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16
opinions were invited by the Metropolitan Board of Works
on the system of water supply to the Metropolis, pertinent
remarks were made in reply in the local summary for
Wandsworth in our annual report of that year. As they
convey in substance our opinions on the subject, and as
they have an important bearing on the question at the
present juncture, we venture to reprint them here entire.
"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 distinctand 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—
"(1866) 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 economise 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