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been deficient, landlords have preferred to erect large tanks or cisterns
instead of water-waste preventers There are, however, still a few remaining
courts, where the cisterns or butts are not sufficiently large, but even
these will probably be soon supplied either with water-waste preventers or
with larger receptacles The poorer parts of this district, which, a few
years ago, were very badly supplied with water (there being no less than
about 70 courts supplied on the intermittent system, by means of a standtap
only), are now probably better provided than any other district in
London There are still, however, two courts, in which water is supplied
by means of a stand-tap, viz , Farthing Alley and Bond's Buildings, but
as the houses consist of merely two rooms each, and are not let to more
than one family, the owners cannot be compelled to register them Unless,
therefore, the landlords of these two courts adopt, of their own free will,
the improved mode of supply, their tenants must put up with the inconvenience
they suffer, from want of an adequate supply of water, for the Board
has not sufficient power to compel the owners to erect water-waste preventers
The New River Company have, through their chief engineer, stated
that, "they have often intimated their desire to work with medical officers
for improvements in the water supply to the poor," and "they have
arranged in not a few cases for the constant service," and state that " they
are quite prepared on the single condition of effective provision being made
against waste, to add to the number of main supplies " They further add,
"that it is in this Company's interest (as it is manifestly the interest of all
Water Companies) to promote the adoption of any good kind of wastepreventing
apparatus " The East London Water Company have expressed
their desire in similar terms, to extend the system of constant supply It
is, therefore, manifest that if the poor in this district are not adequately
supplied with water direct from the main, the fault will not be with the
Companies, and the same remark will probably apply to all the other districts
of London
The inhabitants of those houses which are supplied with water stored
in butts in the back yards or in the cellars, when there are no back yards,
are, generally speaking, very badly off for water; for the butts, being common
to all the tenants in the house, are generally in a dirty condition, as it
is the duty of no one in particular to keep them clean and covered, consesequently,
the water becomes covered with dirt and soot, and is unfit for
drinking purposes When the butt is, from want of a back yard, placed in
the cellar, it is usually found to be in close proximity to the privy, the
emanations from which contaminate the water, and render it unwholesome
The water is further contaminated by each tenant dipping any sort of
utensil at hand into the butt, this being the only way of obtaining water,
as the butt is not provided with a tap