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35
Mr. Frank Bolton, says—"Considering these facts,
"the frequent use of such phrases as 'living
"organisms' and 'moving organisms,' and such
"paragraphs as appear in the Registrar General's
"Reports cannot but cause needless alarm; and
he makes the following excellent suggestion—
"The diversity of opinion which exists as to the
"proper quality of water, points to the necessity
"of a 'standard of quality' being fixed by competent
"authority, defining the total solids which must
"not be exceeded in a given quantity of water, and
"by which standard the supply of Water Com"panies
may be regulated."
In the Report of October 1871, and again even as
late as January this year, Dr. Frankland unfavorably
reports, "during the whole of the month the
Thames has been in a state of flood, it has
overflowed its banks, washing manure from the
surface of cultivated fields, scouring out foul ponds
and ditches, and receiving the flushings of innumerable
sewers and drains. As a natural consequence,
the water has been, and still is, in a very
filthy condition. The muddy water stored on the
premises of the Southwark and Vauxhall Company
is obviously unfit for human consumption. Nothing
but the impossibility of obtaining a better supply
could reconcile a water drinker to imbibe such a
repulsive looking liquid."
Efficient storage and filtration have certainly
done much to purify the water before transmitting
it to the consumers, but in comparison with water
drawn from deep wells, or from the chalk strata,
the contrast is yet very unfavourable.