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39
In accordance with the terms of this report, a Conference of
representatives from the districts named was held on the 13th of
October, at the Town Hall, Hackney, and it was resolved to approach
Mr. Chaplin, Secretary to the Local Government Board by deputation,
to ask him to obtain the re-appointment of the Select Committee
which enquired into the pollution of the River Lea, in 1886,
but which failed to report fully on the subject owing to the dissolution
of Parliament.
The reasons for desiring the reappointment of the Select Committee
may now be briefly summarised. So far as Hackney is
concerned the part of the river which is the subject of representation
forms the eastern boundary of the parish, and borders the large recreation
space known as the Hackney Marshes. Into this part of the
river, the combined effluents from the Walthamstow sewage farm and
the Leyton Sewage Works are poured, rendering the river highly
polluted and offensive, the degree of offensiveness varying with the
atmospheric temperature and being more offensive during the
summer than the winter. I have reported that this condition
of the river close to a much frequented open space is a danger to
the public health. The full extent of the pollution may be estimated
when I state that the population of Walthamstow is 46,346 and that
of Leyton 63,056, and the river receives the sewage effluents from
these districts. But besides the nuisance, the water of the river is
too foul for recreation purposes, including bathing. The London
County Council, two years ago, proposed to construct a bathing pool
in this part of the river, but owing to the foul condition of the water
the scheme was given up.
The above is the condition of the river which the local authority
of Hackney complain of.
Although other parts of the river, such as the Navigation Cut,
are not absolutely free from pollution, yet the nuisance is not
apparent, so that if the effluents from the above-named places were
diverted from the river and so from the district of Hackney, this
would be satisfactory locally; but the question must be considered