View report page

3
the latter for the Baths and Washhouses in George-street. The Company state
that nearly all the water supplied by them is now filtered, and that very soon
they shall filter the whole of it.
There is one point in the arrangements of this Company still open to objection;
it is this, that the pipe from the tank at the New ltiver ltead, which formerly
supplied water to the district, is retained for the supply of water unfiltered as
before, during periods of frost. The Company's engineer considers that means
of supply, independent of the filter beds, should be maintained, because 6 or 7
inches of snow may, in heavy falls, pass through the water on to the surface
of the sand, and obstruct the filtering action. The superintending inspectors,
appointed by the Hoard of Health, say on this point, " From all the experience
on this subject that has comc to our knowledge, we have reason to believe that
there would be no possible danger of this, if the ordinary depth of water is kept
on the filter beds, while it would certainly be more satisfactory that the means
of supplying unfiltered water to the district should be removed."
During the past six months, solid impurities (in one instance I saw a small
fish) have been sent out by the New ltiver Company with their water, which
could not have passed through the filter; but it is perhaps too soon to judge of
the efficiency of the new arrangements; and besides the Company acknowledge
that hitherto they have been obliged to supply some unfiltered water. The
daily quantity of water supplied by this Company in this and other districts is
25 million gallons, whilst the number of tenements supplied is 95,083. This is
at the rate of 262 gallons per house, but this includes the water used for public
purposes, and the amount wasted, which are probably not less than one-third of
the whole, leaving about 174 gallons per house, or about 18 gallons per person.
HAMPSTEAD WATER COMPANY.
The sources of supply used by this Company are springs at Hampstead and
Ken Wood, and an artesian well at Hampstead. A new boring at Kentish-town,
which has been continued to a depth of 1302 feet from the surface, after passing
through the chalk, instead of reaching a water-bearing stratum, has pierced a
layer which has much puzzled geologists, and is supposed to belong to the
new red sandstone series. Since 1850, two filter beds have been constructed by
this Company; they consist of pebbles, shingle, gravel, and sand, and are 3| feet
deep.
WEST MIDDLESEX COMPANY.
Since July 1855 the water has been taken from the Thames at Hampton. It
flows directly from the river to the engine well, passing through wire screens
and sheet piling into a pipe 4 feet wide. It is then pumped to Barnes, where
there are two subsiding reservoirs, large enough to contain six days' supply.
Three filter beds, covering an area of an acre and-a-half, have been recently constructed;
the filtering medium is 4½ feet deep, and consists of Thames sand,
hoggin, and gravel. The quantity of water sent out daily is 6,895,368 gallons;
the number of tenements supplied is 25,732. This gives about the same
amount per house as that supplied by the New River Company.
The arrangements of the works are open to an objection similar to the one
made to those of the New River, namely, that a direct connexion is maintained
between the subsiding reservoirs and the main, so that it is possible to send
out water which has not been filtered. The alleged reason is that the Company
may be prepared for any accident to the filter beds ; but as these are arranged
in three distinct divisions the precautions would seem to be wholly unnecessary.
The importance of taking away from the Water Companies the opportunity of
sending out impure water is exemplified by a recent analysis of the water supplied
by the Southwark Company in September last, made by Dr. R. D. Thomson, when
the water was found to contain grains per gallon of impurity, and of this 5 6
grains were organic matter. This is as impure a water as that which was supplied
to the inhabitants of London, when it was taken from the Thames at Vauxhall.
During the previous month of August, and in the subsequent month of October,
it exhibited only 17½ grains of impurity, shewing that the great impurity just