View report page

18
and very irregular. In the autumn of last year, the
Metropolitan Board of Works issued a circular letter, inviting
an expression of opinion upon the system of Water
supply to the Metropolis. The following embodies the
remarks I then made, and which, on account of the great
importance of the subject, I venture to repeat here. "I
"would most strongly urge upon your notice the great
"sanitary and economic benefits which would result from
"a constant supply, and the consequent removal of the
"necessity which at present exists for the use of cisterns,
"butts, and other objectionable receptacles. The following
"conditions also require consideration. Water for domestic
"use is required for two distinct and very different purposes:
"the one for dietetic, and the other for general sanitary
"purposes, including drainage. The first—as shewn by
"abundant evidence of the evil influence of impure water
"in the Cholera epidemic of 1854, and of the present
"year—must of necessity be of the purest quality. The
"requirements of the second would be fulfilled by ordinary
"unfiltered river water, or by sea water, and could be
"supplied in unlimited quantity for public baths, foun"tains,
the cleansing of streets, drainage, and all other
"sanitary purposes. Under the present system the great
"bulk of the water which has been purified by filtration
"for drinking use, and representing much money, is lost
"in being used for all other purposes than that for which
"the expensive process of filtration is employed. As it is
"necessary for the Water Companies to economize such
"expensive water to the utmost, the result is a necessity
"for storage in itself an unnecessary and expensive evil
"to the consumer—and a stint in the general supply,
"even to an insufficiency, for the purpose of drainage.
"Looking to these conditions, it becomes a matter for
"consideration whether a sufficient supply of the purest
"water for drinking use only, could not be obtained from
"the chalk strata by Artesian borings, the general supply
"for drainage, and all other sanitary purposes being fur"nished
by ordinary river water, or by sea water. In
"the employment of such a system of distribution, a
"necessity would exist for a double system of pipes, but
"the expense of these would be amply compensated for