23 



2nd November^ 1893. 



Professor FitzGerald, B.A., M.I.C.E., President, in the 

 Chair. 



Mr. L, L. Macassey, B.L., C.E., gave a Lecture on 

 THE MOURNE WATER SCHEME. 



The Lecturer, in opening, said he only intended to give a 

 brief description of the salient points of the scheme sanctioned 

 by Parliament during the last summer. Having regard to the 

 season of drought through which they had just passed, it would, 

 he thought, be deemed a wise and proper measure on the part 

 of the Commissioners to augment their supply. The popula- 

 tion of Belfast was about 280,000, of which 260,000 were 

 within the borough proper. The quantity of water consumed 

 by them was 36 gallons per head per day, which, though it 

 looked liberal, was not an extravagant supply considering that 

 it covered both domestic and manufacturing wants. In Dublin 

 the consumption was 40 gallons per day per individual, while 

 in Glasgow it was something like 50 gallons. The Commis- 

 sioners found the population and requirements of the city 

 increasing, and determined to secure a supply of water which 

 would enable them to meet any contingencies for some years to 

 come. Every district capable of affording a good supply in the 

 counties of Antrim and Down had been carefully examined, 

 and it was only after a very painstaking comparison that the 

 Mourne scheme was adopted. By the Act of 1893 the Commis- 

 sioners took control over 9,000 acres of gathering ground in 

 the Mourne Mountain district, embracing the Kilkeel and 

 Annalong Rivers. The rainfall in this district was consider- 

 ably greater than that in Belfast owing to the greater elevation. 



