View report page

61
but think that, while the present supply is made use of, the
London people, as represented by their County Council, would
do well to endeavour to get into their own hands the right to
inspect the whole process of filtration and summarily to debar
the access of foul water to the pipes. It is abundantly clear
that it is wrong to trust to the examination of the water in
bulk. The product of each filter bed must be continuously
watched, and unhesitatingly refused if below the standard;
and it is not improbable that a short experience of the difficulty
of providing a continuously pure water under such circumstances
would soon lead to a general acceptance of the necessity
for new sources of supply.
The very full information afforded in the report of the
Royal Commission is of the utmost possible value as assisting
to give definite form to a general comprehension of the real
condition of the water supply of the Metropolis, present and
future. It has always been a cherished article of faith in this
country that the water of the River Thames is of unsurpassable
quality for all domestic purposes. Nothing can be found in the
report which in any way disturbs this conviction, and it may be
assumed, as has always been urged in these reports, that the
water supplied to London, if properly treated by the avoidance of
pollution, ample storage (in order to avoid the necessity of taking
in water from the river when in flood, as the organic pollution is
then at the maximum), and efficient filtration, is all that can be
desired. The second point as to how long the quantity will
suffice for the needs of ever-growing London is also fully gone
into, and half-a-century is defined as the probable period. Of
course there is much to be said on the other side, and that is
lucidly given in the objections to the report of the Royal
Commission urged by the London County Council and its
officers.
Although very little is definitely said on the subject, the
impression which the perusal of the report leaves upon the mind
is that the whole control of the water supply, from the sources