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44
During the year some 19 complaints were received and, where
justified, arrangements were made to reduce the pigeons to a reasonable
number.
Remarks concerning this matter bear constant repetition, viz.,
that whilst there can be no objection to the feeding of a limited
number of pigeons in any particular area, it is reprehensible that,
persons who are so inclined, make available supplies of food of
such proportions that birds lose their natural feeding habits and
tend to congregate in the vicinity of the source of their sustenance
to the detriment of the surrounding property.
A failure in "public relations" seems evident in this respect
for, despite an appeal to residents to refrain from feeding these
birds, the number of complaints showed a substantial increase over
those of last year, the figures being 19 and 8 respectively. The
situation is further complicated as the result of the Council's difficulty
in obtaining the services of a satisfactory " pigeon catcher."
River Pollution.—Although no complaints were made to this
department during the current year, numerous complaints have been
lodged in previous years, not only with this department but with
other riverside boroughs, concerning obnoxious smells arising from
pollution of the river by sewage effluent. This has brought into
relief the whole problem of sewage disposal.
In the London area, sewage and its disposal, amounting to a
daily dry flow of approximately 300 million gallons, is under the
control of the London County Council and after treatment at the
northern and southern outfalls at Beckton and Crossness respectively,
the resultant sewage effluent is discharged into the Thames.
It is then considered by various authorities to be a pollutant and the
predominating cause of the complaints.
By way of explanation it may be said that when the concentration
of dissolved oxygen falls to zero, the suphate which is
found in tidal waters is reduced by bacterial action and hydrogen
sulphide is formed. In this respect, the Director of the Water
Pollution Research Laboratory at Stevenage has asserted that
during dry weather many miles of the Thames Estuary contains no
oxygen and in this region hydrogen sulphide is evolved, giving rise
to complaints both because of its smell and because of the corrosion
it causes.
The London County Council having been long aware of the
shortcomings of its sewage disposal system laid down in the 1860's.
and which has been unable to keep pace with modern demands,
took steps in September 1950 to improve the situation and new
works in connection with these improvements are expected to be
completed by 1963 at a cost of some £10 million.