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52
THAMES WATER.
At a Court of Common Council held on 21st June, 1906, it was
resolved: " That, having regard to recent legal decisions on the question of
" sewage pollution, this Court is of opinion that the time has arrived when a
" conference of the various Authorities interested in the subject of the
" purification of the estuary of the River Thames, and elsewhere, should be
" convened for the purpose of considering the existing situation, and with a
" view to taking such action as should be deemed necessary in the interest of
" the public health, and that it be referred to the Port of London Sanitary
'' Committee to arrange and hold such conference accordingly."
At a Meeting on the 18th September, 1906, of the Port Sanitary Sub.
Committee, I was instructed to obtain evidence as to the extent of the
pollution of the River Thames; River Med way and its estuary, either local
or general; and further, to obtain information or evidence as to the pollution
of the River within the jurisdiction of the Port Sanitary Authority.
On considering the question, I decided that an opinion based upon the
results obtained by chemical analysis, in preference to bacterioscopic examination,
would answer the purpose and would cost much less.
A series of samples of river water was taken and submitted to the City
Analyst, Dr. F. L. Teed, F.I.C., and I append the results of his analyses on
pages 50 and 51.
Table XXIII., Part A., p. 50—Represents the analysis of samples of water
taken from the River Thames in its course from Teddington Weir to nearly
as far as the Nore, and the River Medway from Stangate Creek to Garrison
Point.
These samples, except No. 35, were taken during the last one and a half
hours of the ebb tide, before the tide began to flow, and may therefore be
considered, for the purposes of comparison, as having been taken under similar
conditions of tide.
Dr. Teed suggests, and I agree with him, that (for the purpose of
comparing the various analyses) the figures shown under the heading of Free
Ammonia (N H3) may be taken as indicating the degree of sewage pollution.
It will be seen that the water passing over Teddington Weir shows evidence
of considerable pollution, a fact not to be wondered at when it is considered
that the sewage effluent from the houses of Kingston and Surbiton is
discharged into the River above that point.