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27
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA
WATER SUPPLY
Except for eight houses in Goat Road, supplied by the
Sutton Water Company, the whole of Mitcham is supplied by
the Metropolitan Water Board.
Four houses in the Borough have no separate water supply,
and share a stand pipe situated at the rear of the houses. There
are in addition ten licensed caravan yards, each containing a
stand pipe and supplying a total of 26 caravans.
The water has been of a consistently high standard of purity
and no case of infectious disease has been transmitted by water.
A large number of the houses in the Borough have no supply
of drinking water direct from the main, but are supplied from a
tank in the roof. Provided this tank is properly covered and is
cleansed regularly, it provides a satisfactory supply, but frequently
the covers are left off and the tanks become contaminated
with dead birds, mice, etc., drowned whilst obtaining water. All
the more modern houses are, however, supplied with one tap for
drinking purposes direct from the main supply.
RIVERS AND STREAMS
Ten visits have been paid to all works suspected of discharging
effluent into surface water sewers.
CLOSET ACCOMMODATION
With very few exceptions the whole of the district is on the
water carriage system, the houses being drained to the public
sewer. At the end of the year there were three pail closets and
one cesspool in use.
PUBLIC CLEANSING
A fortnightly collection of house refuse is carried out by
direct labour. Four dust collection vehicles are in use.
A fortnightly collection of salvage is also made, two vehicles
being used for this purpose.