After the act was obtained, Mr. Morant, the city engineer, by direction of the committee, proceeded with the preparation of the necessary drawings and specifications for the drainage works, and by order of the board the following contracts were entered into, namely:—
| £ | ||
| 1. | For the steam engines (with Mr. John Clayton of Preston) | 6435 |
| 2. | For iron pipes (the Staveley Coal and Iron Company) | 3500 |
| 3. | For laying such pipes (Mr. John Downing of Norwich) | 549 |
| 4. | For the erection of engine houses (Mr. Daniel Balls of Norwich) | 6988 |
| 5. | For the construction of the main intercepting sewers (Mr. Thomas Wainwright of London) | 28,830 |
| 6. | The ground for the pumping works was purchased for | 2000 |
| £48,302 |
Other sums are required for constructing drains, sewers, penstock chamber, and other subsidiary works, and the entire scheme is proposed to be carried out under the sanction of the act of Parliament, at the estimated cost of £60,000.
A very powerful opposition was raised against the scheme. A memorial, very numerously signed, was presented to the board of health against it. Public meetings were held at which the whole thing was condemned as unnecessary, expensive, and likely to be a failure. Eventually, after much discussion, with a large minority against it, and in opposition to the opinions of the citizens expressed in common hall, the board resolved to carry out the scheme, and the works are now in progress. The general plan is to construct two main drains, one on each side of the river Wensum, to intercept the sewage and to carry it to Trowse, where a pumping station has been erected, and engines will be set to work to pump all the sewage over the land hired at Crown Point estate.
The drainage expenditure, though so enormous, has been only a part of the expenditure of the board, upon which the duty falls of repairing all the streets and roads, lighting, watering, &c. In the first half year of 1867, the estimated expenditure was as follows:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| Repairs to streets and roads | 2008 | 7 | 0 |
| Lighting the same | 1776 | 11 | 9 |
| Salaries | 442 | 1 | 5 |
| Sundries | 475 | 5 | 6 |
| Interest on loans | 1336 | 16 | 0 |
| Interest on bonds | 372 | 0 | 0 |
| £6411 | 1 | 8 |
Twice that sum would be £12,822 3s. 4d. for the year, quite irrespective of the drainage works.
The annual abstract of the accounts of the board issued in 1867, shows the receipts and payments from September 1st, 1866, to September 1st, 1867. The receipts amounted to £15,873 3s. 6d., the payments to £15,323 18s. 2d., which sum included £1204 16s. 7d. sewage expenses, (chiefly law charges). Of course the receipts were derived almost entirely from the half-yearly rates. The expenditure included £3314 9s. 8d. for interest, the rest being for repairs to streets and roads, paving, lighting, sewerage works, salaries, &c.
Mr. Morant, the present able engineer to the Board of Health, made his first annual report in May, 1867, and showed the expenditure in his department for the year preceding April 5th, 1867, to be as follows:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| Repairs to roads | 2192 | 4 | 11 |
| Paving | 870 | 0 | 0 |
| Sewers | 576 | 2 | 2 |
| Urinals | 86 | 13 | 0 |
| £3725 | 0 | 1 |