[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Teddington].

  • Teddington (London, England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Teddington]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/24 page 15
    15 water. The Grand Junction Water Company erected stand-pipes, but the number was quite insufficient, and as the frost continued matters became worse after the first week in February. On February 10th I addressed a letter to the Water Company, calling their immediate attention to the danger to health which might arise from the scarcity of water; nearly all the connections were frozen and the majority of houses were without any water. The staff attending the stand-pipes was quite inadequate. After a few days many of the stand-pipes became useless, the water being frozen in the mains. At the Council Meeting of February 11th, the Surveyor was instructed to supply water, using the water carts, 4 or 5 in number. The water was taken from hydrants, which in some roads were still unfrozen. In this deplorable condition the district was placed for over two months. After the thaw set in, the mains burst, and the whole system of water supply was disorganized. I have to congratulate the Council on the prompt measures they took, with out regard to expense, to alleviate the sufferings of the inhabitants. Even so, it was only procurable to furnish a very limited supply considering that the absolute wants of 11,000 people had to be met by means of cartage. When at last water was obtained, measures had to be taken to cleanse sewers and drains which were in a foul condition, in order to avoid any injury to health. Printed instructions for this purpose were circulated and disinfectants distributed. During the frost special attention was paid to the sanitary arrangements in the schools, where the drains were regularly flushed with water and disinfectants. The pitiable state to which this district was reduced, was entirely due to the shallow depth of the mains, which were in many roads only a foot or even less below the surface. I am glad to see
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