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225
this Borough's two wells which supply drinking water is a 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 examination for
Escherichia coli.
Nothing is more commonplace than water. In these islands its
cost is almost negligible and yet, as a usable commodity, it is not
inexhaustible. Without doubt it is becoming progressively more
difficult to obtain a pure domestic water supply in urban areas.
Greater London is unique in that it is practically wholly
developed. Over the years, buildings and drainage have disturbed
the natural flow of water and such resources as were available have
been rendered useless for the supply of pure water. Deficiencies
in overground supplies within the county are met by tapping outside
sources which, together with water from the higher reaches of
the Thames and the Lea and the exploitation of the underground
water-bearing strata, form the bulk of London's supplies. In fact,
for some considerable time now, water from springs, streams and
wells has been dwindling and greater use has had to be made of
the Thames which now contributes more than two-thirds of the
total of the Metropolitan Water Board's supplies.
A century and a half of preventive measures have almost
eliminated waterborne disease from our supplies but more insidious
forms of pollution from industrial effluents and man-made
chemicals are making their appearance in our rivers and tributaries.
Conventional methods of sewage treatment and water
purification will prove to be inadequate. Furthermore, the necessity
for "re-using" water for domestic purposes is not without its
hazards although, to date, these have been successfully dealt with
by the Board. In a year designated "European Conservation Year",
the recent nationwide warnings on pollution in general and on
water supplies in particular could hardly have been more opportune.
There are 73,804 inhabited dwellings in the Borough with direct
connections to the Board's mains.
On request and following satisfactory reports, 9 letters were
sent during the year in respect of properties confirmed as having a
suitable and sufficient supply of water.
I am indebted to Dr. E. Windle Taylor, Director of Water
Examination for the Metropolitan Water Board, for the following
information given in accordance with the Department of Health