Bovril boats
Bovril boats,also known formally assludge vessels,[1]were specially designed sewage dumping vessels that operated on theRiver Thamesfrom 1887[2]to 1998. Their task was to remove London's human solid waste fromBecktonandCrossnessfor disposal on theebbtide at sea, atBlack Deep,an extremely deep part of theNorth Seafifteen miles offFoulness,on one of the main approaches to theThames Estuary.Similar boats operated on theManchester Ship Canal,theTyne,and elsewhere.
History
[edit]The introduction of theflush toiletin the 1840s caused London's ageing sewers to overflow. In 1858 following the summer ofThe Great Stinkand outbreaks ofcholeraamong the public, SirJoseph Bazalgettewas appointed to redesignLondon's sewage system.[3][4][5]He was only partially successful however, as thesludgepart of the human wastesewagebegan to build up on mud banks further down stream along the Thames.
The seriousness of the problem was highlighted in 1878 when a passenger steamer, ThePrincess Alice,sank atGallions Reachfollowing a collision with a cargo vessel, with great loss of life including many children. After the dead were later recovered bywatermen,it was found that many had in fact not drowned, but instead had died fromingestingthe poisoned waters of the toxic sludge-filled river.
Royal Commission
[edit]ARoyal Commissionof 1882 concluded that it was necessary to create a cleaner river by separating the sludge part from the liquid sewage and remove it via boat for disposal at sea. In 1887 the first ship of a long line of 'pump and dump' effluent tanker vessels was launched. These ships, later nicknamed by those who crewed them asBovrilboats to describe their brown liquid cargo, were very well maintained, as hygienic as possible, and specially designed for marine disposal. Complexhydrostaticcalculations had to be made when carrying liquid cargo but crews received reasonably good pay and regular work. The last of the fleet were: Bexley, Hounslow, andNewham, all named after London Boroughs.
European Union legislation
[edit]In the 1990s, European Union legislation forbidding the dumping of raw sewage at sea, and increasing environmentalconcernsthat sewage was contaminating beaches, led to the phasing out of the fleet and many were scrapped or sold on to private companies. Newer technology[6]finally allowed the sludge to beincineratedin a self-powering incinerator and sold on asfertilizerpellets for use onfood crops.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Bentwich, Helen (1962).Our Councils, The Story of Local Government.Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. p. 19.
- ^National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on a Multimedium Approach to Municipal Sludge Management, United States. Environmental Protection Agency (1978).Multimedium management of municipal sludge: a report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.National Academies Press. p. 40.ISBN9780309027335.
- ^"How Bazalgette built London's first super sewer".Museum of London.Retrieved27 May2021.
- ^"BBC - History - Joseph Bazalgette".bbc.co.uk.Retrieved27 May2021.
- ^"Sir Joseph Bazalgette and London's Sewers".Sky HISTORY TV channel.Retrieved27 May2021.
- ^"Technology: Sludge disposal becomes a burning issue".