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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 23, 1963)
! t 9 R J - SUNDAY. JUNE 23. 1SS3 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD, OREOOM rowing Population Poses Headache for Health Authorities Br CLEVE TWITCHELL Mail Tribune Staff Writer Jackson county's growing DODulation. coupled with the desire of more and more city dwellers to move out into the country, is posing something of a headache for local health officials. . Country homes require prl- vate sewage disposal systems, and too many people who build rural homes think of the view, house location where to put the garage and swimming pool and the well before they get around to con- sidering the septic system. "View properly is not al ways conducive to good sew age d i s p o s a 1," noted Orie Moore, senior sanitarian with the Jackson county health de partment. "And most people moving into rural areas have lived on community sewers nd know very little about the operation and care of private sewage disposal .sys tem." Poor disposal conditions can breed a real health haz ard, according to Dr. A. Erin Merkel, county health officer, As the population grows, wastes increase, and they have to go somewhere, he ex plained. Jf they are not ef fectively deposited in the earth, they will cpme to the surface, go into a roadside ditch or fill up a shallow wa ter table and pose a water pollution threat. "Many of the great epi demics of the past have been traced to contaminated water supplies - typhoid epidemical and other disease caused by intestinal tract bacteria," Dr. Merkel continued. - "One of the present health problems is Infectious heps titis, which is becoming more and more prevalent. And health authorities feel that no doubt Its largest source sewage contaminated water and food supplies." Contaminate Garden Sewage can even contami nate a vegetable garden, espe cially if shallow well irrigation water is used. Another aspect of the problem is the situation posed by sewage coming to the surface of the ground or collecting in roadside ditches. Children may put, in it and pick up diseases, or pets may play in it and transmit dis eases to their owners. Most rural homes in Jack son county are served by sys tems composed of septic tank and underground tile field. Contrary to the Impres sion given by t . word "tank, the sewage does not remain in the septic tank. The tank merely removes floating and settleable solids from the liquid sewage. This liquid, termed "effluent by health authorities, la dis charged Into an underground system of drain tile, called a leaching system, from which It seeps Into the surrounding soil. Therefore, In most cases, a septic system still discharges raw sewage into the soil around the house from which it came. This sewsge may or may not be absorbed by the soil. 'J .v I) 7'", rrr- .- era rsa d INSPECTING SYSTEM Orle Moore, sen- home. The septic tank may be seen parti- ior sanitarian with the Jackson county ally covered by earth near the center of health department, looks over a private the picture. The smaller container in the spetle system being installed at a rural area foreground Is the distribution box. 'The best soil for a septic system," according to s a n 1 tarian Moore, "Is one where the effluent gently seeps through - not gravel where it goes through too quickly, Development of Land South Of Mc Andrews Rd. Discussed Possible development of land south of McAndrcws rd. between Bear creek and Inter state B as a Mcdford park was discussed last week at the Medford parks and recreation ' commission meeting. Asa Hanamoto, San Fran cisco, of Royston, Hanamoto, , Mayes and Beck, showed com mission members a rough drawing of possible uses for the area. It was explained that the property to the south nd north of McAndrcws rd. in that area is owned by the stste highway department. Plans for the area south of McAndrcws rd. call for picnic reaa with a space arranged for baseball, but not for league play. Hanamoto suggested a con. tlnuation of a bridle path through the area that would connect with a proposed one along Bear creek. He recom mended that the entire area be covered with turf. It was explained that the Crater Lions club has shown Interest in developing part of this area. In concluding his report, Hanamoto commented on the response he had received In the valley while working on me park development. He commended the residents for recognizing the great asset they have with. Bear creek and encouraged future devel opment of an Integrated trail system that would encircle the city.. ', "The fact that you have a lot of this natural beauty, dulls one to thinking It is per- FROM THE HEART OF HISTORIC VERMONT... 1 usnman CO lonial FOR EVERY ROOM IN YOUR HOME manent," the Californian said. "Now Is the time to acquire these lands, even if they can't be developed immediately," he continued. "Much of the land is privately owned and it won't always be this way." Explain Ticket Plan ' In other business Parks and Recreation Director Robert Haworth explained that fam ily ticket sales during the first two weeks for the swimming pools are S per cent above last season. He said that the total has already passed last sea- ion a total. Haworth reported that the diving pool construction at Jackson park is on schedule and plans are to have It open to the public by July IS. The decks were poured last week, he explained, and fencing and plastering is all that remains to be done. A dedication program prior to the opening of the diving pool will be coordinated be tween the parks and recrea tion department and Crater Lions club, who contributed part of the money, Invitation Extended Jackson County Parks and Recreation Chairman Lau rence V. Espey extended an Invitation to the group to at tend the dedication ceremo nies June 29 at Howard Prairie lake. Haworth announced that the Medford Junior Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a series of weekly dances at the Medford High school tennis courts. The dances, which started Friday, will be from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. with mvisic furnished by high school band members. Proceeds from the dances, to cost 80 cents per person, will go to the band fund. Haworth explained that the hours of the dance had been approved by the Medford po lice department since it wss 30 minutes after the 11 p.m. cur few. It was explained that in addition to members of the Jaycees, recreation depart ment leaders alto will be on hand. No Preparations Used It was stressed that no preparations will be used on the courts for dancing. Dr. Robert DeLorme presid ed at the commission meeting in the absence of James Sulli van, president. Attending the meeting were Miss June Wheaton, Tod Tibbutt, and Ron Reverman. Due to the small attendance, a report from the park name commit tee was postponed until next month. Commissioner members ab sent were Dr. James Bayllss. John North, Jerry Gastineau and John Kent. I or clay where it seeps slowly or not at all," Purification of the effluent Is accomplished by soil bac teria, which normally are found only in the first three feet of soil below the surface of the ground. And so, if the effluent seeps through too quickly, the soil bacteria do not have sufficient time to do their work. If it seeps too slowly or not at all, it doesn't reach enough of the soil bac teria in order to be purified. Unfortunately, much of the ground in the Rogue Valley is not well suited for good sewage disposal. "The good ground for drainage systems is about gone and builders are now moving out Into marginal ground areas," Moore said. "The time may come when metropolitan sewer system will be the only answer." The main problem with val ley soil is that a high percent age of it contains so much clay that water is absorbed too slowly. In other parts of the valley there are only a few inches of good topsoil on top of sandstone or hardpan, whereas good soil to a depth of at least 30 Inches is recom mended for suitable purifica tion of the effluent. Still other parts of the val ley floor have a tight clay strata or rock formation lo cated near the surface which creates a high water table A percolation test will re veal all of these factors, Moore noted, and such a test will also reveal the amount of drainfield required in the par ticular soil involved. In a percolation test, holes are drilled in the earth to de termine the rate at which wa ter will seep into the ground. The holes usually are drilled to a depth of 30 inches to de termine if there are any high water tables or hardpan for mations that close to the sur face. If a high water table or Impervious formation is found, the ground is consid ered not suitable for a good septic system. Not Considered Suitable And soil which will not ac cept water at the rate of bet ter than 1 inch per hour also is not considered suitable. The minimum area required for a drainfield is determined by the number of minutes it takes for the soil to absorb sn inch of water. For example, if the percolation rate is five minutes per inch, the number of square feet in the drain field required per bedroom, according to Oregon stand ards, is 110 square feet. (FHA standards call for 123). If the percolation rate is 30 minutes, the Oregon standard calls for 210 square feet, FHA for 250. And if the persolation rate is a full hour, the Oregon min imum is 230 square feet, FHA 300. The number of bedrooms in the house also has a bear ing on the size the septic tank should be. For instance, a one bedroom house is consid ered to require a tank capable of holding at least BOO gal lons, a two-bedroom, 750 gal lons; a three-bed com, 900 gallons, and a four-bedroom house, 1,000 gallons. Will Start Overflowing If the tank is too small, Moore said, solids won't stay in it properly and will start overflowing into the drain- field. To guard against contam ination of water supplies, it is recommended that no septic system be within 50 feet of a well. Actually a distance of 100 feet is recommended, and the FHA requirement is 100 feel. The septic system also should be 10 feet from any property line and 10 feet from the foundation of the house. Therefore, a house which gets its water supply from a well should have a minimum of half an acre of land around it for proper sewage disposal. A dwelling served by piped water from a municipal sys tem or district can get by with a third of an acre of ground, the sanitarian added. One of the biggest head aches facing the health de partment is that it has no legal authority at present to tell someone he can't build in an area where the soil is poor for septic drainage. The health department can tell someone it won't approve his plans for loan purposes, Moore explained, and it has authority over subdivisions through the planning commis sion, but otherwise it can only recommend, not direct. IT'S FINEST TIME! Mulches! Conserves Water! For flowers, shrubs, lawns, gardens (11 Cu. Yds.) (7V4 Cu. Yds.) 300 Cu. Ft.-18 200 Cu. Ft.-$1400 100 CU. Ff.-'8 (3-7 Cu .Yd,.) U-Haul at $1.35 per Yard Local Delivery Prices Timber? MIOFORD Phone 772-8086 Com par y OfttOON Th. Y.M.C.A. Summer Came Is Iscatad en th. ::...,. uthw.it c.rn.r at baautltul Dlam.nd Lake ir,''.---'. ... .a idaal elaca far swimming, baiting, nil- ,.";".' ' " ln(, na.ln and .11 kins, at eutdaer a.m.. . ' I t 'Ik '- ' - - r J ushnan colonial At the Colonial House At Trowbridge Electric, Main at Fir Open Saturday Till 3 Friday Nite Till 9 Mtdford Students Art On Kansas Honor Rolf Two Medford students, Theodore Earl Lawson and George M. Wilson Jr.. earned places on the spring semester honor roll of the college of liberal arts and sciences at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans. The list include 32 stu dents who earned all A grades tor the semester. Each honor, had a grade-point average of at least 3 :8 on a scale of 3 for A and 2 for B. Register NW for the YMCA Piomomid lake Sunnnnnnieir Ccanniip STARTING JULY 14 Th.nt are Hill p paitunlliu . . n tor youn.tr kayt and fltll t. nry th. Y.M.C.A. Day Came an th. As al.t.t. Rlv.r Fh.n. for d.t.ila hut y.u'd k.tt.r d. It NOWI Th. M.In L.d.. at th. Y.M.C.A. Diamond Lak. Came is fully .auie Md te handl. 100 aa yaunfitart, 14 t.nt and cabin units, with bunks and mattrau.i tr ach bay, n. cntrally kxatad wash haul, with ahaw.r facilities. Craft ihop, hospital, and fully aauippad wat.rfr.nt. 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