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were kept charged as required by law, and only those houses connected
with these particular mains received a constant supply; I
was fortunate to be so placed at my private residence in Hackney
and got a full supply during the whole of the water famine, but at
my Surgery in Bethnal Green I only received the regulation two
hours allowance, though I have a meter and am charged according
to the amount I use.
When I was appointed Medical Officer of Health for this District,
some twenty years ago, the water supply of the whole of East
London was on the intermittent principle; the water was turned on
daily for a limited period (often to be reckoned by minutes) and shut
off for the remainder of the twenty-four hours. This was the
recognised condition of things, and every house and court had some
provision for storage, either a water-butt or tank. Many of these
receptacles were in a very foul condition, and most of them were
badly placed, a favourite position was on the top, and forming the
roof, of the closet, the soil pan of which was, however, rarely
supplied with water. These cisterns were usually uncovered and
frequently received the drippings from roofs and gutters. They
were moreover often in close proximity to dustbins, and children
amused themselves by throwing into the water all sorts of filthy
rubbish, including an occasional dead puppy or kitten.
In better-class houses the cisterns were usually placed in top bedrooms,
but frequently so close to the ceilings as to be absolutely
inaccesible for cleaning purposes; as a matter of fact even at the
present time the inspection of cisterns and tanks in good-class
houses and public buildings is neglected for months, and in some
cases even years are allowed to pass without any examination taking
place. I extract the following remarks from a fifteen year old report
of Colonel Bolton, the late Water Examiner under the 1871 Act.
"It is disheartening to reflect that notwithstanding the efforts
that have been made, and the large expenditure that has
been incurred in works for properly treating and improving
the quality of the water, these efforts are rendered nearly
abortive and but of little value by the apathy and carelessness
of a great number of the householders.