[Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Gloucester R.D.C.

  • Gloucester (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1951
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Gloucester R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/44 page 13
    SEWAGE DISPOSAL AND REFUSE COLLECTION. Report by the Surveyor :— (1) Refuse Collection. The refuse collection organisation continues to operate satis- factorily and it is gratifying to state that adverse criticism has been confined to a few isolated incidents. These complaints have arisen, almost without exception, as a result of the difficulty in obtaining suitable and adequate labour. Again I must record that this shortage of man power is still a serious problem and there are no signs of any improvement in the near future. In fact with the abnormal increase of population, due to the defence programme, it is to be anticipated that the service will be called upon to bear additional strains in the coming year. The same tipping facilities are in operation as in the past and these are expected to be adequate for some time. The salvage side of the organisation has proved lucrative during the year and every- thing is being done to encourage the collection of saleable waste. At the moment it appears that the demand for waste paper, a profitable source of income, is falling off. The vehicles continue to give little trouble. Mechanical break- downs have been negligible, operational costs reasonable and there have been no accidents of any moment. (2) Drainage and Sewerage. The main works at Longford are still giving extremely satis- factory results, well within the limits laid down in the eighth Report of the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal. It is apparent, however, that with the steady increase of population and the anti- cipated development of the North End area in the next few years the time has arrived when the provision of additional treatment facilities will have to be considered. At the moment preliminary investigations in this direction are in hand. During the year the Department has taken over the admin- istration of several small plants constructed in connection with various housing schemes. In addition to these the Maidenhall Works, previously a privately operated plant, are now managed by the Council. These additional responsibilities have thrown a further burden on the organisation but so far it has been possible to deal with the extra work satisfactorily. Again it is necessary to reiterate that the ever present and over-riding problem is that of suitable and adequate man power. No problems have arisen during the year regarding the systems ] 3
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