The lake in St. James's Park is again causing trouble to the Office of Works. In spite of all the public money, labour, and thought expended on the work of restoring it, the lake refuses to hold the amount of water which it formerly held. Since the concrete work was completed and the lake was "'filled'" at the end of July, the water has never been maintained at its proper level. It is 3ft. below this at present, and there is a fall of about 3in. a day. A bare and ugly space of concrete is left visible round the edge.
The cause of the trouble is obscute. Park attendants confidently ascribe it to a leak in the bed of the lake, and believe that there is a fault in the concrete. The Office of Works does not deny the possibility of this, but it is not sure that the leak may not be in one of the supply pipes. Doubts on the subject should soon be resolved, for a certain amount of the water has been drawn off in order that the flow from the supply pipes may be measured and their efficiency tested.
The lake has been most uhfortunate in its post-war history. Not till the middle of 1992 were the huts, which served as offices for the Ministry of Shipping and the Passport Office during the war, removed! from the drained lake. Plans for restoration were then delayed. At first the public were assumed that the Jake would be filled by last autumn. That assumption rested on the hope that the concrete bed, which had been dry and had supported buildings throughout the war, and across which heavy lorries had_ been driven, was still sound. The hope failed when the basin was filled with some millions of gallons of water, which trickled away and proved that the concrete had perished. The work of renewing the concrete and of making the lake again fit to fulfil its proper ornamental office, was then taken in hand. These operations cost £31,700, and were
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.