112 P. 529 | Or. | 1911
Opinion by
“Of course, when there is a heavy rain, the water is not clean. Everybody knows that.”
Another says:
“Several years back there was a closet run out in the street. We made them change that. There was a smell when walking along the sidewalk. We got them to make a change.”
It is very evident that in a town of that size there will be a much greater quantity of water drained off the streets and through the ground than is caused by rain and snowfall, and that it carries with it a very different quality of water. Every building must have a water supply, either from a well or by a method provided by the city, the great bulk of which is used for cleansing purposes. Much of it goes directly into the drain, which,
Defendant’s principal contention is that the drainage is not sewage, but ordinary surface drainage unaffected by the fact that it is from the streets of the town. • It is immaterial by what name it is called. If the water is polluted by the filth from the buildings and streets, it may well be called “sewage.” The Universal Dictionary says “sewage” includes the water by which the foul matter which passes through the drains, conduits, or sewers of a town, is carried off, the waste water of baths, wash-houses, and other domestic operations, and of the greater part of the surface drainage of the area drained.
“If any nuisance of this kind be shown, though causing inconsiderable damage, equity will enjoin its continuance. * * The inconvenience is one of the public’s own creation, and should be borne by it rather than the individual.”
Some proof was offered tending to show that the water from plaintiff’s well at its best is not good, but, if so, that fact would constitute no excuse for the town to discharge its drainage on her property and make it worse.
It is the duty of the town to dispose of its drainage in some manner that will not create a nuisance to individuals or the public, and the decree will be affirmed.
Affirmed.