The Effra (From the Celtic yfrid - a torrent) rises in the south near Crystal Palace and flowing on through Norwood Cemetery, then via parts of Dulwich, Herne Hill, Brockwell Park, Brixton, Kennington to flow out into the Thames by Vauxhall Bridge. The river Effra has a history which is very much a part of the history of Lambeth. Lower parts of the river has been used as a sewers since the 17th century but it was still supplying Dulwich with fresh water in 1860. At one time it was navigable for small boats as far up as Brixton - Queen Elizabeth I is reputed to have travelled by barge when she visited Sir Walter Raleiqh at his home there, and even into the early nineteenth century it survived as an open stream. When the Albert embankment was built, however, much of the water from the river Effra was diverted into a sewer whilst the remaining flow was enclosed in a covered culvert. In 1985, to overcome problems of damp and occasional flooding in the basements of Dulwich Road, a storm relief sewer was built, running from Burbage Road to Clapham. In very heavy rain surplus water is now allowed to overflow into this sewer which runs forty feet below Brixton Water Lane, and later, when the tide is right, it can be released into the Thames.