated that the drainage of Lin-
wood village, carried out, in part at least, by means of built drains,
with little fall, is in a very unsatisfactory condition. The matter
will, however, come before the District Committee more specifically
presently.
The minutes of the former Local Authority for the Parish of Kil-
malcolm show that, for a long series of years, intermittent complaint
has been made with reference to the marshy (meadow?) land beside
the railway station, into which the major part of the sewage of the
village is discharged, at a common point of outfall with the Mill
Burn. There would be little to complain of here were the commingling
water and sewage permitted to follow its original course unhindered,
and were the cut in which it runs periodically cleansed. But instead
of this, a system of sluices, and even a small precipitating tank, has
been established, for purposes of so-called irrigation, - the actual re-
sult being that the diluted sewage of the village is dammed up so as
to saturate and water-log the soil, and to convert the area in question
into a miasma-emitting swamp. I was instructed to report upon the
subject, and a special committee was appointed to take charge of the
matter. The question is complicated by the fact that there are several
different proprietors, and several different tenants to be dealt with.
After the most careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion
that the only effective solution of the matter is for the Local Autho-
rity, or Special Drainage-district Committee, to obtain a long lease of
the whole marshy area - the land is of little value, - although, I sup-
pose, if the question came to be matter for arbitration it might appear
otherwise. Properly drained, the area in question would cease to be
a nuisance, the land would rise in agricultural value, and, farmed by
a suitable sub-tenant upon conditions which would prevent a recur-
rence of the nuisance, the committee would be little out of pocket by
the arrangement, unless handicapped by an excessive rent. Thus put,
the matter appears simple enough - upon paper. But, in considera-