JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. 



— ♦ 



Part II.— PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 



No. II.— 1880. 



VIII. — On the past and present Water supplies of Calcutta. — By 

 AiiEXASTDER pEDLEE, F. I. C, F. C. S., London and Berlin. 



At the present day it is I believe universally acknowledged, that every 

 town should be provided with a pure and sufficient supply of water for 

 drinking, domestic and sanitary purposes. If the quantity be not sufficient 

 or if the quality be not good, it may be safely asserted that injury, 

 more or less profound, to the general health of its inhabitants will be the 

 consequence. The very great importance which is attached to the quality 

 and quantity of the water supply of towns, is clear from the prominence 

 which this subject has attained throughout the civilized world during the 

 past few years. In the present paper, it will be my purpose to contrast 

 the nature of the water employed in Calcutta in former years (before 

 the introduction of the present hydrant water) with the supply as it has 

 been since the introduction of the Hooghly water, which is collected and 

 filtered at Pultah, and then distributed by the hydrants, etc. It will be 

 my endeavour to show that the old supi)ly was deficient in quantity, and 

 filthy and abominable in quality, whilst the present supplj^ though perhaps 

 not so abundant in quantity as it ought to be, is in quality very good and 

 wholesome. 



Before proceeding to the discussion of the question of the two supplies, 

 it will perhaps be well to consider what is the general history of natural 

 waters, as this will enable us to understand some of the actual results which 

 have been found by analysis. 

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