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72
Certificates as to Water Supply.
The number of certificates issued during the year was 22, as
compared with 30 in 1910.
The Water Supply of Tenement Houses.
In former Annual Reports an account was given of the action
taken to improve ihe water supply of tenement houses under the powers
conferred upon London sanitary authorities by Section 78 of the London
County Council (General Powers) Act, 1907, which empowers the
sanitary authority to require a proper and sufficient supply of water on
each storey of a tenement house that is separately occupied. In many
London tenement houses the only water supply available is from a tap
in the basement or yard, and it is not surprising that in such houses the
tenants of the upper floors practice a strict economy in the use of water,
even to the extent of falling short of any decent standard of cleanliness.
A plentiful supply of pure water is one of the first requisites of a healthy
life, but in many tenement houses this requisite is not fulfilled, nor
until the General Powers Act of 1907 was passed had sanitary authorities
any power to insist on its fulfilment. This Act, however, has led
to a considerable improvement. The number of houses dealt with in
Hampstead during the last four years is as follows:—
1908 24
1909 85
1910 99
1911 105
In each house a water-tap and a glazed earthenware sink were
provided on each floor. These alterations have been greatly appreciated
by the tenants, and have had a beneficial effect in improving the
general sanitary condition of the houses.
Drainage Work.
The by-laws of the London County Council that require that
plans and written particulars of drainage construction and alteration
shall be deposited with the Sanitary Authority came into operation
in August 1903, and from that date till the end of 1911 the Council
have approved of 455 plans for the drainage of new buildings, and
5325 plans for alterations, etc., to drains of existing premises.