View report page

32
Water Supply.— The water supply of the Borough is under the
control of the Metropolitan Water Board. All the dwelling houses
in the Borough are supplied from the Board's mains direct to the
houses. No report of any form of contamination of the water
supply was received during the year.
There are 15 premises in the Borough at which 22 wells have
been bored. All but two of these are deep bore wells, four of
which are no longer in use. Of the remaining 18 wells at 13
premises only three provide water which is used for drinking
purposes.
Rats and Mice.— The infestation of premises by rats and mice
has continued to receive close attention. No major infestation of
premises was reported or found during the year, but the number
of complaints of rat infestation has remained at a rather high level
—833 complaints as compared with 803 in the previous year.
The Department has continued to give every possible assistance
to owners and occupiers of rat-infested premises by tracing the
source from which rats have found their way into dwellings, usually
from defective or unsealed drains and sanitary fittings, by advising
on baiting and trapping methods, by keeping supplies of poison
and traps in the Department for sale to the public and by the
service of notices under the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919,
when rat-proofing measures are necessary to prevent reinfestation
of premises.
In cases where it was necessary for the occupiers to have
assistance in ridding their houses of rats, for instance in factories
or food premises, the occupiers were referred to a firm of rat-catchers
with whom the Council has for many years had an arrangement.
The following is a summary of the measures taken during the
year to deal with rat infestation:—
(а) Number of premises from which complaints
of rat infestation were received 833
(б) Total number of premises in whidh evidence
of rats was found and appropriate action
taken 918
(c) Number of poison baits laid by the Public
Health Dept 5,822
(d) Number of premises at whidh other methods
were adopted 25
(e) Number of premises cleared of rats 864