[Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Plymouth Borough and Port.

  • Plymouth (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Plymouth Borough and Port. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    compact red and purple slates, which is locally distinguished by the absence of water bearing qualities. As a rule, however, the slate rocks admit freely of percolation of rain and sewage, and the shallower wells sunk in them should be carefully examined if intended for potable purposes. Some of the deeper wells, however, yield both an abundant and an ex¬ cellent supply. The alluvial area excepted, the geological condition of Plymouth and the contours are singularly favourable for the site of a large town ; the subsoil, as a rule, is shallow, particu¬ larly on the limestone. Water Supply. The Waterworks of Plymouth belong to the Corporation. The supply of water is entirely by gravitation, and is obtained from the upper reaches of the watershed of the Eiver Heavy, on Dartmoor. The gathering ground is about 4,885 acres, or 7| square miles in extent, and lies between 700 and 1,700 feet above the sea level. The rocks composing it are of igneous origin, mostly granitic, but a small area is of the altered Devonian. The water is impounded in a storage reservoir, having a capacity of five hundred million gallons, equal to 130 days’ supply for 130,000 persons. The distance from the reservoir to the town is about 12 miles, the water being conducted by iron pipes. The water is very soft—1|- degrees of hardness—and is eminently suitable for domestic and trade supplies. The quantity supplied per head, including that for trade purposes, is 42^ gallons per day. Sewage Disposal and Drainage. The sewage of the town (with the exception of that of a small district on the west of Mutley Plain) is discharged into