UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLY 461 
or geological distribution of waters of different ‘ hardness.’ And there are 
many cases of waters of abnormal composition which, if recorded and 
investigated, might yield results of scientific or industrial value. 
Organisation of Research —What should be the aim in organising research 
in our underground water supplies, in collecting existing data, correlating 
them, and making them available for the scientific inquirer, and for 
engineers and others with a view to their maximum public utility ? 
The Ministry of Health, in association with engineering institutions, 
are at the present time alive to the necessity of some action. Regional 
Advisory Committees have already been formed in some parts of the 
country to collect information as to water resources and requirements in 
their respective areas. But these committees are devoid of statutory 
authority, they are not financed, and for the time being they can do little 
more than to explore the ground to be dealt with later. Moreover, they are 
dealing almost exclusively with surface supplies. 
Perhaps the ideal plan would be for a central or Government Department 
of Hydrology, including hydro-geology, to undertake, apart from administra- 
tive duties, some of the research work I have outlined here. The Depart- 
ment of Scientific and Industrial Research at once suggests itself in this 
connection. Others may think that the Geological Survey is the appro- 
priate body. In the United States the Geological Survey has always 
included water supply and irrigation as an important part of its functions, 
and its water supply publications have been of great service to engineers, 
agriculturists and geologists, not only in the United States, but all over the 
world. But if the Geological Survey of Great Britain undertook this work 
it would mean a considerable reorganisation and addition to the staff, and 
a largely increased grant from Government. For many years past the 
Geological Survey has published county Water Supply Memoirs—some 
twenty-six up to the present time—which have proved of great service to 
engineers, public authorities and others. We owe a debt of gratitude to 
the late Mr. Whitaker for his enthusiasm and industry in compiling many 
of these memoirs. 
At the same time it must be admitted that the material in these publica- 
tions, with some notable exceptions, is mainly a compilation of existing 
records from many sources, some of them ancient and unchecked, and 
necessarily incomplete. The Geological Survey has also in its possession 
many thousands of records of wells and borings, many of which can be 
consulted by those interested in water questions. 
Again, a mass of hydrological data has been collected by the Ministry of 
Health, partly with a view to some possible future scheme of co- -ordinating 
or grouping water authorities into water boards. This material is only 
available for official purposes, and in any case it would require, I imagine, 
much sifting and interpreting before it could be made available for further 
scientific inquiry or public use. Nor, so far as I know, does it include the 
kind of observation, recording and research on underground water to which 
I have referred. 
The question I want now to put before you is this: What can we do, 
_ what can this Section of the Association do, to stimulate investigation along 
some of the lines I have indicated ? Can we encourage individuals or groups, 
with the requisite geological knowledge and enthusiasm, to collect and record 
existing data relating to underground water supply, and where possible to 
extend these data, and to interpret and publish the results ? Is this the time 
to form a Committee with objects ancillary to, but distinct from, those of the 
recently formed Committee on Inland Water Survey ? 
The idea is not altogether novel, for Committees of the British Association, 
