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The staff of the swimming pools concerned keep a careful control of the water purity
but in addition regular samples are taken by the Public Health Inspectorate for bacteriological
examination and routine spot checks are also carried out for chlorine control with the Lovibond
Comparator apparatus.
During the year only one of the 143 samples submitted to the Public Health Laboratory
Service for bacteriological examination were reported as unsatisfactory which speaks well of
the efforts of the staff of the various pools in maintaining effective chlorination of the water.
Noise
The apparently ever increasing amount of noise to which people are subject continues to
give concern.
The vexed question of aircraft noise is excluded from the Noise Abatement Act. Whilst
the whereabouts of London's third airport was of major concern to many areas it was expected
to have at most a marginal effect on this Borough perhaps arising from the flight paths involved:
We knew that we would not have to endure the horror of the third airport being close at
hand.
The Borough, however, is not unaffected by traffic noise either from the size of vehicles
or from the volume of traffic and increasing care must be given to the routing of traffic and
the incorporatioh into the design of roads of features that lessen the intrusion of traffic noise
on work and leisure.
Complaints of noise received from the public vary through the full range of 'private' noise
nuisances, those noises controlled by byelaws, for example noisy animals and wirelesses, etc.,
and noise from industrial sources. Many of the latter do not admit to easy investigation, judgement
or remedy. Many in fact would be below the guide-lines suggested in the British Standard Code
of Practice but, nevertheless, are the cause of considerable annoyance and inconvenience, and
warrant such action as is possible.
During the year a Working Party of the Noise Advisory Council issued a report on
'Neighbourhood Noise' that amongst other things set out the suggested provisions of a new
Noise Abatement Act in which was included provision for making Noise Abatement Areas.
Rats and Mice
It is the responsibility of occupiers of premises to notify the Council if their premises
are infested to any marked degree by rats or mice and to keep their premises free from such
infestations.
In practice many 'complaints' are received and in the interests of good sanitary conditions
the Council provides a control service recovering, in some cases, a charge for the service provided.
Over seven hundred infestations by rats and nearly six hundred infestations by mice were
dealt with by the Rodent Operators employed in the department. In addition, many more
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