130 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 



The bacteria of disease must of course be absent from a 

 good drinking water, and the water should contain few 

 bacteria of any kind. It is absolutely impossible however to 

 serve out water that is sterile or free of bacteria, but when 

 quite fresh from the spring, well or filter a good and safe 

 drinking water must not contain more than lOO bacteria 

 per cubic centimetre. The French and German water 

 analysts have fixed upon this as a safe maximum number, 

 and have proved it by experience of some length. A 

 good drinking water in short should not be hard, should 

 not contain organic material or nitrate which is its 

 resultant in such quantity as to suggest pollution by 

 dangerous filth, and should when fresh contain no more 

 than 100 bacteria per cubic centimetre. 



Water Supplied to Towns 



The origin of the water of public supplies to towns is 

 various and depends chiefly upon the character of local 

 resources. In some neighbourhoods springs are plentiful 

 in number and sufficiently copious in yield to afford a 

 supply. Failing natural springs recourse is sometimes 

 had to sinking deep wells, or making artesian borings 

 from the bottom of shallower wells through impervious 

 rocks to the water bearing strata below. Larger natural 

 stores of pure water as in certain lakes have been re- 

 quisitioned for water supplies, the supplies to Glasgow 

 and Manchester being of this kind, whilst Liverpool 

 by throwing a dam across the Vyrnwy Valley has created 

 such a lake for its own use and Birmingham is following 

 the example. About 25 years ago a Parliamentary Com- 

 mission sat to enquire into the Pollution of Rivers and 

 in one of the reports issued by it is contained a classifi- 

 cation of waters according to their supposed wholesome- 

 ness. This has been very frequently quoted and copied 



