xl 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
great as in the Colne district, yet much more water was taken from 
that district for the supply of London than was taken by the Colne 
Yalley Water Company and from other deep wells in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Watford ; therefore they might expect that the water in the 
Lea district would be lowered more than the water here. There the 
Kew Liver Company was evidently taking more than could be 
spared, which was gradually lowering the water-level in the Chalk. 
Fifty years ago no one ever heard of deep wells running dry; 
now, with a considerably greater rainfall, the water level was 
getting low, and there seemed a probability, if the draw upon onr 
underground resources continued to increase, that we should be 
short of water ourselves. 
The Chairman said that this was becoming a serious matter, 
especially now that there was a chance of water being supplied to 
the great metropolis through the London County Council. Should 
it ever come about that a public body should have the control of 
the London water-supply, there would be an opportunity for local 
districts to express their opinion and object to more water being 
taken from them than at present. His own well at Hoddesdon 
was now pumped dry every day, and his neighbours’ wells were 
pretty nearly in the same position, in fact every well which was 
not exceptionally deep. They were unfortunately placed, inasmuch 
as, while they had Mr. Hopkinson giving them valuable data as to 
the rainfall, they had no actual data as to the water-level. Along 
the valley from Broxboume right up to the first spring between 
Ware and Hertford, the JSTew Liver .Company were sinking their 
deep wells. They were perfectly justified in what they were doing, 
but that was not the point, the water was being taken away and 
could not well be spared. 
Mr. D. Hill said that he was afraid that the same process was 
beginning at Watford. They did not now have such floods as 
formerly, and undoubtedly the river was lowering in power. A 
steam-engine was now employed at the Watford flonr-mill He 
was perfectly certain that with the breweries, the Watford Local 
Board, the Colne Yalley Water Company, and others drawing from 
the same source, they would at no distant day find that the same 
thing was happening here as in other parts of the county. 
Mr. Hopkinson, in reply, said that had it not been for Mr. Hill’s 
remark, they perhaps might have lost sight for a time of one thing 
which the water-works were doing, they were lowering the rivers. 
It was well known that the level of the water in our Chalk rivers, 
when flowing immediately on the Chalk without the intervention 
of any impervious bed, was the level of the underground water in 
the Chalk, therefore if the underground level be reduced, the level 
of the river will be reduced, and our Chalk rivers in course of time 
will cease to flow in dry seasons. Some years ago it was found 
that the volume of water in the Yer was decreasing. For the sake 
of the mills, several borings were made in the neighbourhood of 
Ledbourn, and from them a large amount of water was obtained. 
