Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the parish of Edmonton / by William Ranger, Superintending Inspector.

  • Ranger, William, 1800-1863.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the parish of Edmonton / by William Ranger, Superintending Inspector. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/20 (page 12)
    for laboin- 204/., exclusive of cleaning out watercourses, whiclj is clone priiici])ally by the fanners; but the surveyors clean out the leak ditch at a cost of 8/. to lOZ. per annum. A primary condition necessary to iiisiue sound and economical roads is that of efficient drainage, as in all cases ^vhere the bub- soil of a road is charged with water, from whatever cause, it is found by workmen quite impracticable to keep material forming the crust of the road down in wet weather. The tenacity once dis- turbed displacement ensues, and this leads to a twofold evil, in- crease of wear and tear of the road itself, and a loss of power. It has been stated by persons engaged in agricultural improve- ments, by means of land drainage, that road-side ditches generally are of no service in carrying out the work; the sides of ditches become plastered and covered with vegetation, excluding the water from entering: the advantages derived from substituting tubular drains has been set forth in the Report of the Metropolitan Sani- tary Commission. In allusion to the use of ditches, Mr. Parkes and other experienced drainers attest the fact that a propei-ly covered drain of the same depth as the ditch will drain a greater breadth of land than the ditch can effect. REMEDIAL MEASURES. Water Supply.—Pursuant to the terras of the Public Health Act, the water supplied to towns must be pure and wholesome, free from animal, mineral, and vegetable matter; it must also be sufficient in quantity for all the purposes comprehended in the Public Health Act; allowing 25 gallons per head per diem. The quantity for each day's consumption of the inhabitants of Ed- monton is estimated at 225,700 gallons, and three sources present themselves from which this quantity could be abstracted—the iSew River, deep springs, and the River Lea; the quality of the river waters is very similar, averaging about^l7' of hardness, whilst that from the deep springs contains only 7F of hardness. The relative altitude of these sources entails a different arrange- ment for administering the supply. Those of the Lea and deep springs requiring engine power, whilst the New Rivei-, from Us passing over the higher ground, is, I believe, at a sufficient alti- tude to admit of a considerable portion of the district being supplied by gravitation. But before finally decidnig on the par- ticular source from which to abstract the future supplies, a minute examination of the district will be necessary. It has been proved upon actual experience, and exemplified before the Health of Towns Commission, that the cost ot tiltra- tion amounts from one-third to one-sixth ol a penny per thousand gallons, contingent on the expense of procunng sand and tlie Quantitv of sedimentary matter held in suspension. Itis'estiniated tliatthe expense for ensuring the purity of a