[Report 1914] / Medical Officer of Health, Coleford U.D.C.
- Coleford (England). Urban District Council.
- Date:
- 1914
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1914] / Medical Officer of Health, Coleford U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Colcford itself is supplied at ])reseiit from a stream which, issuing from the coal measures, is passed through a sand bed, and is then collected in a receiver. From tins it is passed by gravity to the lower levels of the Town. The head of the stream is so low that nowhere ip Coleford itself does the w^ater rise appreciably above the ground floor of any of the houses. Besides this, during dry seasons the supply is quite inadequate for the needs of the inhabitants. The augmentation of the water supply’ to Coleford is therefore a very serious question. Sufficient w^ater has been found at the Mill Pond pit, from which the Council has been endeavouring to secure a further supply. Unfortunately, the two analyses taken are very discouraging, the water being condemned as unfit for drinking purposes, on both occasions. It is true that when the first sample was taken the pit had only partially been steened and cleaned out, but, unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the last occasion, when the pit had been cleaned out to a distance of 50 yards, far below where the stream comes in. It was resolved, how-ever, by the Council, to wTite to the Local Government Board for a further extension of time, so as to determine if the solids and other deleterious constituents would clear off. I fear, hov-ever, that this result wdll not ensue because the deposit in the pit occurred many years ago, and ever since that time the stream has been washing this deposit. It therefore appears most probable that the deleterious matters are in the stream itself. To attempt to make use of this w’ater wdien other and purer sources can be obtained does not therefore seem to be advisable. The inhabitants of the outlying portions of the District are dependent upon rain water reservoirs, springs and wells for their w’ater supply. During a dry summer these sources are soon exhausted, and the need of a sufficient supph^ more independent of the immediate rainfall is keenly felt. During the year no new w^ells have been sunk, but the stand pipe which supplies the lower part of Whitecliff has been rej)aired. '^Idiere are 229 reservoirs in the District, and 106 wells, both public and private. Many of the wells supply quite a large number of the houses in their vicinity. The supply of water for the Scowles is drawn from water which collects in the bays of an old mine cutting, and some of the inhabitants have to carry water for quite considerable distances. Berry Hill is supplied by a well in the vicinity^; this well being a long distance from many of the houses. I^ane End and Milkwall are dependent upon their own wells and reservoirs. Five samples of water have been taken for analysis. A loan of £200 was granted by the Local Government Board for the purpose of testing the sui3ply at the Mill Pond pit.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29119601_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
