City Engineers Letter Book
Excerpt (1892)
March 21st 1892.
W.D. O’Donnell Esq.
Dear Sir,
Your letter of the 18th has reached me on instruction from the Board of Works. […] It is on an assessment of bad drainage that there is a remedy. No new sewer is yet ordered in this St. but this old sewer fades rapidly and by laying your drain down the hill you can add the fall you need. One fifth of the $300 spent on the property would have put the plumbing and drainage in good order properly extended. […] I can assure you if I did my duty I should turn off the water […]
Yours, F.W. Doane [pg 236]
April 14th 1892
F.C. Elliott Esq.
105 Granville St., City
Dear Sir,
I notified you on the 14th March to connect your property with the sewers and have heard nothing from you. I now inform you that the work will be performed by the Board or Works at your expense unless begun within four days.
Yours, F.W.W. Doane, City Engineer [pg 271]
May 3rd 1892
Mr. Patrick Kehoe
82 Agricola St.
City
Dear Sir,
The connection at Mrs. Mulroney’s property must be made at once. Call tomorrow and get a permit for it or I shall be obliged to do the work at your expense.
Your, F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg. 279]
May 19th 1892
Patrick Kehoe
Dear Sir,
I find that you have had the drain to Mrs. Greenough’s place on Upper Water St. open and have filled it in without inspection, you have also had the street open without permission. In order to save further trouble you must at once have the trench opened that the connection can be inspected.
Yours,
Richard Prat
Asst. City Engineer [pg. 304]
May 21st 1892
Water Extension
Fenwick St.
Chairman, Board of Works
Sir,
In accordance with a resolution of the Board regarding the petition for the water extension on Fenwick St., a distance from the Queen St. main, from the north side of the petitioner’s property is 200ft. There is only one house yet erected. […] Size of pipe 6”. Estimated cost to supply one house $210.00. Estimated cost to supply four houses $322.39. […] I would recommend that no extension be made until the other houses are erected unless a bond is given for the interest on the other property.
Respectfully submitted,
F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg. 309]
25 May [1892]
The Archbishop of Halifax
Dresden Row, City
Your Grace,
I am instructed by the City Engineer to forward you the enclosed report from the plumbing inspector, re a complaint made by the owner of 104 Birmingham St., that water from your premises is flooding her cellar. The remedy would be to put in a rain water leader to divert the water which now falls at the south side of the North leader + if necessary in to the Street.
I am your obedient servant,
H.W. Johnston Jr.[pg. 314]
June 4th 1892
B.G. Grey Esq.
91 Hollis St.
Dear Sir.
The premises no. 161 Morris St. have been reported in an unsanitary condition. I have therefore notified you to carry out at once according to the recommendations of the Board of Health the following work.
The crock drain in the cellar to be replaced by an iron one with longer trap and fresh air inlet with soil pipe extended above the roof. Sink trap is to be properly connected and ventilated. A crock pipe is to be laid from the house to the sewer six inches in diameter. This work must be done at once otherwise I shall be obliged to have the work done at your expense.
Yours,
F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg.338]
June 18 1892
Jas. P. Kelley Esq.
Shirley St.
Dear Sir,
Some time ago I notified you to have the house no. 15 Morris St. connected to the sewer. I have heard nothing from you and have to inform you that if the work is not carried out at once I shall be obliged to the Board of Works to have the work done at your expense.
Yours,
F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg. 369]
June 21st 1892
A.E. Fray Esq.
10 Maynard St.
City
Dear Sir,
I am informed that you have done plumbing work at Mr. Heisley [sp.] house on Gottingen St. without a permit and in violation of the law. I have to notify you that should it occur again proceeding will be taken and your licence forfeited.
Yours, F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg. 376]
July 19th 1892
John Pinch Esq. 51 + 53 Cornwallis St., City
Dear Sir,
About a month ago I notified you to connect your property with the sewer. I have now to inform you that if the work is not started within six days the drain will be set in by the Board of Works at your expense.
Yours, F.W.W. Doane, City Engineer. [pg.424]
July 20th 1892
Mr. Jas. Bennett
Sir,
With respect to your inquiry as to how many drain connections will be necessary for your properties nos. 50, 52, + 54 I am instructed to inform you that you will require three separate connections. I am yours etc. H.W. Johnston, [Inspector]. [pg. 431]
Date illegible due to water damage c. Fall 1892.
Mrs. Hickey
23 Rottenburg St.
Dear Madam,
As you are probably aware, the sewer on Rottenburg St. between Barrington St. and Dresden Row, had to be lowered to make a public improvement.
In order to make the alteration, we were obliged to disconnect the private drain from No. 23 Rottenburg Street.
I beg to call your attention to the clauses (bracketed) on the enclosed form of application. Your drain has not been reconnected with the sewer, and although the cost would be slight, the City is not allowed to do such work at the expense of the taxpayers generally. I have, therefore, to notify you to connect your drain with the sewer within three (3) days from this date. If the work is not done within that time, the connection will be made by the Board of City Works, at your expense.
Yours truly,
F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [p. 658]
Date illegible due to water damage c. Fall 1892.
Miss Connell
47 Birmingham Street
Dear Madam,
I have already notified you two or three time to connect your property No. 47 Birmingham Street with the sewer on Birmingham St. but you have taken no notice of it. Your drain connects into the drain No. 9 Rottenburgh Street, owned by Mr. Zwicker. Mr. Zwicker has taken out a permit to connect his property with the new sewer on Rottenburgh St., and your property will be disconnected.
I therefore notify you to connect your property at once with the sewer on Birmingham Street. If this matter is not attended to before the next meeting of the Board of Works I shall report the matter to them to have the work done at your expense and the penalty provided by law will be enforced against you.
F.W.W. Doane
City Engineer [pg.673]
n.b. There are various notices to comply throughout the records, including those which connect the Board of Works with inspections undertaken by the Health Inspector under the responsibility of the Board of Health, but the details contained in these compliance notices is not worthwhile recording other than noting their general existence, and the perhaps the short time that people were given to comply with the regulations, often as little as three days. Also note, as made clear from one of the excerpts quoted above, residents were required, under bylaw to connect their drains to the local sewers, and to do so at their own expense, even if their original connection had been disconnected by City works for other purposes.
Notices with respect to plumbing generally appear in the records between the spring and the fall of each year, between April 1 and October 1, as set out in the legislation governing the inspection of sewers and related infrastructures. Consequently, the large majority (all) correspondence pertaining to sewers takes place during these months, and there are gaps in the records during the winter months, when the ground is frozen and infrastructure work impossible. Note also that this is made clear by letters from the engineer which require that work be done quickly as freezing would make the work impossible until the subsequent season, thereby endangering the health of citizens during the winter months.
