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16
A river water supply is piped to Kew Gardens, allotments and to
many domestic gardens; the water is chlorinated as a precautionary
measure but it is not fit for drinking.
Table 17 gives information on the consumption of water in the
Borough and on the samples taken.
2. Swimming Pools.
There is only one public swimming pool in the Borough which
is the public baths establishment owned by the Council. The pool is
100 feet by 32 feet with a capacity of 96,000 gallons, the water supply
being from local wells and the Metropolitan Water Board. The water
is filtered by Candy pressure filters, giving a turnover of approximately
six hours, and sterilization is achieved by chlorine gas treatment.
Daily recordings are made of available and residual chlorine in
the water, the pH value, and the shallow and deep-end temperatures.
In addition, bacteriological samples of the water are taken each month,
and all during the year, have proved satisfactory.
3. Sewerage and Sewage Disposal.
The Borough is sewered on a partially separate system, with the
drainage from roads discharging directly into the river through surface
water sewers. The soil sewers drain to the purification works of the
Richmond Main Sewerage Board, which receives sewage from the
Boroughs of Richmond and Barnes.
During the early summer complaints were received from residents
in Kew about the obnoxious smell emanating from the Sewage Works
due to defects which had developed in the sludge primary digestion
tanks.
The complaints coincided with the commencement of contract work
to build a new primary digestion tank, and to reconstruct the faulty
roofs of the existing tanks; the contract, in addition, provided for
extensive ancillary works including a new boilerhouse.
The work will take at least twelve months to complete and the
Board have implemented a number of measures to minimise nuisance
to nearby residents, including the use of chemical deodorants.
However, a breakdown in the purification plant at a sewage works
inevitably creates a most serious problem, and in this instance while
the building works are in progress the Board has still to receive and
deal with some 7 million gallons of sewage each day, and in order that
a good effluent is discharged into the River Thames, the sludge must
be separated and dried.