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SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
Water Supply
No complaints were received during the year concerning
the quality or quantity of the water supply. Every dwelling
house in the Borough is provided with an adequate water
supply direct from the mains of the Metropolitan Water Board.
Drainage and Sewerage
Applications for approval in respect of the drainage
of new buildings or the reconstruction of existing drains
numbered 300. All the works were executed under the supervision
of the public health inspectors.
Five thousand one hundred and thirty lineal feet of
the Council's sewers were reconstructed and 71 brick gullies
were replaced by pot gullies.
Nuisances from Noise
It did not become necessary to take statutory action
under the Noise Abatement Act during the year, although
complaints were received of alleged nuisance from noise.
Most of these related to noise from factories and workplaces
and it is gratifying to report that an informal approach
to the managements always succeeded in securing their whole-
hearted co-operation; indeed in some instances the firms
concerned went to considerable trouble and expense to overcome
the source of the annoyance and obviate any further
cause for complaint.
It is inevitable that complaints will continue from
time to time where industrial premises are located in close
proximity to residential property. This is a problem that
can only be solved by effective town planning. It is not
surprising that such complaints frequently arise when
pressure of business necessitates the continuation of work
in the evening or during the night - these are the times
when noise is accentuated and there may be interference
with leisure and sleep. Provided, however, that the 'best
practicable means have been used for preventing, and for
counteracting, the effect of the noise or vibration', it
would seem that there would be little to gain by taking
legal action.
Factories are not always the subject of complaints
of this nature; there were also complaints of noise from