London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Orpington 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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(a) CHELSFIELD MAIN DRAINAGE.
| Outfall Sewer | 202 ft. 9 in. dia. |
| Julian Road | 1,104 ft. 9 in. dia. |
| Worlds End Lane | 1.272 ft. 6 in. dia. |
| Church Road | 4,627 ft. 9 in. dia. |
(b) TEMPORARY S.W. SEWER. CRAY AVENUE.
224 ft. 21 in. dm. connector pipe.
690 ft. 30 in. dia. „ „
(c) EXTENSION OF SOIL SEWER, STAR LANE.
340 ft. 4 in. dia.
Cesspools.
At the end of the year there were 2,571 houses draining to
2,151 cesspools and 215 with pail closets. This high number of
cesspools is mainly due to the rural type of the southern part
of the district, where the extension of sewers is impracticable.
The following is an analysis of the cesspools in the area :
| Cesspools abolished and connections made to sewer | 48 | |
| Number of cesspools at end of year | 2,151 | |
| Number of houses with cesspools where sewer is available | 560 | |
| Number where sewer is not at present available Of these, | 1,591 | |
| 2,151 | ||
| Cesspools on line of projected new sewers | 357 | |
| Cesspools in unsewered private streets | 480 | |
The Council has a scheme for cesspool emptying which is a
charge upon the owner/occupier. Briefly this is : Where sewer
is available the charge per load of 750 gallons is 14s., and where
sewer is not available the charge is 5s. per load.
The number of cesspools abolished and the premises connected
to a sewer in the years 1946, 1947 and 1948 were as follows :
1946 .... 18 1947 .... 25 1948 .... 48
The number of premises erected in 1948 with cesspools
was 23.
Rivers and Streams.
There are two, the rivers Cray and Kidbrook, both of which
come under regular supervision. Four inspections were made in
1948, and analyses made of the water, which proved satisfactory.
Swimming Baths.
There is one Swimming Bath in the district to which the
public are admitted, and samples were taken from this bath and
also from the Scouts' Swimming Pool at the camping ground at
Downe. Apart from over-chlorination in one case, the analyses
were satisfactory.