View report page

26
There were 3,073 tests made in connection with drainage installations
and 80 connections made to Council's sewers during the
year.
The clearance and maintenance of public sewers is the responsibility
of the Council and maintenance costs are reclaimed from
owners of properties connected to the public sewer. A close
working liaison with the Borough Engineer and Surveyor's Department
implements the rapid clearance and repair of public sewers.
Sewerage and sewage disposal
The trunk sewers and sewage disposal of London are the responsibility
of the Greater London Council, and the local sewers which
discharge into the trunk sewers are the responsibility of the
Borough Councils.
The Council's brick and pipe sewers are regularly cleansed and
are reasonably adequate for their purpose. Some surcharging of
a few sewers in the Borough did occur, however, during the abnormally
heavy and prolonged rainfall on 14th/15th September.
Water supply
The bulk of the water supply in Wandsworth, as in other Inner
London Boroughs, is obtained from the mains of the Metropolitan
Water Board who are responsible for its purity. The supply,
derived from the River Thames' source by the Board's Southern
group works and pumping stations, has been satisfactory both in
quality and quantity throughout the year.
To ensure the quality and purity of the water, the Board carry
out daily sampling from the sources of supply, from the treatment
works or well stations and from the distribution system. Any sign
of contamination or any other abnormality is immediately investigated
by the Board, and in this connection a close liaison is maintained
with the Board by the Health Department.
With the exception of a very small number of houses on the
Council's Latchmere Estate, all dwelling houses in the Borough,
numbering approximately 95,300, are supplied from the Metropolitan
Water Board mains. The few exceptions on the Estate
referred to are still supplied from deep wells situated at the
Latchmere Baths which adjoin the Estate and the work of converting
the whole of the Estate to a piped mains supply, to which
reference has been made in my previous reports, is now nearing
completion. Regular bacteriological analysis of the well water is
carried out.
No fluoride is added by the Metropolitan Water Board to the
water supply in London, and where it is indicated in the analyses
it represents the naturally occurring fluoride. The natural fluoride
content of the mains water is 0.30 parts per million.