檳城夜香工友勞動記錄
Documenting the Labours of Penang's Night Soil Worker
喬治市雖然是人口眾多的港口城市，但直到20世紀30年代，才開始逐步設立較為系統化的排污系統。由於城市建於海邊的沼澤地之上，19世紀以前，根本沒有妥善的技術可以處理糞穢。1892年，檳城市議會曾提起興建排污系統計劃，但整體耗資太大而作罷，糞穢依然以傳統方式處理，或送到木蔻山一帶沉入海底，或運送到農村堆肥。
1934年，當局正式落實系統化污水處理系統，但當時的系統只能處理不到1000家房子的糞穢，而且成本十分昂貴。污水處理系統在10年內逐步發展，直到1945年，當局方能建設超過48英里的管缐，9個泵站和500個化糞池，每天處理超過百萬加侖的糞穢，涵蓋9915家房子的超過1萬間厠所。
1960年代，檳城經歷農業到工業經濟轉型，人口也隨之增長，因此，排污系統也愈發重要。當時水沖式廁所已逐漸普及，當局設置個人化糞池（ISTs），使用沉澱處理的方式，減少直接排污。其後，小型社區化糞池（CSTs）、英霍夫化糞池（Imhoff Tank）等技術逐步發展，糞穢帶來的污染問題也日漸減低。
早期檳城的廁所系統包括坑廁（pit latrines）、桶式廁所（pail latrine）和戶外/水上廁所（over-hanging latrines）等。其中，潮興夜香工友們所負責的桶式廁所在20世紀末正式退出歷史舞台，但目前位處喬治市邊緣、座落於檳島東北部渡輪碼頭沿岸的姓氏橋，因為種種特殊原因，其排污系統依然被遺忘在19世紀初，以直接排污入大海的方式處理污水糞穢。
檳城污水處理史簡介
The History of Penang Sewage Treatment in Summary
Although George Town had seen rapid population growth as a port city since its founding, it was only during the 1930s that a sewage treatment system finally fell into place. Mainly because the city had been established on swamp land, there was no proper technique to deal with sewage before the nineteenth century. In 1892, the Penang City Council proposed to establish a proper sewage system but the plan did not work out due to the high costs involved. All faeces continued to be disposed of using traditional methods--either dumped into the bottom of the sea at Pulau Jerejak, or sent to rural areas as compost.
Finally, in 1934, a systematic faeces treatment was implemented. However, the cost of this service was still immensely high, and only less than one thousand households received it. The sewage treatment system slowly developed over the following ten years, and it was only in 1945 that the council finally succeeded in building 48 miles of pipeline, 9 pump stations, and 500 septic tanks to cover 9,915 households. This coverage of about ten thousand toilets resulted in the treatment of more than a million gallons of faeces every day.
During the 1960s, Penang was transitioning from an agricultural era into an industrial one. This development sparked a tremendous population hike, which in turn increased the importance and demand of a more progressive sewage treatment system. Water-flushing toilets became increasingly common, and individual septic tanks using a precipitation process to reduce direct wastewater disposal were introduced. As further technology advancements like the community septic tank and the Imhoff tank found their way to Penang, contamination due to wastewater has been significantly reduced over time.
During Penang’s early days, the toilet systems that existed were pit latrines, pail latrines and over-hanging latrines. The pail latrine system, taken care of by the night soil workers from Teo Heng Kongsi, was fully terminated in the late 20th century. However, over-hanging latrines are still present in clan jetty households, disposing wastewater directly into the sea beneath the houses.
The pail latrine system of the 1960s required the night soil workers to carry pails full of faeces through the halls of the thousand-odd homes, instead of exiting directly to back lanes. With rapid population growth and social development, this mode of operation was no longer deemed as appropriate and efficient, hence the need for authorities to make improvements on the sewerage system.
In the 1970s, the federal government officially established control on wastewater management. With more funds being allocated by the government for improvements and advancement in sewage treatment, better methods like Oxidation Ponds, and mechanised technologies like Aerated Lagoon Systems, were introduced. Other improvements such as biological filtration and activated sludge process that were implemented during the 1980s and the 1990s, marked a significant advancement in wastewater treatment at both state and national levels in meeting the high demands of a developing urban population.
In 1993, the federal government implemented a privatisation policy, which led to Indah Water Consortium signing a 28-year contract to manage the national sewage treatment system. In the same year, Sewerage Services Act (SSA) enabled Indah Water Consortium to legally manage national wastewater. A statutory body was subsequently established by the federal government to monitor operations. Since then, Penangites as well as citizens throughout Malaysia have borne the cost of domestic sewage treatment.
上個世紀60年代，夜香工友們在作業時，依然得穿過1000多家房子的前廳運送糞穢，而非在後巷直接抽走糞桶。隨著城市人口的增長和社會形態的發展，這種作業方式日漸不符合需求，因此當局需著手改善處理糞穢的方式。
1970年代，聯邦政府正式立法管制污水處理，往後隨著國家資金的投入和技術上的進步，更多進階式的污水處理方式包括氧化池（Oxidation Pond）、曝气污水塘（Aerated Lagoon Systems）等機械化技術，直到1980、90年代的生物性過濾、活性污泥化系統引進，檳城以至全國各地的污水處理系統日臻先進，並得以應付城市人口需求。
1993年，國家私營化政策推行，首先要將排污系統私營化。當年12月，英達麗水公司（Indah Water Consortium）獲得了長達28年合約。與此同時，1993年污水處理服務法（SSA）也將污水處理中央化，好讓英達麗水可以合法處理污水，當局也設立了法定機構，以監督污水處理的運作。從此，全國包括檳城人民，要自己承擔污水處理的費用。
