244 The Future Waiersiqjphj of London. [A-jiril, 



change are manifold. In the first jilace there is the very important 

 question of expense ; and it needs no great consideration to perceive 

 the prohahihty that the farther vs^e go from home the more we shall 

 have to pay for the journey. Then, again, "\ve have to look at the 

 extent of the source of supjDly ; for in a work of such magnitude it 

 would he absurd to adopt a scheme which did not provide for a 

 very great extension with the increase of population. The supply 

 to be obtained from the Thames basin is practically unlimited, the 

 enormous surface more than atoning for the rainfall being less 

 than in mountainous districts. During the long drought of last 

 summer the supply of water to the metropolis never fell short for a 

 single day ; and the London companies have reason with them when 

 they point to the terrible scarcity that was experienced in many 

 parts of the island, and, amongst others, in Manchester, during the 

 prevalence of the dry weather. All the gathering grounds pro- 

 posed for London are petty in comparison with the enormous 

 basin of the Thames ; and to be secure from the possibility of a short 

 supply, reservoirs of vast size for the storage of storm-water would 

 have to be provided. And, finally, it has been urged with great 

 force that we are not justified, except in case of actual necessity, 

 in withdrawing from the Midland Counties the supply wliicli sooner 

 or later may become of extreme importance to them. 



Armed with arguments such as these come the proposals of 

 Mr. Bailey Denton and Mr. Telford Macneill. I cannot, of course, 

 follow the engineering details of these or any other of the schemes, 

 and, indeed, feel considerable diffidence m describing them at all. 

 In Mr. Denton's interesting letter it is suggested that, whereas it 

 is impossible to prevent the fouling of rivers by sewage, a line 

 ought to be fixed on each river above which its freedom from 

 sewage-contamination shall be jealously preserved. To ensure a 

 sufficient supply for London in the face of these precautions, 

 storage reservoirs for the collection of the surplus water of floods 

 must be provided, and an increase eficcted in the volume of the 

 rivers by means of an efficient system of drainage. Such a system 

 would, no doubt, supply us with sewage-fvee water; but it must 

 be remembered that a great portion of the water would still be 

 draiaage water, arising in great part from cidtivated land. It 

 is perhaps rather less unpleasant to drink the exuvicc of cattle, 

 sheep, and pigs, than that of human beings ; but it must be dis- 

 tinctly understood that that is the only improvement suggested. 



Mr. Telford Macneill proposes to draw the Than.es water from 

 the river at Teddington, and carry it back by an open canal to the 

 Bagshot sands, where it would be subjected to a process of natural 

 filtration, and would then be conducted by a covered conduit to 

 a service reservoir at Norwood. He calculates that, with the addition 

 of a certain quantity to be collected from the Guildford district, a 



