[Report 1900] / Medical Officer of Health, Wells City.

  • Wells (England). City Council.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1900] / Medical Officer of Health, Wells City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Area of District 720 Acres. Estimated Population 4,900. Geology. Occupation. Water Supply. CITY OF WELLS. URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY. MEDICAL OFFICER’S REPORT FOR 1900. To the Urban Sanitary Authority of the City of Wells. i 8th January, 1901. Gentlemen, I beg to present my Report for the last year of the Nineteenth Century. The Geology of the district shews that the lower parts are made up of Gravel and Red Marl, but that Lias and Limestone are chiefly met with at higher points. The occupation of the inhabitants, Trading and Agricultural, there are also Engineering Works, a Dairy Factory, and a Factory where Brushes and Chairs are manufactured. In my previous Annual Report I drew attention to the great inconvenience the Inhabitants were subjected to in having their supply of drinking water cut off so continuously, and for so long a period during the night, and urged on the Council the desirability of inducing the Water Company to provide an adequate and constant supply which they could so readily have done by simply construct¬ ing a Storage Reservoir, capacious enough to hold the immense quantity which is allowed to run to waste through the overflow during several months of each year, and which, if conserved, would, I feel sure, prove sufficient to compensate for the decreased flow which follows a spell of dry weather. During the past year there has been no change for the better, the water having been cut off continuously at night for months up to the end of Novem¬ ber. The day pressure has also been reduced considerably during the whole summer to such an extent in fact as to necessitate the Company’s Manager hav¬ ing to journey up to the sluice in New Street each time a service was held at the Cathedral, in order that he may turn on sufficient water to allow of the organ being played therein. Failing to induce the Water Company to improve their service the Town Council resolved to apply for an Act of Parliament, giving them powers to purchase the Company so as to be able to build a Storage Reservoir of capa¬ city sufficient to maintain constant service, and meet all necessary requirements. Having called in an Engineer, and received a report favourable to the scheme, and approximately estimated the cost, a Ratepayers’ meeting carried a resolu¬ tion in its favour. A Poll of the Owners and Ratepayers also resulted in a very large majority voting in favour of an application for Parliamentary powers being proceeded with ; there is therefore a probability of the supply being rendered adequate. The Water Company have also applied for an Act to enable them to raise funds for the purpose of increasing their supply, but the suggested mode of procedure, as shown on the plan, appears to me totally inadequate to overcome the difficulty. Instead of utilising the ample supply they have at their disposal, 60—1.1901—J.M.A.