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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.
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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.
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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.
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