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calendar months next after the Company shall have given to the occupiei
of, or left at the premises in which such cistern is situate, a notice in
writing requiring such alteration to be made."
Sir Francis Bolton remarks that—
"The particular object of the above regulation is to prevent the waste of
water, but if the overflow pipe i3 brought outside the house, and the end left
exposed to the air, instead of being carried into the drain, as is often the case, it
will effect an object of far greater importance by getting rid of the poisonous
effluvia and gases from the drains, which would otherwise ascend through the
pipe, and not only be partly absorbed by the water in the cistern, but be partly
mixed with the air in the houses, thereby becoming a cause of fever and disease.''
The remedy, no doubt, is a "constant supply" (with abolition
of cisterns for storage of potable water), but as we shall have to
wait for this, I would again urge that means should be taken to
compel the Companies to exercise their powers, or that the Vestries
and District Boards should have co-ordinate authority with the
Companies to enforce the regulation. Meanwhile, the attention
of householders cannot be too frequently drawn to the necessity of
the abolition of waste-pipes, and of periodical cleansing of the
cisterns for storing potable water, which, moreover, should be
properly covered so as to exclude light and dirt, and so placed
that the water may be kept cool in summer without being in
danger of freezing in winter. The stop-valve should be fixed
outside the premises to prevent damage to the house in case of
pipes burst by frost or other causes. When constant supply is
given a screw-down draw-olF tap should be affixed to the rising
main, or service pipe, so that drinking and cooking water may be
drawn therefrom without the intervention of cisterns, which are
required for washing, flushing, baths, and similar purposes.
The quantity of water supplied daily, 238, 161, and 246
gallons per house, by the Grand Junction, West Middlesex, and
Chelsea Companies respectively, was superabundant, and indicates
waste, amounting as it did, in the three districts respectively, to
80.5, 20.6, and 31.5 gallons per head of the population. The
" intake " of the Chelsea Company is at West Molesey, and of
the other Companies at Hampton Court. The Grand Junction
supply is supplemented from gravel beds at Hampton, the