Whitehorse Range - Magpie- Sewering Ballarat

 Star (Vic.: 1865 - 1924), Friday 26 January 1923, page 1 

Sewering Ballarat 

What is Being Done Interesting Visit First Outfall Sewer Pipe Laid 

Ballarat, as a city, although it is aware that it is being sewered, and will in due time see the end of the antiquated system of “sanitation" has ruled for so many years, has as. 1 yet but' little idea of how the work is being carried out: it does not know, for instance, that in order to carry the sewerage down to the treatment works between. Buninyong and Sebastopol, the Yarrowee has to be funnelled under in three places. Probably it does not know that a series of shafts equipped with the old-fashioned windlasses has been sunk along a parallel course of the creek in order to test the ground, and that the out-fall sewer has, in the hands of the contractors, made such good progress that its direction is plainly indicated, either by open cuts or tunnels. Nor probably, is Ballarat aware how many pipes, ranging from 32 inch down wards in diameter are being turned out by the Hume Pipe Company at Sebastopol expressly for the Ballarat sewerage works. A visit to the various sections of the, works now in progress under the direction, of. the. Ballarat. Sewerage Authority is highly interesting, even at this early stage. For at present, it is almost too early to give a general idea of what the sewerage works wall be when they are in full swing, but sufficient was gained on a tour yesterday with Mr A. Farrer, the Authority’s engineer, to enable “The Star” to tell the public what they have so far got for their money, for, after all, it is the public money that is being expended. The Authority is borrowing it, the public will have to repay it, plus interest, but for the outlay, which will extend over several years, it will see Ballarat develop from a city with an obsolete sanitary service, into one as up to date as any inland city in part of the world. That is saying a good deal, but it must he remembered that the Sewerage Authority, headed by the Hon. Fred Brawn, M.L.C., has the advantage of being able to command: all the latest data, in sewerage methods, and the other immense advantage of being able to benefit by all the errors of its predecessors. And many of those errors were not committed in Victoria with the vast fund of information from experience, study, practical knowledge and economic facilities, the Ballarat Sewerage Authority promises to give this City a sewerage scheme that will be second to none, having in mind that there are no fortuitous aids to disposal of refuse.  Everything has to be treated, and so treated as to be rendered in nocuous. PROGRESS OF WORK! However, it is not with the, final, disposal of refuse that this article is concerned. That will come later, when the reticulation is complete, and the refuse starts to find its way to the treatment works. What immediately concerns the public is what the Authority has done in the past few months and is doing now. FIRST PIPE LAID. And in this connection, it is highly interesting to note the progress that has been made by the authority up to the laying of the first sewer pipe. That event took place on Wednesday. There was no, ceremony, and as the contractor stated, “no fuss.” He did not want either. All that he and the foreman were concerned about was whether the big pipe (it is part of the outfall sewer) would be lowered safely into its bed, and having reached there, would be in plumb. Both these events—thanks to good workmanship—happened as expected. The big pipe, 8 feet long and 30 inches in diameter, was raised and lowered into its place without mishap, and although a heavy fall of rain impeded operations somewhat, still, as a workman said, all was O.K.” THE OUTFALL SEWER. Now as to the progress of the works. The first section of outfall sewer, he tween Tress. street and Hill Street— about 2550 feet in length—is well nr-der way. Mr Talboys Wheeler, the contractor, has so far driven some 300 feet of tunnels, duo to the undulation of the ground levels, and 450 feet of open cuts, and has, as stated, begun to lay the main sewer, which at this section is 30 inches in diameter. DAY LABOR.  The second section of the main sewer, from Hill Street to Channel Street, is being done by day labour. Herein is an interesting comparison to be made when the time comes to make comparisons, which is not yet. Whether it is cheaper to let this class of work by contract or do it by day labour is a problem that has oft times been argued though with no satisfactory result, as far as the ex ponent of either system are concern ed. However, this second section is almost 4800 feet in length, or roughly, about two-thirds of a mile, and of these some 4150 feet will be laid with 24-inch pipes, and 650 feet with 21-inch pipes. About here the sewers will go under the creek, one at Hill Street, one at Channel Street, and one at Grant Street. These three under creek tunnels will carry about 220 feet of 15- and 12-inch sewers respectively, and they will bring the sewerage from the western side, of the creek into the main outfall, which is on the eastern side. As stated, a number of shafts have been sunk along the line of the main sewer to test the ground, and any old digger who came along would be justified in concluding that another “rush’ had commenced along the creek and hasten to peg out his claim. But there is no gold showing. It will be remembered that when the new Grant Street Bridge was being built, and the holes for the piles were being put down, a little pocket of alluvial gold was found. Whether the workmen who are sinking the shafts for the sewerage have been on the look-out is not known, but there is no official report of any finds having been made, although all the ground in the Yarrowee Valley is of the alluvial and semi-alluvial kind generally associated in early days with gold. SCOOP EXCAVATIONS. The contractors and day laborers are using earth scoops tp open up the sur face, and these have proved very effective. Ploughs are used to first break the ground, and the scoops fol low, after which of course picks and shovels are used for the excavation itself, which has to follow rigid lines of rise and fall, and must have, a firm bottom for the sewer pipes. This work is getting rapidly into shape; indeed, it is surprising to note the progress that has already. been made, and how steadily it is being pushed ahead: FUTURE WORK. The drawings and specifications for the outfall sewer from the Mount Pleas-ant bridge to the treatment works, or sewerage farm, or whatever one might feel disposed to call it, a distance of some 4790 feet is being completed, and tenders are to be called in a few days. This section will have some 530 feet of tunnelling, and the balance will be open cutting. There will be a short tunnel almost at the end, where the pipes will debouch on to the flat country surrounding the treatment area. With this latter, we will deal at a later period, when the reticulation will have sufficiently advanced to enable one to judge of what area they will be comprised, how the material will be treated, how the effluent will be dis-posed of, and to what purpose the residue will be put. Suffice it to say at present that there is the authority of the sewerage controllers lor saying that there will be no offence created in any area, that no obnoxious effluvia will be in evidence, that all sewerage will be rendered innocuous, and that, to put it colloquially, the public will hardly know that it is there. Regarding the expense of tunnelling on the areas mentioned, it may be stated that as the country rock is soft the cost of this will be moderate. PIPE MANUFACTURE. Contracts have been let to the Hume Pipe Manufacturing Co. for the sup Ply of 13,015 feet of concrete pipes for the main and outfall sewers, and of this about 7000 feet have already been completed. THE PIPE WORKS. A visit to the Hume Pipe Co.’s works in Sebastopol on Wednesday demonstrates that the staff, under Mr Butcher, the manager, is doing good work, The plant is small and compact, but highly efficient, and pipes are being steadily turned out daily ranging from the immense 30-inch by 8-feet tubes for the mains down to smaller ones for the tributaries. An extensive paddock is fairly covered with the completed article, and a big kiln is going night and day carrying out the drying process. Every pipe is subjected to a water pressure test, which is applied on the group system. The pipes at first show signs of sweating, but after further treatment become “bottle-tight,” and able to resist a much greater pressure than is ever likely to be applied in ordinary use. Moreover, they are reinforced, and this is necessary, because Ballarat ground riddled as it is, especially along the route of the outfall sewer, by old mining, is liable to subterranean movements, which do not show on the sur-face but would be disastrous to weak pipes carrying a high pressure of water and sewage. Therefore, it is that the Authorities’ responsible officers are seeing to it that no defective pipes are allowed to leave the works, but it is also to the credit of the company that its staff is equally alert, and every pipe that sees out is passed as A1. ALL LOCAL CONTRACTS. Other contracts have been let by the Sewerage Authority, as, for instance those for 10,000 feet of pipes of various sizes, from 15 and 11 inch bore in concrete and earthenware, which contracts are divided between the Hume Pipe Company and the Ballarat Pottery Co. in Creswick Road. For cast-iron inlets from the branch sewers to the bottom of the manholes, Cowley’s Eureka Foundry has secured the contract, while for the construction of the manhole covers, McIvor Bros. and for foot-irons (steps -down the manholes) the Bulldog Engineering Co. are the successful tenderers. It will be seen that all the work is being done in Ballarat-by-Ballarat labour and by Ballarat firms, but one item has gone outside, that for 500 bags of cement from the Australian Portland Cement Co. The Sewerage Authority is sewering- Ballarat with money that Ballarat will have to pay, but it is doing it with Ballarat labour, and all, or practically all the money being spent in Ballarat either in capital outlay or in circulation as wages. MORE LABOR TO COME. There are at present about 120 men employed on the construction works, either by contractors or on day labour, and it is expected that within three weeks' time this number will be doubled. The number of men registered at the office is about 300, which is rather in excess of the demand, and it will be impossible to put them all on. THE MAIN SEWER. Active preparations are being, made for the launching of the work of con structing the main sewer, which must not be confounded with the outfall sewer. The Sewerage Authority is not hesitating to push the work on as fast as possible, and it is its intention to have the whole scheme in working order as early as possible, compatible with efficiency, and the fast-growing requirements of Ballarat. The scheme is a big one and an ambitious one, but the Authority has demonstrated its ability to provide Ballarat with this one thing needful to make it a great city, and while the work is very complex and difficult, as has been shown, there is no reason to suppose that the Authority cannot carry it to a most successful conclusion