The Capital invested in the supply of water by these eight companies represents a total sum of $51,900,000.
The largest pumping engines in use, in 1875, were:
| STEAM CYLINDER. | PUMP. | |||
| ″ ′ | ″ ′ | |||
| Single-acting | beam-engine | at Battersea works. | 112 × 10 | 50 × 10 |
| “ | “ | at Grand Junction. | 90 × 11 | 38 × 11 |
| “ | “ | at East London. | 100 × 11 | 50 × 11 |
| “ | “ | at East London. | 85 × 10 | 43 × 9 |
An act of 1871 provides power to compel the companies to give constant supply when the public authorities may demand it.
By the act of 1872 a Government Inspector was appointed, who examines and reports monthly the condition of the works and the character of the water furnished.
As the London and Lea Rivers have been condemned by the Rivers Pollution Commission, as well as the shallow surface wells, of which they say, are not fit for human consumption, several schemes have been proposed for new or improved sources.
Mr. Bateman proposed to furnish a daily supply, equal to 220 million gallons, from the mountains of North Wales, where the annual rain-fall amounts from 70 to 150 inches. The cost was estimated at $51,000,000.
The plan proposed by Messrs. Hemans and Hassard is to gather the water from the mountains in Cumberland, where a supply equal to 250 million gallons daily can be secured for the sum of $61,000,000. The Rivers Pollution Commission were of the opinion, that an ample supply of wholesome water could be secured from the chalk wells and springs, within a radius not exceeding fifty miles of London.
Liverpool had in 1874, 493,405 inhabitants. It is supplied with water partly by gravitation and partly by pumping from deep wells in and near the city. The gravitation-works are situated on the slopes of Rivington Pike, a distance about 33 miles. One-third of the storage water is required for compensation purposes. The area of water-shed is 10,000 acres; that of the impounding reservoirs and filter-beds 549 acres, with a storage capacity of 3¼ billion gallons. The ordinary work of the six filter-beds is 14 million gallons daily.
The materials used for filtration are: 2½ feet sharp river sand, clean gravel of the following depths and sizes: 6 inches ⅛-inch diameter, 6 inches ¼-inch diameter, 6 inches ½-inch diameter, 6 inches 1-inch diameter, and 6 inches 2-inch diameter; 6 inches of broken stone 4-inch diameter, and 12 inches broken stone 6-inch diameter. The cost of filtration is $1.37 per million gallons. The water, after filtration, flows from the clear water tank through a main, 44 inches diameter and 18 miles in length, to the service reservoir at Prescott, 102 feet lower than the clear water tank; to break the pressure in this length there are two small reservoirs. From Prescott the line is continued by two pipes, one 44 inches and the other 36 inches in diameter, a distance of five miles to the service reservoirs, which are seven in number, with a water surface area of 37⅓ acres, and 114 million gallons capacity. They are partly above ground and covered. The quantity delivered through the conduit, is 10⅓ million gallons daily.