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93
It is surprising how large a number of people there are who
immediately they are asked to do anything to their drainage
arrangements, set up the claim that any alterations or amendments
required should be carried out by the Sanitary Authority, as their
drainage is a " combined system," and a great deal of time is
necessarily expended in looking for plans which may or may not
have been deposited with the different Local Authorities any
number of years ago, 50 years back is a frequent date for the
production of plans ; and if the plan is duly found, a further considerable
time has to be expended in convincing the property
owners that they are legally responsible. They seem to immediately
come to the conclusion that if a channel receives the drainage
from more than one house it necessarily becomes a sewer, and
therefore repairable by the Local Authority, forgetting, and in
many cases not believing, that under the combined drainage
sections, if an order of the Local Authority is obtained allowing
any two or more houses to be drained by one channel in a combined
operation, that such channel remains a private drain for all
purposes of reconstruction and maintenance.
Public Sanitary Conveniences. During the year the
supervision of the various public sanitary conveniences, horse
troughs, and drinking fountains in the Borough have been transferred
from the Highways Committee to the Public Health and
Housing Committee.
Up to this time, the control of the South Street Public Convenience
has been in the hands of Messrs. Jennings, who were
paid an annual subsidy towards the maintenance of this Convenience.
When the supervision of the Convenience was taken over
by the Public Health Committee, this arrangement was terminated.