The report of the Royal Commission on the water-supply of
London, published on Monday, shows that the alarmist views as to the inadequacy of the present sources are not justified. The Commissioners report unanimously that for the next forty-seven years it will not be necessary to go further afield than the Thames, the Lea, and the wells in the gravel and in the chalk. If storage-reservoirs are made at Staines, on a plan recommended by the Commission, it is calculated that three hundred million gallons per day may be derived from the Thames, and one hundred and twenty mil- lion gallons from the Lea and the wells. This will give thirty- five gallons per head per day for a population of twelve millions, within what is termed "Water London," an area somewhat greater than the Metropolitan Police District. But even if the population continues to increase at the present ratio, which is hardly likely, that is more than the number of inhabitants which will be congregated within fifteen miles of Charing Cross in 1940. The reservoirs, which it is recommended should be made on a piece of level ground at Staines, would be made gradually, and as the need for them arose, and would ulti- mately hold nineteen thousand million gallons, the water being impounded when the river was at its fullest, but yet not in flood. The report is a great relief to London. We have looked with dismay on the idea of the County Council being given the excuse to do something in the way of aqueducts on the Roman scale. Nothing demoralises a municipality like gigantic public works.
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