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one for the reinstatement of water supply, and eight for the provision of artificial lighting on common
staircases—as required by the Borough Council's Byelaws. For offences under London County
Council Byelaws twenty-nine notices were served, sixteen being in respect of water-closets, eleven for
drainage defects and two requiring proper maintenance of dustbins.
Legal Proceedings.
No legal proceedings under the provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, were necessary.
Noise.
Sixty-three complaints of noise were received and these concerned forty-five alleged nuisances.
Most of the complaints were of noise coming from engineering works and operations on demolition and
building sites, involving the use of pneumatic and electric hammers, pile-drivers, mechanical excavators
and other heavy equipment, particularly late at night and during weekends. The various contractors
against whom complaint was made genuinely appreciated the problem and offered willing co-operation
in seeking and applying noise reduction methods, even though loss of efficiency or time was caused
and in many instances restricted hours of working were adopted. The remainder concerned a wide
variety of supposed causes, including radio and speech amplifiers, noise from factories and workshops,
night baking, road works, garages, dogs, a cockerel, loading and unloading of vans, slamming of car
doors, ventilating systems, noisy neighbours, clubs and social functions. The complaints were not
always well founded but, where justified, they were followed up and the offending noise abated or
reduced to a reasonable level. In certain instances where the Council had no legal powers, informal
action by the Public Health Inspectors or the Streets Nuisance Inspector resulted in improved
conditions.
Pigeons.
Section 121 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, empowers the Council to arrange for the
seizure or destruction of pigeons in excess of such numbers as the Council consider reasonable, and for
this purpose an authorised pigeon catcher is employed.
Pigeons cause nuisance through fouling, defacement and damage. Where they congregate in
flocks their droppings, apart from being unsightly, produce stench and fly nuisance, and walls and roofs
of houses where these birds nest are similarly fouled. Almost invariably feeding by members of the
public is the cause of pigeons congregating and the remains of food fed to them attracts rats, mice
and flies, and it is known that pigeons can be vectors of diseases affecting mankind. Additionally,
incessant cooing during nesting gives rise to noise nuisance.
During the year, nine complaints were received in respect of twenty-seven premises but upon
investigation it was found necessary to refer only one case to the pigeon catcher.
Water.
Although at two blocks of flats and two office buildings water is obtained from private wells, the
chief source of a constant supply throughout the Borough is from the mains of the Metropolitan Water
Board whose Director of Water Examination has kindly provided the following information :—
" The water supplied to your Borough by the Board has been satisfactory both in hygienic
quality and quantity during 1962. The water is all River Thames-derived filtered water. There
were no new sources of supply instituted by the Board during the year, nor any new improved
extensions of trunk mains. The general scheme of supply was the same but 685 yards of service
main were laid in the Borough during the year."
The average results of the chemical and bacteriological quality of the water are set out in Tables 7
and 8, page 32.
In the event of a complaint of contaminated public mains water the Metropolitan Water Board is
informed, investigations are made and, if necessary, samples are taken for examination. Complaints
are few and normally refer to unusual taste—which is often due to temporary super-chlorination
following works on the mains. Only one such complaint was received during 1962 and upon investigation
it was found not to be justified. In various properties in the Borough drinking water is derived
from private storage tanks supplied with water from the public mains. A Borough Council Byelaw
requires these tanks to protect water adequately from the risk of contamination and to be cleaned at
least twice a year.
The number of dwellings supplied from public water mains is 24,689, with an estimated population
of 67,574. No stand-pipes are in use and the remaining dwellings, namely, two blocks of flats
comprising 230 units with some 496 residents, obtain water from private wells. It is the practice
of the Department to keep these wells under observation and sample their waters every six months.
The Council's Bacteriologist's reports for 1962 indicated the water to be satisfactory.