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4
Near the banks of this stream are many wells for the
drinking supply of the houses, mostly of the labouring
classes. The water in these wells may be affected by the
character of the water in the stream, for the soil being
mostly loose alluvial deposit there is opportunity for
free percolation. Now this stream receives the drainage of
Old Maiden and various villages, practically untreated.
Within the Borough there are three mills, each of them
damming back the water for about the height of 5 feet and
increasing this tendency to percolate through the loose soil
into the wells from which some of the inhabitants draw
their drinking water.
Passing to the other side of the Borough we find in
the Canbury district the remains of a stream called the
Latchmere brook. This is now covered over, but apparently
followed a course shown by a depression of tbe ground level
between Richmond Road and Elm Road. Here again there
are more wells for supplying drinking water. In this latter
district there has been a number of cases of Diphtheria,
and near the Hogg's Mill Stream were many cases of
the same disease.
The water from these wells when analysed shows
varying degrees of impurity. Two analyses are rarely alike,
but the average impurity is in most cases insufficient to
condemn and forcibly close the well. Yet, considering the
surroundings—the river close by, or the remains of the
brook; the natural flow of the land water from the
high ground past cesspools, farms, &c., towards the Thames;
it is not going too far to brand these well waters as
suspicious, and to recommend that a constant water supply
from the mains should be laid on. This water, though fairly
good, has not a very good reputation, and is excessively costly,
so that it is hardly a matter for surprise that many persons
prefer to go on running the risk. I caution householders to
boil their water, and be extra careful when they notice any
of the Sanitary Staff visiting their neighbours. 26 specimens
of well water were analysed during the year, of which, 9
were declared very suspicious and 8 bad.
The houses of Kingston are some of them very ancient,
and it would be a good thing if most of these very
old houses could be pulled down and rebuilt, as they
cannot be brought up to modern requirements. Other
houses that are not so very old have in many cases been
put all right, but in some other cases much requires
to be done. At the present moment there are several
houses standing empty, and have been standing empty