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6. The first necessity is to compensate for the
impoverished freshet in seasons when the emergency
is felt.
7. The means of doing this are: A. To economise
by storing-up in reservoirs, or by a system of locks
above Battersea Bridge, the fresh water in times of
abundance, to be used for flushing the river at low
water. B. To increase the flushing or scouring power
of the freshet, by regulating the sectional area, and the
incline of the banks of the river in its London course.
These means, ably proved by Mr. Freebody, I believe
will be generally felt, and must ultimately be carried
out.
8. It has occurred to me, that the ornamental,
but not always sweet, waters of Hyde Park, St. James'
the Regent's and Victoria Parks, might be turned to
account in seasons of emergency, such as we have just
gone through, by forming connections between their
basins and the sewers, so as to flush these last and add
to the volume of fresh water in the river. This plan
would have great advantage over the liming process
now resorted to, apparently as a placebo, of removing
instead of creating deposits. The basins in the
Parks might usefully constitute a part of the permanent
system of reservoirs contemplated in the preceding
paragraph. The basin in the Regent's Park is, I believe,
self-supplying. The others might be filled from the