London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Battersea 1894
Report upon the public health and sanitary condition of the Parish of St. Mary, Battersea during the year1894
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watersheds as may have been selected. The Commissioners
discuss these in the order named. All the Companies, except
the Kent Company, are dependent for some part of their supply
upon water derived either from the Thames or the Lea.
Turning to the question of the "necessities of the future," the Commissioners set out in the report the views of the several Companies who adopted the same term, viz., 40 years, as the period for which it is desirable to look forward. The following table gives the figures laid before the Commission by each Company as to the estimated population and requirements of their district in 1931 :—
| Name of Company. | Estimated Population in 1931. | Estimated Daily Supply per head in 1931. | Supply required per day. | Supply available per day. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New River | 1,658,000 | 28.5 | 47,250,000 | *56,500,000 |
| East London | 1,697,000 | 33.0 | 56,000,000 | 66,000,000 |
| Chelsea | 375.000 | 35.0 | 13,125,000 | 22,000,000 |
| West Middlesex | 959,187 | 28.0 | 26,857,236 | 24,500,000 |
| Grand Junction | 584,969 | 42.0 | 24,500,000 | 24,500,000 |
| Lambeth | 1,136,441 | 25. 0 | 28,411,025 | 30,500,000 |
| Southwark & Vauxhall | I.2I5.457 | 25. 0 | 30,386,425 | 41,000,000 |
| Kent | 900,000 | 30.0 | 27,000,000 | 29,000,000 |
| Total | 8,526,054 | 29.73 | 253,.529.686 | 294,000,000 |
* Deducting 330,000 gallons of unfiltered water from Hampstead Ponds.
The suggestions made by the Companies for extending
their works, and so augmenting the volume of distributable
water, may be stated as follows :—
(1) The abstraction of more water from the Thames
without providing storage. (2) The abstraction of more
water from the Thames and Lea with provision for storage.
(3) The abstract of water from gravel beds adjoining the
Thames. (4) The abstraction of more water from deep wells
in the chalk formation.
The report next proceeds to deal with the several suggestions
which were laid before the Commissioners as to the