TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 771 



hands to her ears and fled, probably thinking she had seen Satan himself, but the 

 column soon became clear, the black colour having been caused by the peat carried 

 up with the water. 



Having traced the water from its source to the door of the consumer, we now 

 enter into another branch of the subject. Up to this point the water has been 

 entirely under the control of the company or local autliority by whom it is 

 provided, but from the moment it enters the consumer's communication pipe, or. 

 where the communication pipe is the property of the water supplier, from the 

 moment the water reaches the premises of the consumer, it comes under his control, 

 subject only to such regulations and surpervision as the Legislature has given the 

 water supplier power to make and to exercise. 



Wlien water was supplied on the now almost obsolete ' intermittent service,' 

 under which a town was divided into a number of districts into each of wliich in 

 succession the water was turned for only one or two hours a day, the water 

 suppliers paid but little attention to the fittings within the houses of the consumers, 

 because, however great the quantity of water wasted through defective fittings, 

 the waste could only last for the short time during whicli the water was turned 

 on in each district, and it ceased altogether during the night. 



About the year 1831 the system of 'constant service,' by which is meant a 

 supply of water available from the pipes of the water suppliers at any moment 

 throughout the day or night, was introduced into this country by the late 

 Mr. Thomas Hawksley, at Nottingham, and it soon became evident that if a con- 

 stant service was to bo maintained the fittings within the houses of the consumers 

 must be adapted to the new conditions and be placed under regulation and super- 

 vision. Suitable regulations were therefore formulated, and have since been im- 

 proved and modified to meet modern requirements. These regulations, which are 

 mainly directed to the use of proper pipes, taps and other fittings, and to service 

 cisterns so constructed as to prevent a continuous flow and consequent waste of 

 water, do not in any way limit the use of water by a consumer, who is at liberty to 

 take as much as he requires whether by day or by night, nor does their strict 

 enforcement inflict any hardship on the consumer, to whom good water fittino-s 

 kept in a proper state of repair are in the end more economical than cheaper and 

 inferior fittings requiring the frequent atteudai:ce of the plumber. 



About five years ago, I had occasion to obtain statistics relating to the con- 

 sumption of water in sixteen towns (including Southport) in England, containing 

 an aggregate population within the district supplied of rather over five millions 

 of people, and found that the average quantity of water consumed in those towns 

 for domestic purposes was 18| gallons per head per diem, showing what can be 

 effected by good management and a careful observance of proper regulations for the 

 prevention of waste without imposing any restriction on the quantity of water 

 legitimately used. The figures which I have quoted as water for domestic purposes 

 include the unmetered trade supplies and that comparatively small amount of 

 waste which cannot be prevented, but do not include the water supplied by meter 

 for trade purposes, the amount of which varies greatly in diflerent towns, but being 

 paid for by the consumer according to the quantity used may be disregarded when 

 comparing the management of waterworks undertakings. 



Some soft waters, more especially those derived from moorlands, have an 

 injurious action on lead pipes and lead-lined cisterns, and are liable to cause lead 

 poisoning in sensitive persons drinking the water, but this action is now commonly 

 prevented by bringing the water into contact with lime before distribution. 



In certain instances of public supplies, the hardness of the water is reduced by 

 one of the several softening processes now in use, but it more frequently happens 

 that the softening is effected by those consumers who require soft water for boiler 

 or other trade purposes. 



A few words with regard to the water supply of the town in which tbe 

 Meeting of the British Association is now being held may not be out of place, the 

 more especially when it is borne in mind that the rapid growth of its population 

 during the last half century could not have taken place but for the introduction 

 of a supply of good water. 



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