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All inhabited houses are supplied with a piped water supply direct to them and
no houses are pernanently supplied by standpipe..
There have been no new sources of supply nor new important extensions of trunk
mains in this area during the period under consideration, and there were no changes
in the general scheme of supply. New mains were laid to the extent of 796 yards.
Acknowledgements are due to Dr. E. Windle Taylor, Director of Water Examination,
Metropolitan Water Board, who supplied these facts and figures.
In view of the increasing number of new flats in the Borough, all of which
have more than one tap for the drawing off of water, including a bath, the total
consumption per head may be expected to rise considerably in the future.
Taking into consideration the volume of water used in the average bath and
the cost of heating it to an acceptable temperature, the limited use to which many
are put, and the space taken up by a bathroom, it might be a convenient period to
urge an improvement in the planning layout of future homes to install showers instead
of baths.
A satisfactory shower can be had with only one-sixth of the water necessary
for a bath; it is so much more convenient that the benefits can be enjoyed more
frequently and the cost of water heating for this item is reduced pro rata. With
the need of a lavatory basin inside the toilet or W. C. lobby, perhaps this latter
compartment could contain the shower space and any bathroom space saved allocated
to living room space or a study room.
Water supply certificates were granted in accordance with section 95 of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936 in 639 cases.