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40
D (9) River Thames— Effluvia
In August, when Metropolitan Authorities publicised
the dangers arising from bathing in the river, the pollution
of the Thames received the particular attention of the Institution
of Public Health Engineers on whose behalf it was
stated that no other capital city in the world has allowed
such disgraceful conditions to operate for so many years.
The present London sewage disposal system allows for
the discharging of about 300 million gallons per day of virtually
crude sewage into the river, and it sometimes takes a
fortnight before this is washed out to sea. In the meantime,
the tidal piston carries it upstream and back again, the time
taken travelling backwards and forwards, depending on the
amount of fresh water coming over Teddington weir. Much
of the crude sewage settles, and the bed of the river becomes
a vast mass of deposited sludge. Then, as secondary decomposition
begins, the black and effluvial sewerage sludge rises
to the surface, releasing its bubbles of marsh gas which are
visually apparent.
The scientific adviser to the London County Council
affirms that there is definite evidence that the pollution load
on the River Thames has been appreciably reduced, and it
is anticipated that, as new sections of outfall plant come
into service, a substantial contribution to this end will be
achieved. New Sedimentation tanks at Northern Outfall are
said to produce evidence that the reduced loading has prevented
more serious deterioration.
The summer quarter July to September with its normally
reduced rainfall and higher air temperature is the critical
period, and in 1955, warm weather, coupled with the heated
discharges into the river, resulted in the highest temperatures
yet to be recorded from Kew to Gravesend.
During 1957, river effluvia, though intermittent, was
extremely penetrative and objectionable to residents in all
parts of the Borough. Unfortunately, the worst conditions
invariably co-incide with the advent of good weather, and
each year, an olfactory improvement becomes the object of
hope. As yet, that hope has not been realised, and it would
appear that there is a long way to go before it is.