View report page

51
In this district the drains of all new houses are tested by
the Sanitary Inspectors as well as by the Surveyor's Department
before a certificate is given by the Surveyor that the house is
fit for occupation. This system was adopted in November, 1904,
but it is not general in other localities. During the year the
drains of 150 new houses were inspected, and defects in construction
wore discovered in 58 instances, though in only 20 was the defect
at all serious.
The following table shows the number of new houses, the drains
of which were tested by the Health Department before occupation,
with the number of defects found, in each of the four complete
years during which the system has been in force :—

An interesting point to note in connection with the testing
of drains is the fact that the occurrence of a case of infectious
disease in one house may necessitate the drains of several other
houses connected with it being examined. During the year, 76
instances occurred requiring the examination of drains. The
proper carrying out of the work required that the drains of 305
houses had to be tested to locate defects, and that nearly 500
re.tests had to be made afterwards to ensure that the work of
repair had been properly done.