Sanitary and Domestic Characteristics of Frunze. Document No. 109 (December 1936)
SANITARY AND DOMESTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUNZE
Frunze, December 1936
The city of Frunze, along with its adjacent urban lands, occupies an area of 9313 square kilometers. Of this, residential land amounts to 2670 km2, with 387 hectares occupied by gardens, 94 hectares by nurseries, and 63 hectares by forests and shrubs.
According to the City Planning Department, the population of the city as of December 1, 1936, is 89,486 people, of which 48.7% are women.
The age distribution of the city's population is as follows: children under 4 years - 18%, from 4 to 6 years - 7%, from 7 to 15 years - 14%, from 16 to 18 years - 11%, adults - 50%, of which the incapacitated - 1.8%.
The city is located at 74° 31' 22.95" longitude and 42° 51' 56.16" latitude (from Greenwich), at an altitude of 751 meters above sea level.
The city was founded in 1878. The average annual temperature is 9.8°, with a maximum of 40.5° and a minimum of 3.8°.
The city is situated in a valley between the Kyrgyz ridge and the Chu-Ili mountains, which are a continuation of the Zailiysky Alatau ridge, all of which are links in the vast mountain system of the Tian Shan.
The terrain where the city of Frunze is located slopes from south to north, towards the lowest level of the valley, where the Chu River flows, located 18 kilometers from the city.
A stream called Alamidinka flows through the city from the east, while the Ala-Archa stream runs along the western part of the city. Both streams originate from the glaciers of the Kyrgyz ridge and flow from south to north, eventually merging into the Chu River.
The sanitary characteristics of the city can be assessed from the list of communal and health facilities. The city has had a water supply system in operation since 1931. Water is supplied to the water system from a spring fed by springs located 13 kilometers from the city.
The spring is fenced with barbed wire and is guarded. The protective zone was approved by the Council of People's Commissars of the Kyrgyz ASSR in 1931. There are no treatment facilities. Continuous sanitary monitoring of the water is conducted.
The coliform bacteria count is 1:100.0 cm3, meaning the water meets sanitary standards.
The city’s drinking water supply is provided through street water distribution columns, of which there are a total of 48 in the city, along with one water distribution booth at the central market. Additionally, there are 324 household water connections and 8 industrial connections.
In addition to the water connections and distribution columns, there are 87 courtyard wells (mainly located in the northern part of the city), which are fed by groundwater.
Due to the limited number of water distribution columns, the water supply barely serves half of the population, leading a significant portion of the population to rely on irrigation water.
All the negative aspects of irrigation water supply are well known due to the colossal pollution of the irrigation network with various types of waste.
The coliform bacteria count in the irrigation water from the city network is 1:0.001 cm3.
The condition of the courtyard wells is no better. The absence of sewage systems, poor waste removal from the city, and the prevalence of portable toilet systems lead to extreme soil pollution and groundwater contamination. It is not surprising that the coliform bacteria count in well water is, in most cases, between 1:0.01 cm3 and 1:0.001 cm3.
Thus, the consumption of raw well and irrigation water for drinking leads to annual outbreaks of waterborne epidemics.
The city has no sewage system, and waste removal is carried out by a sanitation vehicle consisting of 18 barrels, each with a capacity of 0.5 cubic meters.
The barrels are of the open type and are not airtight. Based on sanitary-hygienic standards, the city’s population of 89,476 people generates 67,107 cubic meters of waste annually (calculated at 0.75 cubic meters per person per year), while the existing sanitation vehicle can barely remove one-fourth of the waste. Consequently, a significant percentage of urban waste remains uncollected, polluting the soil and water; thus, the sanitation vehicle is undoubtedly underpowered and requires an increase to 10 pneumatic-type barrels and 40 carts for transporting garbage to waste in 1937. Only by this means can the portable toilet system be eliminated, the quality of drinking water improved, and waterborne epidemics eradicated.
A communal laundry exists in the city at the Bath-Laundry Combine....
There is one large bathhouse in the city with a capacity of 100 people per hour and 2 smaller bathhouses: one operated by the City Utility with a capacity of 66 people per hour and one by the Artel with a capacity of 8 people per hour.
In addition to these bathhouses, there are also utility bathhouses:
Intergelpo Bath 30 people per hour.
-//- Prison 30 -//- per hour.
The Central Bath was built to serve a population of 25,000 with a capacity of 100 people per hour. When planning the construction of the baths, the population growth was not taken into account due to the absence of other baths with large capacities in the city, leading to significant overloading of the existing baths.
Thus, the Central Bath accommodates up to 200 people per hour, while Bath No. 2 accommodates up to 100 people per hour.
As a result, the baths are cramped and very dirty.
The city has 3 market squares; one in the city center, another in Dunganovka, and the third, Soviet Market, near the Brewery.
The Central Market square is partially paved, while the other squares are polluted, as it is impossible to sweep away the loess dust covering the market areas. The toilets available in the market squares are not equipped and are dirty.
Therefore, it is extremely necessary in 1937 to improve the markets: to reconstruct them, to cover all markets, and to provide standard equipped toilets.
The city has about 800 hectares of green spaces (poplar, elm, oak), including parks, gardens, courtyards, streets, etc.
The abundance of greenery significantly reduces the dustiness of the air, which often exceeds the levels found in dusty industries (175-300 millimeters per cubic meter of air).
The small amount of atmospheric precipitation, the presence of unpaved streets, and the nature of the local soil (aeolian deposits, loess) are the reasons for the colossal dust. The city has several paved streets with a total length of 34.9 kilometers. However, even with intensified watering, the paving does not save the city from dust.
The growth of living space lags behind the growth of the city's population. The average living space per person is about 2 square meters. As a result, there is overcrowding in the apartments, which leads to dirt and contributes to the emergence of contact epidemics.
The insufficient supply of drinking water from the water supply system and the use of irrigation water for drinking, along with some residents and enterprises (Bath-Laundry Combine) using the irrigation network as a drainage system for waste removal, as well as the absence of a city sewage system, are very negative sanitary and domestic characteristics of the city.
This is evident from the annual increase in typhoid fever cases, regardless of preventive measures, partial chlorination of water, and anti-typhoid vaccinations:
Epidemiological Situation in the City:
The past year of 1935 and the current year of 1936 have shown the following numbers of acute infectious diseases:
Infections of typhus and scarlet fever are imported. The first cases of illness were among travelers in the incubation period of the disease from various places.
Due to the overcrowding of the population caused by insufficient living space, isolated cases of diseases imported from outside can escalate into an epidemic outbreak.
To combat epidemics, the city has:
a) 5 mobile formaldehyde chambers, including: 1 for the prison, 1 for the hospital, 3 for City Health (requiring major repairs);
b) 1 stationary steam chamber at the Central Bath (requiring repairs);
c) 1 inspection and disinfection team;
d) 50-bed epidemic barrack;
e) 1 vaccination team.
Head of the Frunze City Health Department Khvoinitsky
Senior State Sanitary Inspector of Frunze Rokambol
Central State Archive of the Kyrgyz Republic. Fund 22. Inventory 2. Case 116. Pages 1-6. Original document.
Further Development Paths of Kyrgostear. Document No. 108 (December 1936)
