London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Croydon 1919

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]

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11
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DISTRICT.
Water.
The Corporation is the water authority for the whole borough.
The supply is mainly derived from deep wells in the chalk, but the
north-eastern part of the borough is supplied with water from the
Metropolitan Water Board by agreement made with the latter
bodv—this section of the water supply is intermittent in character.
The following is a description of the water works:—
LOW LEVEL.
Surrey Street Wells.—The chief pumping station is in the Wandle Valley,
close to Surrey Street, where there are four wells varying in size and in depth
to 50-ft. below which they are all bored. When pumping is going on the
level of the water in the wells is about 27-ft. below the surface of the ground,
and when it ceases it rises to within 14-ft. The lift to the reservoir averages
160-ft.
The first pair of pumping engines were set to work in December, 1851;
they are now removed, the town having outgrown their size. The next pumping
engine set to work was the 60-in. Cornish engine of 110-h.p., capable of
lifting 134,000 gallons per hour into the low level reservoir, Park Hill. This
was erected in 1867.
In 1876 the compound horizontal engine, of 150-h.p., was fixed, which is
capable of lifting 178,000 gallons per hour into the same reservoir. Pumping
is usually going on continuously, including Sunday, and the quantity raised
averages 100,000 gallons per hour.
Waddon Well.—Pumping to supplement Surrey Street Wells commenced
on July 21st, 1899, with temporary plant from boreholes. In 1911, permanent
buildings were erected, and pumping plant brought into operation. The well
is 8-ft. in diameter, sunk to a depth of 60-ft. and lined with cast iron
cylinders, beyond which, to a total depth of 190-ft., it is 6-ft. 6-in. in diameter.
The machinery- consists of three Cornish boilers and a cross compound condensing
pumping engine capable of lifting 130,000 gallons per hour.
Reservoir.—The low level reservoir, situated at Park Hill is a brick
domed one, capable of containing 950,000 gallons. The overflow level is
293-ft. above set level.
HIGH LEVEL.
Addington Well.—The well is 10-ft. in diameter and 205-ft. deep, all in
chalk. The well is not bored, but headings or tunnels 6-ft. high and 4½-ft.
wide have been made chiefly about 150-ft. from the top. The total length of
these is 813 yards, and they will hold with the lower part of the well about
502,000 gallons. Several important water-bearing fissures were cut through
in the east headings, the first one yielding 600,000 gallons a day. The maximum
yield is about two million gallons per day, and the minimum one million.
Pumping to reservoir commenced in August, 1883.
The pumping machinery consists of two engines each 125-h.p., of the
"Woolfe" type, 5 steel boilers, double-acting well and lift pumps of the
bucket and plunger pattern. Each engine is capable of lifting 77,760 gallons
per hour 250-ft. high., through a 21-in. pipe into the covered reservoir on
Addington Hills.
In May, 1910, Filters were brought into use for treating the whole of the
Addington supply. The three filters have a total area of 4270 square yards.
The water passes through two feet of fine sand and one foot of small gravel.