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Vestry inviting the Hoard to appoint five delegates to attend a
Conference, and that under the circumstances he had done so, and
as the result of a deputation to the President of the Local Government
Board, that Board had decided to institute a Public Inquiry.
The action of the Chairman was approved and the I delegates nominated
by him were constituted a Committer and empowered to
appear at the Inquiry and to give such evidence thereat as they
might consider expedient.
The Inquiry was held at the Hackney Town Hall on the 1st,
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th October, and the Inspector's Report was
summarized as follows:—
I. That the scarcity of water in the East London Water
Company's area during the summer of 1895 was due to the
following causes:—
(a.) "Exceptional waste, beyond the undue waste of
"ordinary years, of water owing (1) to non-repair
"of fractures in the consumers' pipes brought
"about during the unusually long and severe
"frost of the previous winter; and (a) to ex"cessive
garden watering during the drought
"in May and June."
(b.) "Decrease in the volume of the River Lee due
"to the unprecedented drought which occurred
"during the first six months of 1895."
(c.) "Means of storage possessed by the Last London
"Water Company inadequate to enable them to
"meet the combined waste and deficiency of
"water noted under headings (a) and (b)."
"We would also note under this heading that in our opinion
"the inconvenience experienced by consumers was much aggravated
by the want of proper means for domestic storage of
"water."
II. "That although the scarcity of water undoubtedly gave
"rise to considerable inconvenience and hardship there is no
"evidence to show that it had any appreciable deleterious
"influence upon the public health within the area of the Last
"London Water Company."