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SEWERAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL
Sewerage and sewage disposal in the City of London are the responsibility of the City
Engineer who has supplied the following information
"The sewerage system in the City is comprised mainly of ovoid shaped brick sewers, the
average internal dimensions being 4 feet high x 2 feet 8 inches wide, this size being adopted
only to provide access for sewermen, as the normal dry weather flow depth of effluent is only
about 9 inches at an average velocity of 2 to 3 feet per second
The Corporation sewers discharge into the General London Council intercepting sewers which
flow eastwards across the City at a much lower depth to their Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
In my opinion, the system of sewerage in the City is adequate, with ample margin for diverting
flows from sewers during reconstruction and maintenance works."
NOISE
It has now become accepted that noise is one of the forms of pollution of the environment
which will need a concentrated effort over the next few years if it is to be controlled. Where
previously only high intensity industrial noise was considered to be a hazard the following
categories have now emerged-
(1) The high intensity industrial noise already referred to.
(2) The high intensity non-industrial noise such as that caused by pop music. Recent work
has demonstrated that the increased load of noise borne by young people may well be the cause
of the increasing numbers of young people found to have measurable hearing loss in their late teens.
Most of this work has been done in the United States of America but there is no reason to believe
that the same thing would not apply in this country under the same condition.
(3) Low intensity noise which, it is now contended by a number of workers in this field, can
cause physical changes in the body, such as changes in blood pressure and other autonomically
controlled systems. It is undeniable that noise at intensities well below the 90 dbA limit which
is normally regarded as "safe" can cause increased nervous stress and a loss of efficiency and
accuracy, especially in the carrying out of complex selective tasks.
(4) Some of the above contentions are arguable. What is not arguable is that noise can be,
and very often is, an infernal nuisance.
All of the above categories are of importance in the City of London. High intensity industrial
noise occurs on building sites. High intensity non-industrial noise may well affect, during their
leisure hours, those thousands of young people who work in the City. Low intensity noise is
probably the form of environmental pollution which affects most people during the greater part
of each day of their lives. This is certainly so in the City. Mention has been made of noise
from building and demolition sites. Traffic of all sorts, aeroplanes and helicopters are other
external sources.
Inside some City offices there is |ust as much cause for concern. When one considers the
vast contribution towards the maintenance of the Country's economy which is made in invisible
exports by the City of London, one realises how important a decrease in efficiency and accuracy
even as small as only one quarter of 1% could mean. If one is distracted by noise for a quarter of
a minute in every hour and a half (and where in the City could one claim such ideal conditions?)
this degree of loss of efficiency has been exceeded.
Realising the extent of these problems and with the ready and willing co-operation of the
Corporation's Public Relations Officer and his staff, a campaign has been waged against noise
in the City for many years. Advice on noise abatement techniques has always been freely available
and persuasion has been used wherever possible. Compulsion, which is possible under the
Noise Abatement Act and which is unfortunately the only course left open in some cases, is
difficult because of the loopholes left in the Act and because of the essentially subjective
nature of an individual's response to noise. After all, it is easy to define noise as unwanted
sound, but it has to be accepted that, in practice, what is objectionable noise to one person is
music (sometimes literally) to another. Therefore this work has required an immense amount of
tact and forbearance on the part of the staff of the Health Department and has also needed a
determination to push on without any expectation of spectacular or immediate results.
During 1969 the campaign was intensified by the following measures:-
(1) In service training was provided for 3 public health inspectors at Noise Control Courses,
(2) The Health Education programme was increased, anti-noise information being made
freely available both as literature and in the form of personal advice.
(3) A Quiet City campaign was held from the 7th to I3th July. This campaign, opened by the
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