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55
under the circumstances? But this never entered into the
reference to the Commission, and in considering their report it
has constantly to be borne in mind that whatever they say in
support of the prospective sufficiency (for forty years only) of
the watersheds of the Thames and Lea has no bearing on the
real question whether new gathering grounds ought not to be
sought for outside that area altogether.
Considerable stress is laid on the shortness of the term of
forty years to which the Commission have limited their forecast.
The capacity of the Thames and Lea watersheds as sources of
supply may be expected to have reached, or nearly reached,
their limit about the year 1931, and then it will be impossible
any further to delay turning to some outside source. By that
time, however, the best gathering grounds in the country, which
" are already being rapidly taken possession of by other
municipalities," may be lost to us. In regard to this, one has to
bear in mind the long time which is required for the execution
of the vast works necessary in large water schemes, and
Mr. Binnie, the Council's chief engineer, says plainly that the
people of London, "will, at some not very distant date (probably
twenty years hence) have to contemplate the exhaustion of the
supplies which can be obtained in the Thames Valley" and the
necessity of looking elsewhere for an increased supply.
"One of the greatest blots upon the finding of the Royal
Commission" is that "it can in no way be considered a final
settlement of the case." This limitation of forecast to forty years
is all the more curious in view of the fact that two members of
the Royal Commission, giving evidence before the House of
Lords on the Birmingham water scheme, gave much longer
periods as the time for which estimates should be made,
Mr. G. H. Hill stating that provision for a large town should be
for a period of not less than 50 years, and Mr. James Mansergh,
the engineer to the scheme, indicating that he calculated his
supply for some sixty-four years, and on that basis laid out the