ON THE TREATMENT AND UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE. 61 



improvement both difficult and expensive. The chief general importance of 

 the inquiry into the conditions of Cambridge is the proof thus obtained of 

 the pollution of weUs, and therefore of subsoil, by the agency of pervious 

 street- or house-sewers constructed in their vicinity ; and the Sub-Committee 

 desires to give expression to the conviction forced upon it in the course of 

 its inquiries, that all sewers properly so called (that is to say, drains into 

 which refuse from human habitations is admitted) ought to be constructed of 

 materials which are altogether impervious, and that a separate system of 

 pervious drains, similar to agricultural drains, should be constructed where 

 necessary to dry the subsoil. The Sub-Committee is of opinion that the 

 further construction of pervious sewers should be prohibited by Parliamen- 

 tary enactment. 



C. — Breton's Farm near Romford. 



The town of Eomford, in the county of Essex, is about twelve miles 

 east of London, and is situated on the so-caUed " Eiver " Eom, which is 

 now, however, only a brook. The Rom rises in the high grounds of 

 Hainault Forest and Havering-atte-Bower, and, after passing through the 

 town, flows into the River Thames to the east of Dagenham. 



The soil upon which the town rests is chiefly light loam, in places ap- 

 proaching brick-earth in character, and underlain by flint-gravel, which 

 yields water freely. 



The population is about 8000, but the refuse of only about 7000 is dis- 

 charged entirely into the sewers, although the whole population is within the 

 area provided with underground sewers. The refuse of the remainder is dis- 

 charged partly into cesspools, the contents of which are removed by farmers. 



The ordinary dry weather sewage discharge from all sources is 247,000 

 gallons daily. 



The number of houses within the district is about 1200, and the rateable 

 value is assessed at ^23,341, the present annual rate being £840. 



The workhouse, which is separated from the town by the railway, and 

 lies to the south; has from 300 to 400 inmates, the solid refuse from whom 

 is treated in privies with lime and ashes, the liquid passing to the sewers. 



The town is supplied with water by the South-Essex Water Company ; 

 but there are many weUs in it, and the great " Romford Brewery " is supplied 

 by its own wells. 



The surface-water is, for the most part, conveyed into the town sewers, 

 but a part of it is discharged into the River Rom by the old drains. 

 Through defective work, it is probable that a large amount of subsoil water 

 finds its way, at times, into the sewers, and in dry weather a converse leak- 

 age of sewage into the subsoil is also probable. The sewers having little 

 fall, are flushed by the Rom occasionally, but they are blocked at times by 

 the sewage-deposit in some particularly flat places, which are flushed and 

 cleansed by hand twice a year at a cost of £12 annually. There is a storm 

 overflow which discharges into the Rom. The sewers are ordinary egg- 

 shaped brick and glazed stoneware pipes. There are ventilators in the 

 streets and roads. 



The " sewer authority " is the Romford Local Board of Health, consti- 

 tuted under the Public-Health Act of 1848. 



The discharge of the sewage into the Rom immediately below the town 

 polluted it to such an extent, and it became so great a nuisance, that the 

 Court of Chancery granted an injunction restraining the further discharge of 

 the sewage in that manner. 



