422 Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



generally prefers to think of his money going for pumping or 

 filtration rather than for clerical or office expenses. 



The proportion that these different items bear to one another is 

 of interest, and some actual cases are given in Table I., and shown 

 diagramatically on Figure No. i. 



To obtain the necessary revenue, Corporations have different 

 systems of charging their customers and different opinions as to who 

 the customers are. In some cases the consumer is the customer, 

 and is made to pay ; in some cases the owner of the property 

 supplied is charged. Payment, too, may be exacted : — 



(a) According to the quantity of water used. 



(b) According to the opportunities of using it. 



(c) According to the value of the premises where the supply is 

 taken, or 



(d) Any combination of those systems. 



Before discussing these different systems in detail, it is worth 

 while considering who use the water, who benefit by it, an(i who pay 

 for it. 



1. The greatest user is generally the Municipality, which draws 

 heavily for street water, sewer flushing, and fire extinguishing. In 

 Johannesburg, street watering takes 30 per cent, of the whole supply, 

 and in Pretoria 12 per cent, (see Table II. and Figure No. 2). The 

 beneficiaries in this case are : — 



(a) All inhabitants of the town, who live in more healthy 

 surroundings on account of the Municipality's action, and 



(b) All landlords, on account of the increased value and safety 

 of their property. This Municipal water is generally paid for by 

 a tax, which may be a general assessment rate, falling on the 

 landlords, or a public water rate, paid partly by tenant 

 and partly by landlord. In some cases a general charge is 

 not made, with the result that those who pay for water pay not only 

 for what they use, but for a share of what the Municipality uses. 



2. The next users to be considered are the townspeople, the 

 house occupiers, who use water for domestic purposes, garden water- 

 ing, etc. In this case the beneficiaries are the users. The payment 

 is made sometimes by user, sometimes by landlord. It is a common 

 practice to charge the user in good class property, which has a 

 valuation above a certain limit, but to charge the landlord in the 

 case of property of lower value. It is a convenience to the seller 

 to deal only with landlords. There are not so many bad debts, 

 there are fewer landlords than there are householders, and conse- 

 quently it is less trouble to collect the money, and the landlord may 

 be trusted to take his equivalent out of the tenant. 



3. Business people who require large quantities of water for 

 trade purposes. This includes all cases where the amount used on any 

 premises is greater than is required for ordinary domestic purposes. 

 These may be looked on as wholesale purchasers, in contrast to 



