Dr. F. St. George Mivart's report to the Local Government Board on the sanitary circumstances and administration of the borough of Christchurch, South Hants / [F. St. George Mivart].

  • Mivart, F. St. George.
Date:
1898 [sic]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. F. St. George Mivart's report to the Local Government Board on the sanitary circumstances and administration of the borough of Christchurch, South Hants / [F. St. George Mivart]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ,r) As some decided action in regard to these sources of water supply—public and private—cannot long be delayed, I considered that it behoved me to ascer¬ tain broadly the circumstances of the only alternative supply at present afforded, viz., that obtainable from the mains of the West Hants AVater Company. Accordingly, I visited the waterworks at Knapp Mill, on the bank of the river Avon, about half a mile from the Town Hall, in company of Mr. Alderman Bemister, the Chairman, and Mr. Sambrooke Newlyn, the Secretary and Manager of the Company, the Medical Officer ol Health, and the Surveyor.* The West Hampshire Waterworks Company was incorporated by a special Act of Parliament, cited as the “AVest Hampshire Water Act,” in August, 1893. The limits of this Act for the supply of water were determined as the township and borough of Christchurch, the parish *of Christchurch, and the parishes of Sopley, Ringwood, Milton, Holdenhurst, Brockenhurst, and Lynd- hurst, in the county of Southampton. The Company originally spent £1,400 in sinking a cast-iron cylinder well to a depth of 32 ft. 6 in., with two bores at the bottom running to a depth of 144 feet; but the water yielded was uncertain in quality and deficient in quantity, as is frequently found to be the case with wells in the “ Bracklesham beds,” and is now only used for condensing purposes. The river Avon, from which the supply is now wholly derived, rises in Wiltshire, in the neighbourhood of Devizes. I do not propose here to deal with pollutions which enter it in the earlier part of its course. On its banks, in the vicinity of Christchurch, are a number of considerable aggregations of popula¬ tion, most of which, as I understand, get rid of their sewage by discharging it more or less directly to the river a few miles above the intake. My inspection of the river did not extend beyond that portion of it in the immediate neigh¬ bourhood of the Borough, and hereabouts I noticed that pollution is possible by reason of pig-keeping upon a large scale carried on close to the river about a quarter of a mile above the intake, and from the keeping of animals and poultry by the tenant of the mill at the site of the waterworks. It is also to be noted that on the Ordnance Survey map (dated June 1872) the highest point indicated as being reached by the tide is at least one-eighth of a mile above the present intake of the AVater Company. But the correctness of this was denied, and it appears that there is evidence to support the denial. Moreover, it is contended that in the event of the tide affecting this part of the river, the result would only be to “ head back ” the fresh water, and that there would be no perceptible saltness. As it is admitted by the governing body of the AVater Company that the river Avon is freely polluted by drainage above the intake, it is evident that everything depends upon the sufficient and efficient filtration of the water before its delivery to consumers. It would undoubtedly be desirable that further examination of a minute kind should be made as to pollutions of the Avon. In the Appendix [Appendices III. and IV.]. will be found copy of analysis of this water as delivered to consumers, of analysis of the river water taken near the intake at flood time, and also ol analysis of water taken when the river was low. I am informed by Mr. Newlyn that the Water Company’s mains are laid down every street in Christchurch, with the exception of Beaconsfield Road (36 houses) and a small street called Avon Buildings. Sewerage.—There is no regular system of sewerage in Christchurch, but I am informed that there are in the district approximately about 4,100 yards of pipe sewer, of very various lengths. I was not able to ascertain the several dates at which these sewers were laid, but it is believed that, except the Stour Road sewer, which was laid in 1893, all were constructed antecedent to 1886. The outfall of this sewer into the river Stour was one of the points named at General Crozier’s inquiry in 1894, already referred to. I am informed that the pipes are of earthenware, the main sewers being 1 2 in. and the branch pipes 9 in. in diameter. The ventilation of these sewers appears to be inadequate. Road ventilators are placed here and there, as convenient, but the principal means used are ventilating pipes taken up the sides of houses or rising from the kerb line. * Note.—A description of the method of filtration, storage, &c., will be found in Appendix III.