LONDON WATER

Evening Star, Issue 22308, 7 April 1936, Page 2

LONDON WATER

£54,000,000 INVESTED LATE KING'S INTEREST IN WORK During his tour of England, Aiderman G R. Skelton, of Hamilton, found much of interest in the measures taken to provide the people of London with an adequate cheap supply of water (reports the Newcastle ‘ Morning Herald ’). The late King George had been one of the keenest supporters of the action taken by the local government authority. “ When, in 1913,” said Alderman Skelton, “ the huge storage reservoir at Chingford was opened, it was appropriately named after the King. Its capacity is 3.000,000.000ga1, ami it was inaugurated by His Majesty. A second reservoir, with a capacity of 6,750,000,OOOgal, was named Queen Mary. The former was completed 21 years ago; the latter in 1925. The King was present at the inauguration ceremony, thus continuing the precedent established by King James 1., whose Royal solicitude and financial help upwards of 300 years ago, enabled the waters of the Lee Valley to be brought by theNew River from Hertford to London.” The Metropolitan Water Board .of London, Alderman Skelton explained, had come into existence in 1903. The object of the Act was to place in the hands of a single representative authority the control and management of the water supply of London, and some of the areas surrounding it which were at the time in the hands of eight independent water companies. The undertakings of the companies actually came under the control of the board in 1904. CONSTITUTION OF BOARD. “ The Water Board,” said Aiderman Skelton, “ is constituted on the principle of indirect election, and consists of 66 members, who are the nominees of the Ibcal authorities in the board’s supply area. The area of supply covers 570 square miles, and ex-

tends from near Hertford in the north to Westerham in the south, and from Barking in the east to Staines in the West. The. population served by the board is •7,250,000, who require 1,350,000 independent services to .afford an average rate per head per day of 40gal. The early days of the board were taken up by arbitration proceedings for the settlement of the terms of acquisition, efforts to co-ordinate and unify procedure, and the completion of capital works which the companies had in hand to the value of £2,000,000. Of course, it became necessary _ to make a general survey of the position with a view to the future. This survey reached its climax in 1910, when the late King came to the throne. The board in that year applied to Parliament for powers to proceed with extensive new works. This scheme made provision for tho future supply of the metropolis by mea/is of the construction of reservoirs in the valley of the River Thames by progressive stages. Now. 25 years later, the board is promoting a further scheme in extension of the same policy.” The Thames was the crux of the water problem of London, and for the year last reviewed provided C4.G per cent, of the supply from all sources, representing a daily average abstraction of 200,000,000ga1. In addition to the Thames, the board utilised the River Lee, which provided 17.7 per cent, of the total needs and wells in various districts, which gave a like result. “ The last 25 years,” said Alderman Skelton, ” have, so far ns the board is concerned, been years aof ceaseless activity, except during the period of the war, when important works were of necessity suspendd. On the cessation of hostilities these were immediately proceeded with. But for this delay the drought yeark of 1921, 1929, 1933, and 1934 would have caused the board less anxiety than was otherwise the case. As an example of the growing demand Upon the board, it is interesting to note that at tlie time the late King came to the throne the daily average supply was •224,000,000ga1. During the year of my visit to England this figure bad grown to the record average of 293,000,000ga1, This figure can best be appreciated when it is realised that it represents the contents of an imaginary canal 10ft wide and 3ft-deep from the heart of London to the Scottish border. Up to the year 1933 the supply of water had not exceeded 350,000,000 gallons in any one day; but this figure, 1 was informed by the London County Council authorities, was exceeded on no fewer than 10 occasions during the 1933 summer.” Waterworks could not be improvised ; and careful planning, following skilled advice, was tlie only reliable course that could be followed. “ Schemes framed on these principles,” said Alderman Skelton. “ hava. duritui Hia

period of the late King’s reign, involved a capital outlay of £11,000,000. Probably the outstanding features of recent "years are represented by the steps taken to ensure a delivery of a pure and adequate supply for all purposes. All river-derived water is chemically treated at some period before reaching the consumer. A great advance has been made by improved methods of filtration and by the provision of substantial additions to the storage.” Activities of recent years had taken the form of the provision of additional wells, remodelling of old stations, additions to trunk main, and snbstatnial additions to pumping stations. “ As to the future,” said Alderman Skelton, “ schemes of great importance are under consideration. These will involve an expenditure of £6,000,000. The capital invested in the undertaking is £54,187,000, while the estimate of expenditure on revenue account for the current year is £5,319,300. To raise this income the board levies a domestic water rate calculated on the net annual value of the premises supplied, together with a scale of charges for metred supplies, which hear favourable comparison with similar charges throughout the country.”