View report page

(6)
mains, thus checking the quality of the water as actually supplied to the
consumer.
The supply to the whole district is of a high level of purity and is
considered adequate. All the 434 bacteriological and 15 chemical samples of
the water supplied to the district, and examined by the Company's staff, were
found to conform to standards of purity considered suitable for public supply.
Rainfall for the year was again low, at 24.36" , compared with 24.78" for
1961. The 1962 figure is 5.68% below the average for twenty-five years, of
25.83". No restrictions were imposed on the use of water.
In order to improve the supply to certain parts of the district, the Lee
Valley later Company commenced the construction of a new underground reservoir
at Arkley, having a planned capacity of 13,000,000 gallons.
During the year, the Council considered the question of the Fluoridation of
Water Supplies, and in October decided to join with the Finchley Borough Council
in representations to the Lee Valley Water Company and to the Ministries
concerned supporting the introduction of Fluoride to the Company's supplies.
It is interesting to note from the Annual Report of the Lee Valley Water
Company that some of the sources of supply on the Herts and Essex borders contain
a small proportion of natural fluoride.
DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE .
The town is drained and sewered on the separate system, excepting the older
portions of the district where it is a combined system. The sewage is
conveyed to a Sewage Disposal works of 56 acres, where it is screened, grit
removed in detritus tanks, thence to primary settlement tanks and thereafter
distributed over three 80 ft. diameter bacteria filters, followed by humus
removal in rectangular tanks before discharge to the Dollis Brook. Pumping
is necessary for three sewers which have their outlets at a low point on the
works. Part of the Totteridge area drains to the Finchley Borough sewers,
and part of Barnet By-Pass into Elstree Rural District Council's sewers; in
the outlying areas some properties are on cesspool drainage or domestic sewage
disposal plants, and a few only have pail closets.