The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-11-10
THE WATER SUPPLY or LONDON
LONDON. Oct. 2s-Eigbt independent con

panies supply the metropolis with water. viz.
the East London, New River, West Middlcsex
Grand Junction. Chelsea Southwark. and Naux-
hall. Lambeth. and the Kent Company. The
first five supply only that part Of London to the
north of the Thames; the last three supply
South London. Each has n certain district.
and there Is no competition. The East London
Company takes its water mainly from the River
Lea at n point about ten miles to the north of
London. and partly from the Thames. seven
teen miles above London Bridge. The New
River Company draws mainly from springs in
IIcrtfordshire. twenty -one miles from London.
and partly from the Lea. The Kent Company
takes its whole supply from wcllsfrom 100 to
42O feet dccp-sunk into tho chalk strata. All
the other companies draw entirely upon the
Thames. above Hampton Court. seventeen
miles from London Bridge. Their intakes are
all above the tidal lmit-previous to 1852 they
were not.
Ancient London nboundcd in wells, and the
people long cherished the dclusion that their
we'll water was above rcproach. Microscopic
analysis proved these sources to be the most
mischicvous Of ali. and they are now mostly in
disusc few Of the deepest were found to be
comparatively pure. hut the water Of all was
moro or less contaminated with organic i'm
purtics. II was thought that the old Aldgate
though 1t still does duty. the people are begin
ming to lose faith in H. and its woll-worked han
die will doubtlcss.some morning be found with
an omlnous paddock upon II. In numerous
cases. whero contagious fevcrs have ravaged
whole ncghborhoods. the old. trusted pump.
from which the people had largely drawn their
water. was found To bc ut tho bottom of the
whole trouble
The NV River is tho oldcstand one of the most
reputable OF the water companies. In 1909 an
net Of Parliament gave Sir Hugh MIDDLETON
charge of plan for bringing water to London,
from near Ware. in Hcrtfordshirc. The city
Government declined to give any assistance.
and sir Hugh had no end OF dnicuties-chicny
ilnancial-to encounter. James l., however,
proved a friend in need. and took half interest
in the enterprise. 1t was completed in 1913.
and had then cost t2.5Oo.OOO equivalent to a
much greater sum in our present money!. NJ
dividends were paid for more than ten years
thereafter. When additional funds were need
ed Sir Hugh applied 10 Charles l., but without
success. The King. however transferred TO
him the half interest of his prcdeces-
sor. receiving in lieu OF it an annual rental
Of $4,000, which is stll paid into the
EXrhequer. This half interest was then divided
into thiry-six shares. and the sale OF these fur
nished the much needed funds The stream is
appropriately called New River" since il is
wholly nm artificial water course. !, flows ni the
rate Of two miles an hour. Is eighteen feet wide
and four feet deep. and has a fall Of three inches
90 the milo. For some distance above London
the channel is entirely covered For moro than
100 years the New River was the only satisfac-
tory supply, IT. stock is by no means a drug in
the market now; single shares have realized as
much IA s1OuOo. and the annual net profit il
not less than s275.ooO. The entire outlay Of this
company upon their works from the beginning
has been about 81 500 900 AT Stoke Ncwngton
they have two reservoirs. covering thrty-eght
acres and here the water is allowed 10 stand
few days to settle.
In the early part ~ this century. when other
water companies had entered the field. there
was for many years II fierce competition. and
they did their best TO throttle each other. In
1928 the war waxed hot. AMI In some cases the
pipes of as many as three different companies
were laid in single street After a time they
seem To have concluded that competition. un-
der the general law of supply and demand.
woull not work; 50 they smoked the pipe of
peace. agreed TO divide the ground. each
thcnreforth supplying only certain district.
and they mutually vowed no longer to compete.
but to combine instead Immediately water
rates went up % per cent. Monopoly seems to
have brought peace and high prices.
Non" OF ihe companies supply their cntre
districts on the constant" system. though
there Is a provision by which the people OF any
locality may demand such supply. In nearly
all instances II j. turned on for a certain time.
and then shut of. 1t seems strange that Lon
don should Ice content Ia receive its water sup
PLY through private corporations. and has not
a supply at high pressure, as in the Holly"
system. for use in oascs Of fire. The whole in
vested capital Of the eight companies is about
sjO,0o0.OoO. and all pay good dividends. The
supply allows about thirty gallons per diem to
each person.
The quality Of the water il bad. though II is
infinitely better than in former years. Upto
| 1888 South London received its entire supply
from the river at London Bridge. Tho Thames
was then little better than a common sewer.
and the amount OF filth drank must have been
| enormous. Until ls2s all water taken from the
| Thames was delivered entirely without Ultra
| ton. From time to time the reservoirs wore
moved further up the river. but all the while
keeping within the tldal limit When thetie
was NJ the fllth OF the city WAS carried past the