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85
Although the River Lee and wells and springs in the Lee
Valley and Kent areas make their contribution, two thirds of the
Board's supplies are obtained from the Thame.s above Teddington
Weir. River water is screened to rid it of extraneous matter and
pumped into storage reservoirs where suspended matter falls to
the bottom and where most of the pathogenic organisms die out.
The water is then subjected to a rapid primary filtration through
sand beds at approximately 20 feet per hour and a slow secondary
filtration at 8 inches per hour after which it receives a small dose
of chlorine as a safeguard to eliminate any undesirable bacteria
which may still be present before it is finally distributed. One of
this Borough's two wells which supply drinking water is a most
prolific contributor to the Board's supplies, having a normal output
of 5 million gallons per day.
The Board is responsible for the purity of its water and the
supplies are regularly tested—chemically and physically for an
estimation of its clarity, colour and taste, and bacteriologically
for assessment of coliform colonies with confirmatory examinations
for Escherichia Coli.
There are 24,558 dwellings in the Borough with direct connections
to the Board's mains.
During the year 497 water supply certificates were granted
under Section 95 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936. Water
fittings have been amended, repaired or renewed in 154 cases.
Consideration has been given by the Ministry of Housing and
Local Government to recent changes in technique, practice and
use of new materials in building such as, very high flats and offices,
use of plastics for cold water, etc. It was felt that this new
situation demanded a revision of the existing Water Byelaws and
the Ministry's Circular 57/63 introduced new Model Byelaws for
the prevention of waste, undue consumption, misuse or contamination
of water.
Underground Water Supplies (Wells).—In August, 1947,
at the request of the Ministry of Health, a survey of underground
water supplies was made and full particulars were given in the
Report for that year. During 1953, a further shallow well was
sunk on the premises of the Tunnel Glucose Refineries Ltd., at
Tunnel Avenue, thus making 3 wells in all on this property and
bringing the total number of wells about which we have some
knowledge to 41.
It would appear that this is an opportune time to consolidate
the information and the accompanying table gives the details. In
all, 41 wells are listed, only 2 of which are used for the supply