The 'river' again is in the news - that eponymous waterway people often call a river (but is actually a canal with bits of river in between) is the subject of a BBC investigation tonight (Friday 16th Feb.) See BBC TV website
David Akinsanya has kept a boat on the Lee Navigation for three years and in those years he claims the river (oops navigation sorry David!) has got stinkier. And the main problem? The Lee is a open sewer! Its not surprising really to me I've known it to resemble a cesspit at times - the brown stuff is sometimes all too obvious as it floats southwards in large clumps. I've got some nice pics of these specialised floatilas at the spot where the waterway passes the Markfield recreation grounds.
David says of the Lee - "Basically this waterway is becoming a communal lavatory and I'm living on it!"
I know the London Waterways Commission has discussed the sewage problem on the Lee, especially with reference to a overflow at Old Ford. However, David's findings confirm what some of us suspected - that the sewage is also coming from further up the navigation. And whats more, its getting worser and worser.
At this rate by 2012 we'll be hosting the worlds' greatest stinklympics!
