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56
No nuisance liable to be dealt with under the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, can be said to exist, whilst the shellfish layings within the present
jurisdiction of the Port Sanitary Authority are few and comparatively
unimportant.
Samples taken one mile below the sewer outfalls of Southend and Sheerness
respectively show no evidence of gross pollution with sewage. This is
mainly due to the inevitable large dilution with sea water, but the effluent
discharged at Barking and Crossness oscillates with each flow and ebb of the
tide, even as high as London Bridge, and as the amount discharged is so
great and of increasing quantity, it is important that the latest scientific
results should be employed there to purify the effluent to as great an extent
as is possible.
The Southend.on. Sea Corporation have introduced a Bill into Parliament
for powers to construct new sewerage works at an estimated cost of 150,000/.
I understand this will include the removal of the grosser impurities by
means of a series of screens, and consequently the discharge into the sea of a
much purer effluent than is done at present.
The Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal have not yet reported as to the
best method of purifying sewage effluent, whether for discharge into rivers, or
tidal waters, obviously a lesser degree of purity is required where it is
intended to discharge sewage into tidal waters than in the case of rivers,
inasmuch as in the latter case the sources of drinking water supply may be
polluted.
It has been estimated that the Thames, from its source to Teddington Weir,
receives the sewage effluent of nearly a million persons.
Enquiries were made of the Masters of the picturesque eel boats which lie
off Billingsgate Market as to what they thought of the condition of the River.
They state that their impression is that the water in that locality is not in such
good condition as formerly. Ten years ago they were able to keep their eels
alive in the river water from October to May inclusive, but now they can only
do so from December to April. Even during the winter the condition of the
water varies as shown by its effect on the eels, being injurious in dry weather
and the reverse after heavy rain.
The Public Bodies concerned in the purification of tidal waters within the
district of the Port of London Sanitary Authority are the Conservators of
the River Thames and Med way respectively. These bodies have special Acts
of Parliament which give them special powers for dealing with the discharge
of sewage effluent into the rivers and tributaries within their jurisdiction,
whereas the Port of London Sanitary Authority can only deal with such
under the nuisance clauses of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891.