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II
WATER SUPPLIES.
The water supplies of the Parish of St. James come
from the Grand Junction, Chelsea, West Middlesex, and
New River Companies. The whole of the supplies are
on constant service. Frequent samples of the waters,
taken from the mains of the various companies, have been
examined during the year 1898. These samples have been
bright, of good colour, and free from pollution. There has
been no ground for supposing that any of the six cases of
typhoid which were notified in the district of St. James
during the year 1898 arose from polluted water supplies.
Printed papers calling attention to the necessity for
periodical cleansing of cisterns have been freely circulated
through the district during the year. But it is difficult to
secure good administration on the part of all householders
in respect to the care of their own water cisterns; and
in some points the regulations of the water companies, requiring
an overflow warning-pipe, but allowing no standing
waste of any sort, make it impossible to clean out the
cistern by direct flushing. This regulation should be
modified. In no case ought a cistern to be so constructed
that it cannot be emptied except through the drinkingwater
taps. It is very difficult to effectively clean out a
cistern except through a standing waste, so inserted as to
completely empty the cistern, and to allow it to be flushed
out effectively by the supply-tap while a soft hand-broom
lightly sweeps down the sides and bottom of the cistern.
The pipe for the service of the drinking-water taps should
in all cases rise to an inch above the bottom of the
cistern, so as to allow a thin layer of sediment to subside
below the level of the drinking-water outlet. This condition
alone renders it impracticable to efficiently flush
out sediments through the drinking-water taps. A standing
waste leading to the warning-pipe is the best arrangement.
In case of overflow the proper warning is then
given; while by simply lifting the standing waste the
cistern can at once be flushed out perfectly. Of course the