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45
However, despite the improvements achieved and visualised,
an action, one of the most formidable in recent times against a local
authority, was brought against the London County Council (and
incidentally the Middlesex County Council) by a Greenwich firm.
The allegation was that the Councils discharged into the river an
effluent consisting of sewage matter insufficiently treated and purified
and, inter alia, that because of this the river waters from
Waterloo Bridge downwards were at all times grossly polluted,
almost devoid of dissolved oxygen and that foul and putrifying
matter was deposited on the river bed where it formed banks of
filthy mud. It was further alleged that this mud, together with the
condition of the river water, was responsible for the corrosion and
destruction of the steel bottoms of the Greenwich firm's barges.
After a hearing lasting eight days, judgment for the case was
entered for the London County Council and the Middlesex County
Council with costs to the defendants.
Since the new primary sedimentation plant at the Northern
outfall was brought into operation in 1955, the London County
Council's Rivers and Drainage Committee have reported that there
has been considerable improvement in the effluent discharged and
recent analyses have tended to confirm this assertion.
Storm Flooding.— Damage to property during the year due
to unusually heavy rainfall was of a minor nature and complaints
received regarding premises affected by storm damage during
August were few and, in the main, found to be due to defective
roofs, blocked gutters and drains.
In several instances, with the agreement and co-operation of
the Baths Superintendent, soft furnishings such as bedding, carpets,
etc., soaked with rainwater were collected, dried and subsequently
returned.
River Ravensbourne— Jurisdiction. Floodings accompanying
recent heavy storms have emphasised the need for preventing the
overflowing of the Ravensbourne and its tributaries at times of
heavy rainfall.
Many properties in the Borough in close proximity to the
River Ravensbourne have suffered from inundations once or twice
a year in recent years and flood waters have penetrated to the foundations,
resulting in extreme discomfort to the inhabitants besides
tending to produce in the dwellings ideal conditions for the spreading
of dry rot.
Last year it was reported that the problem was being investigated
under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food which invited the London County Council to consider
in what way jurisdiction over the river could best be exercised.