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25
In a great many places the water is not laid on from the
waterworks at all, consequently the daily supply is obtained from
some distant source, and is kept in jugs, dishes, or pans, whichever
the people may happen to possess; and which are usually placed in
the room which serves as their sitting and bedroom, thereby becoming
exposed to all the impurities arising from a close and
confined atmosphere.
The manner in which water is supplied to the houses of the
higher classes is not without objections. In these houses the water
is, of course, received into cisterns. One of the evils arising from
the use of cisterns is, that they are so situate that they can be only
reached with difficulty, thus offering a great obstacle to their being
regularly cleansed.
In some cases they are placed over the water-closet, so that the
water imbibes the emanations which proceed from it.
Another great evil connected with cisterns is, that the organic
matter contained in the water supplied to them does not find a
ready egress, but subsiding day after day goes on accumulating at
the bottom of the cistern. This liability to accumulation shows the
extreme necessity for the frequent cleansing of the cisterns. There
is in this respect a most lamentable neglect on the part of occupiers
of even superior houses. It is no uncommon thing for these
receptacles not to be cleaned out for months, or even years. The
consequence of this accumulation is, that the water present in the
cisterns, from faults of construction and neglect in cleansing,
frequently contains a much larger amount of organic matter than
that supplied to them by the Water Company.
From the preceding remarks I trust you will be convinced
that there are many serious evils associated with the use of cisterns
and other receptacles for the storage of water in this District.
These evils can only be effectually obviated by their complete
abandonment, and that by adopting the constant instead of the
present intermittent supply.
On and after the 1st of July, 1857, or about that time, I
believe I am right in stating (and therefore wish to remind you)
that you will have the power of requiring from the Kent Water