London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Sutton 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Sutton]
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works, which treat 24,000 gallons per day, and a new fine grain bed has been
completed at the high level works to treat 100,000 gallons per day.
The whole of the high level beds are now capable of treating 400,000 gallons,
and the low level beds 100,000 gallons per day when the beds are charged twice a
days. The average daily dry weather flow of sewage is about 450,000 gallons per
day at the high level, and 150,000 gallons at the low level. This amount of sewage
is, of course, considerably increased with heavy rainfall.
The regulations of the Local Government Board in sanctioning sewage works on
this principle prescribe that the capacity of the contact beds should be sufficient to
treat three times the dry weather flow when the beds are cleared twice daily, and
also require the provision of additional storm water filters for use in times of heavy
rainfall.
The present capacity of the Sutton beds is, therefore, only about one third of
that prescribed, and, although good results are obtained by the available treatment, a
further increase of plant by the local authority as opportunity offers is manifestly
desirable.
Bye-Laws Relating to n ew Streets and Buildings .--The following table
| in | in | in | in | in | in | in | in | in | in | In | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | |
| The number of new buildings, and of additions to buildings, of which plans were submitted for approval under the Bye-Laws, was............ | 132 | 227 | 263 | 257 | 153 | 201 | 174 | 192 | 171 | 355 | 223 |
| The number of new streets, ditto, was... | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| The number of times that legal proceedings were taken for breach of the Bye-laws relating to streets and buildings was.................... | 1 | none | none | 1 | none | none | none | none | none | none | none |
The number of private streets metalled, channelled, paved, &c., under the
Private Streets Works Act, 1892, during 1906 was 7.
As to House Drainage, &c.—I am informed by the Surveyor that the drains
of 270 premises were connected with the sewers of the district during the year.
The Sanitary Inspector reports that the house drains were disconnected from
three cesspools in the chalk, and that these were afterwards emptied and filled up. At
the end of the previous year I had to report that there were only two cesspools
remaining in the chalk formation within a quarter of a mile of the waterworks, and
that there was a difficulty in connection with the removal of these owing to the
inability to connect the house drains with the existing sewer in the Carshalton Road.
During the year the Urban Council have laid a new sewer in this road at a lower
level so as to enable the drains from the above premises to be connected thereto,
and the cesspools, undesirable in their present situation, to be done away with.
The most important public work executed during the year, and a great sanitary
improvement, has been the extension of the sewerage system to the Angel Hill
district, which was urgently called for, and the absence of which had been the cause
of numerous complaints, received in late years, of nuisance arising from a ditch in
the neighbourhood, into which some of the overflow sewage found its way.