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61
house, Leyton, Walthamstow, Poplar, the Essex County Council
and Hackney, met at the Hackney Town Hall, and it was resolved
to approach the President of the Local Government Board by
deputation, and to press upon him the neccessity for a main drainage
scheme for the Lea Valley as a final remedy for sewage pollutions
of the river, as indicated in the Report of the Select Committee of
the House of Commons appointed in 1886 to report upon the
pollution of the river Lea.
The following statement was also prepared and submitted to
the President of the Local Government Board as a summary of the
views of the conference upon the question of the pollution of the
river.
Pollution of the River Lea.
Statement of deputation of local authorities to the Right Hon.
Henry Chaplin, the President of the Local Government Board.
1. The foul condition of certain parts of the River Lea as
it passes through Hackney, has for many years past given rise to
complaints of nuisance.
2. Analysis of samples of the water have been made from
time to time by the Public Analyst who has reported the water
to be highly polluted.
3. The main sources of the pollution are the effluents from
the sewage farm of Walthamstow and the sewage works of Leyton.
These two districts have an estimated population of about
120,000 inhabitants, and the whole of their sewage after
treatment passes into the River Lea.
4. From Hackney to its junction with the Thames the
River Lea is in a very foul state and receives amongst other
sources of pollution the effluent from the West Ham sewage
works.