Minutes of evidence taken before the Select Committee on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis ; together with an appendix, containing sundry papers laid before them.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis.
Date:
[1821?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Minutes of evidence taken before the Select Committee on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis ; together with an appendix, containing sundry papers laid before them. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    Sabbati, 24° die Februarij, 1821. WILLIAM HENRY FREMANTLE, ESQUIRE, IN THE CHAIR. William Anderson, Esq. Called in; and Examined. William Anderson, HOW long have you been Engineer to the Grand Junction water company ?— -^*S'- Ever since the commencement of the works. ^ What power and capacity belong to the Grand Junction works for affording a (24 February.) supply of water to the metropolis?—The original part of the works was supplied from the Grand Junction canal. The question applies to the quantity of water ?—The quantity of water now supplied to the town is 36,000 hogsheads per day, 252,000 hogsheads per week, and 13,104,000 per year. This is upon the average ?—This is the whole quantity supplied to the district that we serve. At the present moment ?—At the present time. Has it been gradually increasing up to the present time ?—It has been much the same from 1819. What was the quantity in 1817 and 1818 ?—I have not got that quantity. Was it much under that ?—We did not supply the same number of houses as we have since supplied : that quantity is taken since the partition of the town. What is the average quantity you could give, or do give to each house supplied per day ?—Taking the number of houses according to the last account that I have, they amounted to 7,288 houses ; the exact quantity of houses at present, owing to the alteration in the new street, I cannot give, but I should apprehend about 7,200 would be nearly the quantity we now serve ; that would be an average upon those houses of 4 i hogsheads per day for each house. On an average of every house, including manufactories and every thing ?—Yes. Does it include brewhouses ?—Yes ; we have but one, I believe. Have you any average of the supply to private families in distinction from trade ?— It is impossible. This is the result of a calculation you have gone into for this very purpose, is it ? —Yes. What are the number of your services by the week and day ?—We serve five times a week, six times a week, and seven times ; but the greatest proportion is about six days a week that we serve our houses ; we serve a great proportion of every house six times a week. None less than five ?—Yes ; we do serve some four times. Are you speaking of high service or ordinary service ?■—Ordinary service only. Do the number of your services differ when families are in or out of town ?—We have never found any difference; and if you will allow me, I will explain something on that head. In taking the number, or greatest number of tenants out of town at one time they amounted to between three and four hundred tenants; or I should wish to say, taking the number when I thought the town was most empty, they amounted to between three and four hundred tenants : the proportionate part of those tenants will be, in taking the daily service at six times a week, that is, averaging between five and seven days a week, it is allowing about two hours per day for a thousand tenants j consequently, if a thousand tenants require two hours of our engine to supply them, the question will be, what will between three and four hundred require, which will be about forty minutes supply per day with our engines. Those absent are not wholly in one street, but they are in a number of between forty and fifty streets ; you will then see that it will be somewhat between about a minute saving upon each street. But this is not the whole of it; for as many of the streets have only two tenants out of it, and others ten and fifteen, the consequence will be, that in proportioning the saving of two tenants, that probably will be about twelve seconds upon that street. I think I need not go further than to say it is so unnecessaiy to expect a saving upon such a principle of waterworks, that we have never considered any alteration necessary as to the working of the engine. Do the engines work the same number of services each week in the year ?—Yes, they do. How