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Radioactive Substances Act, 1960.—The Act is concerned
with the control of the accumulation and disposal of radioactive
wastes and, as from 1st December, 1963, persons keeping or
using radioactive material will, unless exempted, be required to
register with the Minister of Housing and Local Government
and obtain authorisation from him for the accumulation or
disposal of radioactive waste.
During the year, the Minister has forwarded copies of two
certificates of registration under this Act.
Water Supply.—The whole of the Borough is supplied with
water by the Metropolitan Water Board, a Statutory undertaking,
which, as a result of the Metropolis Water Act, 1902, was formed
in 1903 when it took over the 8 undertakings which were then
supplying London's water. As a Board it is committed to supply
a population of some 6i million people within an area of 540
square miles extending from Ware in the north to Sevenoaks in
the South and which has an average daily consumption of about
400 million gallons. One of this Borough's two wells which
supply drinking water is a most prolific contributor to the Board's
supplies, having a normal output of 5 million gallons per day.
The Board is responsible for the purity of its water and the
supplies are regularly tested—chemically and physically for an
estimation of its clarity, colour and taste, and bacteriologically
for assessment of coliform colonies with confirmatory examinations for Escherichia coli.
There are 69,916 inhabited dwellings in the Borough with
direct connections to the Board's mains.
Although the requirement to issue water supply certificates
no longer applies to Inner London Boroughs, on request and
subject to satisfactory report, a letter is sent confirming that a
property has a suitable and sufficient supply of water. One,
hundred and twenty-one properties were so dealt with during the
nine months ended 31st December, 1965. During the three
months prior to this period. Greenwich and Woolwich Councils
issued a combined total of 268 water supply certificates.
Underground Water Supplies (Wells).—In August, 1947, at
the request of the Ministry of Health, a survey of underground
water supplies was made.
The accompanying table gives details insofar as they are
known to the department at the present time. In all, 55 wells
are listed, of which only two are used for the supply of water
for drinking purposes. Of the remaining 53 wells, 19 are used
for commercial purposes and 34 disused.