View report page

117
Flooding of Basements.—Complaints have been received from time to time of the flooding of
basements of houses in Cornwall-road, Edinburgh-road, St. Mark's-road, Silchester-road, St.
George's-road, and Talbot-grove in North Kensington, and Holland-road, Elsham-road, and
Warwick-road in South Kensington. It is an old grievance, due to the insufficiency of the
Counter's-creek sewer to carry off a heavy downpour of rain with requisite rapidity. The County
Council are erecting at Lot's-road, Chelsea, a pumping station designed to prevent a recurrence of
the trouble, and it is expected that the work will be completed this year. The pumps which will
be operated by gas engines aggregating 1,040 horse power, will be capable of lifting 12,000 cubic
feet of water per minute, the calculated maximum discharge at the outlet of the sewer being 11,000
cubic feet. During heavy rainfall the pumped liquid will be discharged into the river. In ordinary
circumstances the sewage is conveyed from the Counter's-creek sewer into the low level sewer. It
is to be hoped that the nuisance complained of will soon be a thing of the past.
UNTRAPPED STREET GULLIES.
The Sanitary Committee of the late Vestry gave attention to this subject in connection with
a recommendation, in my twelfth report for 1899 (December 7th, page 126), that, " as soon as
practicable, the brick flap-trapped street gullies should be replaced by pan syphon-trapped gullies."
I suggested that, at the earliest practicable date, all brick, flap-trapped gullies, should be abolished
in favour of pan syphon-trapped gullies. The Surveyor reported that there were about 5,000 brick
flap-trapped gullies in the parish, and that the cost of fixing syphon-trapped pan gullies in lieu
thereof would be about £3 per gulley—say ±'15,000 in all; a large sum, doubtless, but still less than
has been expended recently on wood-paving in a single street, Cromwell-road. The Committee
reported (February 14th, 1900), that all brick gullies proved to be offensive, are replaced with the
newer pattern of gulley ; that any new gullies constructed are of this type, and that pan gullies are
also fixed in roads converted from macadam to asphalte, or wood-paved. They further observed
that, with the question of syphon-trapping of street gullies, is closely involved the question of sewer
ventilation, and that until some solution has been found of the difficulties encountered in dealing
with this latter question, they could not see their way to advise the adoption of the scheme
indicated in my report ; they recommended therefore, and it was resolved, that the Vestry " do
adhere to the course hitherto adopted of dealing with each complaint of smells from gullies on its
merits." For what it is worth, it may be mentioned that in some towns the gullies are trapped
although the sewers are not ventilated. Bristol is a notable instance, and that city is by no means
an unhealthy one. Means of ventilation, in any case, could surely be devised, and I feel it my duty
again to urge that brick flap-trapped gullies should be displaced, generally, by syphon-trapped
gullies. The so-called " flap-trap" is not a trap at all in the sanitary sense of an apparatus for
preventing the escape of sewer gas.
In numerous instances complaint was made, usually by residents in the vicinity of
untrapped street gullies and ventilating grids in the carriage ways, of offensive smells arising
therefrom. In all such cases references were made to the Works Committee, with a view to the
proper trapping of the gullies and the closing of the offensive ventilating openings In some
instances the sewers were under the jurisdiction of the London County Council, to whom the
complaints were referred for abatement of the nuisance.
COMBINED DRAINAGE.
Several of the metropolitan sanitary authorities made representations to the County Council,
in 1894, on the need of legislation, " with a view to an alteration in the definition of the word drain
and the word sewer," in the Metropolis Management Act, 1855 (sec. 250 ; and ultimately a deputation
representing the vestries and district boards waited upon the main drainage committee with
reference to the subject. This committee reported (July 7th, 1894), that " a grievance exists, and
that a heavy responsibility is thrown upon the local authorities to repair combined drains which
were laid down for the benefit of the owners of houses, and with the intention that the owners
should be held responsible for their maintenance." The committee further came to the conclusion
that " the Council, as the central authority, should promote legislation in accordance with the
views of the local authorities," and upon their recommendation it was resolved:—
" That the Council do apply to Parliament for an amendment of the definition of the word sewer
and drain in the Metropolis Local Management Act in the way desired by the local
authorities, and that it be referred to the Parliamentary Committee to prepare a Public Bill
and take such other steps as may be necessary for that purpose."
Such a bill ("Metropolitan Sewers and Drains") was brought in, on behalf of the Council, in
1896, but it did not become law.