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16
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA.
WATER.
Particulars of the sources of the water supplied by the Colne
Valley Water Company which serves practically the whole area
were contained in the Annual Report for 1937.
The Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water Company
obtain their water from ten wells of depths of 200 feet to 360 feet,
the water supplying this district coming from one of the pumping
stations at Ickenham, West Drayton and Mill End. Towards the
end of 1937 a chlorination plant was installed and since early in
1938 all the water supplied by this undertaking for public use is
first subjected to sterilisation by the chloramine process, in doses
of chlorine 0.15 and ammonia 0.3 parts per million.
Section 111 of the Public Health Act, 1936, lays it as a duty
on every Local Authority " to take, from time to time, such steps
as may be necessary for ascertaining the sufficiency and wholesomeness
of the water supplies within their district." On consideration
of a circular letter issued by the Ministry of Health relating to
the purity of public water supplies controlled by Local Authorities
and Statutory Water Companies, it was resolved "that the Medical
Officer of Health be instructed to obtain from the Colne Valley
Water Company and the Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley
Water Company, respectively, weekly analyses of the water supplied
by them, and periodically, himself, to take samples of the water
supplied for the purpose of comparison with the analyses submitted
by the Companies." The former Company have supplied, each
week, the result of an analysis undertaken at their laboratories of
samples collected at different premises within the district. It is,
however, the practice of the latter Company to carry out an analysis
only once monthly, but even of this no copies have been received.
Samples of the supply of both companies have been submitted
quarterly for examination, all of which have proved satisfactory.