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into brick sewers, which also convey the surface water and most of
the rainfall. The Southern portion of the Borough, being isolated by
the Victoria and Albert Dock, is drained into a main sewer running
from West to East, through a narrow strip of the Southern portion
of the Borough of East Ham, whence it discharges into the London
County Council Sewer in North Woolwich.
The North-western corner of the Borough—an area of roughly
120 acres containing two terraces of houses and some isolated houses
and factories—remains unsewered, the excrement disposal consisting
of cesspools, while scattered cesspools are to be found here and there
in a few places remote from the general system of sewerage.
The sewers draining the main portion of the district (five-sixths
of the whole area) converge by means of specially constructed intercepting
sewers to the Corporation's Pumping Station, situate near the
middle of the Western border of the Borough. Here the sewerage
is pumped into the Northern Metropolitan Outfall Sewer which crosses
the Borough obliquely, whence it gravitates to the London Outfall at
Barking.
Collection of House Refuse.—By the West Ham Corporation
Act, 1888, the Corporation is empowered to require owners
of houses to provide movable receptacles for house refuse instead of
ashpits, and by special bye-law the occupiers of houses are required to
place them outside their houses on such days as the Council fix.
Under these provisions the house refuse is collected twice each week
by the Council's own vehicles. Thirty-six carts and vans are used,
and the staff employed numbers 56 men, besides the Dust Inspector
and two foremen.
The total amount collected during the 307 working days in the
year was 28,408 loads, a decrease of 721 loads on the previous year.