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28 Sanitary Circumstances.
When the works were first started, the Board decided that no
accumulation should be allowed in the works, to in any way
prejudice the neighbouring properties; a means had, therefore, to
be devised of having a regular transport service to keep them clear.
If the works had been situated nearer the mouth of the
Thames, we might have followed an alternative on the lines
adopted by the London County Council and Glasgow Corporation,
viz., providing specially constructed boats to convey the wet sludge
to sea and deposit in deep water.
In our case, the difficulties in the way of such a means of
disposal would be very great, as the works are situated at a
considerable distance from the mouth of the river, with all the
dangers of a difficult navigation, fogs, etc., so that a constant
service could not in all probability be maintained.
The next best to that system is to make an arrangement to
take away the pressed sludge, by which means, the transport of an
immense amount of water is saved, and you also can take advantage
of its agricultural value.
For many years past, the Board has arrangements by which
a contractor supplies barges, and all the pressed sludge, as it is
made in the pressing-house, is taken away direct, by means of a
tramway, and deposited into the barges; the contractor being
responsible for taking it away, and he disposes of it for agricultural
purposes in Essex and Kent, round the Estuary of the Thames.
BEVERLEY BROOK.
The Beverley Brook still continues to be an annoyance to the
district, and in times of flood a distinct menace to the health Of
the inhabitants, whose houses it floods. Negotiations are going on
between the Barnes Urban District Council and the London
County Council.