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76
Certificates as to Water Supply.
The number of certificates issued during the year was 45, as
compared with 22 in 1911.
Drainage Work.
The by-laws of the London County Council that require that plans
and written particulars of drainage construction and alteration shall be
deposited with the Sanitary Authority came into operation in August,
1903, and from that date till the end of 1912 the Council have approved
of 500 plans for the drainage of new buildings, and 6099 plans for
alterations, &c., to drains of existing premises.
During the year 1912, 862 notices of drainage reconstruction or
alteration were received, and in 774 cases the work necessitated the
deposit of plans and written particulars. In 418 of these latter cases
the work could not be delayed until the Council's approval of the plans
had been received; in each of these cases the prescribed "urgency"
notice was therefore submitted by the builders, the work put in hand
forthwith and the plans, etc., deposited at a later date.
Of 774 notices of drainage alterations, etc., requiring the deposit
of plans, 397 related to work that involved the entire reconstruction of
the drainage system. In 426 cases the work was carried out voluntarily,
the number of instances in which voluntary complete reconstruction
was carried out being 129. This class of work was chiefly in connection
with the larger houses in the Borough, and in many cases the voluntary
drainage reconstructions were of a very extensive character.
In the 272 cases the drains were laid in the iron pipes, iron
being found the most durable material. It is the practice of the
Council to insist on the use of iron pipes in the case of all drains that
run under a building. This requirement is enforced, if necessary, by
an order made under the Metropolis Management Acts.
There were two Appeals lodged with the County Council during the
year against Orders made by the Borough Council in regard to drainage
matters, in both of which the Appeal was dismissed as regards one
item of the Order and allowed in respect to the other.
On 71 occasions the power given to local authorities by Section 82
of the Metropolis Monagement Act, 1855, to examine drains has been