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18
SANITARY CHRONICLES, 1895.
As usual there has been great activity with regard to
drainage, some 85,500 feet of house drains have been laid
according to the Regulations of the Yestry. This is greater
than in any recent year, as the following brief statement
will show:—
Number of feet of drains. Year.
41,541 1891
35,612 1892
61,753 1893
85,099 1894
85,456 1895
The plans of all this drainage are deposited at the
Court House, and are open to the inspection of every
ratepayer. It is scarcely necessary to add that the supervision
of so large a number of individual drains as the
85,500 feet represent, has consumed much time. First of
all, before a drain is laid, the Inspector visits the premises,
plan in hand, and makes his Report as to whether the plan
should be sanctioned. Next, during the progress of the
work, in order to ascertain that the Regulations are complied
with, the premises must be visited several times, and lastly
before the new work is covered in and hid, the whole has
to be tested by the water test.
It is satisfactory to again note how few prosecutions
have been necessary to enforce obedience to demands made
for sanitary improvement. In the whole year only 11
summonses have been necessary, as compared with 21
summonses in 1894.
There have been during the year, 17 applications for
permission to construct combined drainage. A combined
drain, in default of the order of the Yestry or evidence that
in former years such combination of drains have been made
with the sanction of the old Metropolitan Board of Works,
or of the present County Council, is in most cases (not all)
technically a sewer. It is, therefore, of considerable utility
to have a list of the combined drains in recent years, which
have been carried out under the order of the Yestry. The
following list are those on the minutes, others may be in
the archives of the London County Council.