[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City.

  • Leeds City Council
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    81/308 (page 63)
    Public Sewer Flushing.—This Sub-Section is supervised by an assistant officer with two squads of drainage flushers, equipped with motor vehicles and necessary appliances such as flushing drain rods, drain plugs, smoke machine and a Mono Sludge Pump mounted on a trailer. These squads work under the direction of public health inspectors in connection with (i) the cleansing of public sewers under the Public Health Act, 1936, Section 23, (ii) the testing of drains in the investigation of unsatisfactory drainage conditions of a building as required under the Public Health Act, 1936, Section 39, (iii) the removal of stoppages from drains and (iv) the pumping out of flooded cellars, inspection chambers, etc. This service is available to other Corporation Departments, especially to the Housing Department, the City Engineer’s Depart¬ ment, the Markets Committee, the Parks and Cemeteries Department, to private contractors and property owners. Contract work for the regular cleansing of drainage systems of private schools, several banks and some of the larger firms has been undertaken. Whereas the cost of cleansing of public sewers is a charge upon the Health Committee, the, cost of all other works of cleansing, investigation and pumping has been recovered from the ordering bodies. The demand for this specialised work is continually increasing; indeed there are some days when the time-tables of the squads are completely booked several days ahead. Because of its nature, some of the work can only be carried out on Sunday mornings or after business hours, therefore some overtime is unavoidable. During the year 1,001 (868 in 1959) public sewers were cleansed and the number of private drains tested and/or cleansed amounted to 34,232 (32,929 in 1959). By the establishment of this service the Health and Housing Committees have effected a substantial saving in the cost of public sewer cleansing and other drainage investigations; there has also been a saving in time, stoppages having been cleared in most instances the same day that they have been brought to the Section’s notice.