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20
In the months of November and December, like many parts
of the country and particularly of the Thames Valley, owing to
unusually heavy rain, a portion of the Greenford Ward was flooded.
The flooding involved two areas, one in Oldfield Lane, with its
centre at Betham's School, the floors of all the rooms of the Infants'
Department being covered with water, and the other in Coston's
Avenue, where some of the new houses were so flooded as to prevent
the ground floor rooms being occupied.
It is essential that every step should be taken to prevent
flooding in the future, for not only does the flooding cause extreme
inconvenience to the occupants of the houses, but also becomes a
danger to health owing to the dampness of the walls and especially
of the floors. The danger consists in the lowering of vitality,
which a cold damp atmosphere is liable to bring about, especially
in the winter, and in the increased susceptibility to disease.
It is most unfortunate that it has been possible to build houses
at such a level as renders them liable to flooding, but now that
they are built every protection should be offered to the
occupiers.
Drainage and Sewerage.—Excepting in the Greenford
Ward and in the most northerly portion of the Mount Park Ward,
both of which areas are still mostly rural in character, the houses
in the Borough are supplied with water closets and are drained
into the main sewerage system.
In the areas mentioned a large amount of work has been
carried out during the year in improving the drainage of houses.
Sixteen houses have had pail-closets replaced by water closets
and the drains of these, and those of eleven other houses at which
cesspools have been abolished, have been connected with the sewer.
The connecting of the drains of four other houses with the sewer
was in progress, though not completed, at the end of the year.
There are fifteen houses situated within 100 feet of a sewer
which still drain to cesspools and concerning which notices have
been served requiring them to be connected with the sewer.
In the sparsely inhabited parts of the Greenford Ward there
are 57 cesspools where no sewers are at present available.