London water supply infrastructure
Encyclopedia
London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London
and now represents a sizeable infrastructure investment. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from the River Thames
and the River Lea. A crisis point was reached in the mid 19th century with outbreaks of cholera and general problems arising from extraction of water from the polluted Tideway
, and major new facilities were built up river at Hampton and Molesey. After merger and nationalization into the Metropolitan Water Board, and later reprivatization, their modern descendent Thames Water
still runs London's water supply infrastructure.
from the spring at Tyburn
. This was a lead
pipe which led via Charing Cross, Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate to a large cistern or tank in Cheapside
.
The city authorities appointed keepers of the conduits who controlled access so that users such as brewers
, cooks and fishmonger
s would pay for the water they used. Wealthy Londoners living near the a conduit pipe could obtain permission for a connection to their homes, but this did not prevent unauthorised tapping of conduits. Otherwise - particularly for households which could not take a gravity-feed - water from the conduits was provided to individual households by water carriers or "cobs". Records of frequent drownings indicate that many poorer citizens collected water from the Thames or nearby streams running into the Thames. The Grand Conduit system was extended over the centuries and in the 15th century was supplemented by a conduit from springs at Paddington
, and another at Highgate
which supplied Cripplegate
.
(died 1588) developed one of the first pumped water supply systems for the City of London
, powered by undershot waterwheels housed in the northernmost arches of London Bridge
spanning the River Thames
. The machinery was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of London
in 1666 but replacements engineered by his grandson remained under the bridge until the early 19th century, before the New London Bridge was erected in the 1830s.
Hugh Myddleton
was the driving force behind the construction of the New River
, an ambitious engineering project to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire
to 17th century London
. After the initial project encountered financial difficulties, Myddleton helped fund the project through to completion. The New River was constructed between 1609 and 1613 (being officially opened on 29 September that year), and was originally some 38 miles (60 km) long. It was not initially a financial success, and cost Myddleton substantial sums, although in 1612 he was successful in securing monetary assistance from King James I
. The New River Company became one of the largest private water companies, supplying the City of London
and other central areas.
The construction of London's current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the Great Fire of London
in 1666, which destroyed most of the city's previous water infrastructure, most of which was made of wood and lead. One waterworks not affected by the fire was at Shadwell
which dated from 1660.
The city's water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then.
The Chelsea Waterworks Company
was established in 1723 "for the better supplying the City
and Liberties
of Westminster
and parts adjacent with water". The company received a Royal Charter
on 8 March 1723. The company created extensive ponds in the area bordering Chelsea
and Pimlico
using water from the tidal Thames
.
Waterworks were established in East London, at West Ham
in 1743 and at Lea Bridge
before 1767.
The Borough Waterworks Company was formed in 1770, originally supplying water to a brewery and the surrounding area, which spanned the distance between London
and Southwark Bridge
s. The adjacent area was supplied by the London Bridge Waterworks Company.
The Lambeth Waterworks Company
was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west London. It was established on the south bank of the River Thames
close to the present site of Hungerford Bridge
where the Royal Festival Hall
now stands. The first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river. After complaints that the water was foul, the intake was moved to the middle of the river.
As London spread in the 19th century, new facilities were needed to service the increasing population in newly developed areas. Several new water supply companies were established leading to an arrangement of up to nine private water companies each with a geographic monopoly
.
The Lambeth Waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply Kennington
and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones.
The South London Waterworks Company was established by private act of parliament
in 1805. The company extracted water from the Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge
.
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company
was founded in 1806 to supply water to the Marylebone
and Paddington
areas of London. In 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at Hammersmith.
The East London Waterworks Company
was founded by Act of Parliament
in 1806, and also acquired existing waterworks at Shadwell, Lea Bridge and West Ham.
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company
was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the Grand Junction Canal
Company's Act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the River Colne
and River Brent
, and from a reservoir in the north-west Middlesex supplied by land drainage. It was thought that these waters would be better than those of the Thames, but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand. After trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the River Thames
at a point near Chelsea Hospital
Although the legislation that established the London water companies intended that they would compete for customers, in 1815 the East London company drew up a legal agreement with the New River Company
defining a boundary between their areas of supply.
The London Bridge Waterworks Company was dissolved in 1822, and its water supply licence was purchased by the New River Company. Later that same year, the Borough Waterworks Company purchased the London Bridge licence from the New River Company, and it was renamed the Southwark Water Company. The company extracted water from the River Thames
using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a 60 feet (18.3 m) tower.
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company established a 3.5 million gallon reservoir at Campden Hill
near Notting Hill
. In 1825 the company built a new reservoir at Barrow Hill next to Primrose Hill
in North London.
In 1825, the ponds of the Chelsea Waterwork Company were used as the basis of the Grosvenor Canal
which was opened to traffic that year. By this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the River Thames, and in 1829, under engineer James Simpson
the Chelsea Waterworks Company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water.
In 1829, the East London Waterworks Company moved their source of water further up river to Lea Bridge
as a result of pollution caused by population growth. Clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by-passed by the Hackney Cut
, to a new reservoir
at Old Ford. In 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at Clapton
.
In 1832 the Lambeth Waterworks Company built a reservoir at Streatham Hill, and in 1834 obtained an Act of Parliament
to extend its area of supply. In the same year, the Company purchased 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of land in Brixton
and built a reservoir and works on Brixton Hill adjacent to Brixton Prison.
In 1833 the South London Waterworks Company was supplying 12,046 houses with approximately 12,000 gallons of water. In 1834, the company was renamed the Vauxhall Water Company.
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company built a pumping station near Kew Bridge
at Brentford
in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps purchased from Boulton, Watt and Company in 1820. The water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft (61 m) high water tower to provide gravity feed to the area. A six to seven mile (11 km) main took the water to a reservoir on Campden Hill
near Notting Hill
capable of containing 6 million gallons.
In 1841 the East London Waterworks Company was supplying 36,916 houses.
On 10 January 1845 the Southwark Waterworks Company, and the Vauxhall Waterworks Company submitted a memorandum to the Health of Towns Commissioners proposing amalgamation. The bill promoted by the two companies successfully passed through parliament, and the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
was formed later that year. The area supplied by the SVWC was centred on the Borough of Southwark
, reaching east to Rotherhithe
, south to Camberwell
and in the west including Battersea
and parts of Clapham
and Lambeth
. The amalgamated company established waterworks at Battersea Fields with two depositing reservoirs with a capacity of 32 million gallons; and two filtering reservoirs holding 11 million gallons. In 1850 the company's water was described by the microbiologist
Arthur Hassall as "the most disgusting which I have ever examined".
In 1845 the limits of supply of the East London Waterworks Company were described as "all those portions of the Metropolis, and its suburbs, which lie to the east of the city
, Shoreditch
, the Kingsland Road, and Dalston
; extending their mains even across the river Lea into Essex
, as far as West Ham
." The water supplied by the company was taken from the Lea, with waterworks on 30 acre (0.1214058 km²) of land at Old Ford.
The companies often provided inadequate quantities of water which was often contaminated, as was famously discovered by John Snow
during the 1854 cholera
epidemic. Population growth in London had been very rapid (more than doubling between 1800 and 1850) without an increase in infrastructure investment. The Metropolis Water Act 1852 was enacted in order to "make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water." Under the Act, it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames
after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers
was formed, water filtration was made compulsory, and new water intakes on the Thames were established above Teddington Lock
.
The Chelsea Waterworks Company and the Lambeth Waterworks Company, who shared the services of James Simpson
, established facilities at Seething Wells
between Thames Ditton
and Surbiton
. The Chelsea's former site was taken over by the railways to make space for Victoria Station. The Grand Junction, West Middlesex and Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Companies set up facilities above Molesey Lock
at Hampton
designed by Joseph Quick
. The Stain Hill Reservoirs
and Sunnyside Reservoir
were constructed in Hampton
by the SVWC in 1855, with a 36 inches (914.4 mm) diameter main to Battersea
. A third reservoir was opened later in the year between Nunhead
Cemetery and Peckham Rye
.
In the mid 19th century the East London Waterworks Company purchased the Coppermill
at Walthamstow
and modified it to drive a water pump
to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the Lea Valley
. The company built a series of reservoirs which were High Maynard Reservoir
, Low Maynard Reservoir
, five linked numbered reservoirs making the Walthamstow Reservoirs
, the East Warwick Reservoir
and the West Warwick Reservoir
.
In 1872 the Lambeth Waterworks Company moved upstream on the Thames to Molesey, followed by the Chelsea Waterworks Company. They built the Molesey Reservoirs
there in 1872.
The East London Waterworks Company replaced their reservoir at Clapton by a new reservoir at Stamford Hill
in 1891.
In 1897 the New River Company started developing the treatment works at Kempton Park
to supply additional water to their facilities at Cricklewood.
In 1898 the SVWC started work on the Bessborough Reservoir
and the Knight Reservoir
which were across the river from Hampton at Molesey. By 1903 the SVWC supplied a population of 860,173 in 128,871 houses of which 122,728 (95.3%) had a constant supply. The Lambeth Waterworks company started work on Island Barn Reservoir
at Molesey in 1900.
Also acquired at no cost were the water undertakings of Tottenham
and Enfield
Urban District Councils.
The MWB opened the East London Waterworks reservoirs Banbury Reservoir
and Lockwood Reservoir
, and the Bessborough Reservoir, Knight Reservoir and Island Barn Reservoirs at Molesey. It also opened the Kempton Park Reservoirs
in around 1907.
In 1910, extraction facilities were opened at Hythe End
and the Staines Reservoir Aqueduct was built to supply water to Hampton. The Metropolitan Water Board Railway
was opened in 1916 to carry coal from the river at Hampton to Kempton Park. An engine house with powerful steam engines was opened at Kempton Park in 1929, which has now become Kempton Park Steam Engines
museum.
The MWB opened a succession of reservoirs - King George V Reservoir
, (Lea Valley) in 1912, Queen Mary Reservoir
(Ashford) in 1925, King George VI Reservoir
(Stanwellmoor) in 1947 William Girling Reservoir
(Lea Valley) in 1951, Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir
(Molesey) 1962, Wraysbury Reservoir
1967, and Queen Mother Reservoir
(Staines) 1976.
The Metropolitan Water Board and other local Water Boards were later combined into the Thames Water Authority
, which was later privatized as Thames Water
, a state-regulated private company which currently provides London's water supply.
and River Lea, with the remainder being abstracted from underground sources.
Much of the water piping in London is still cast iron
piping which dates back to the nineteenth century and is slowly deteriorating. This has led to widespread criticism of Thames Water for the amount of water lost to leaks in its distribution network. As of 2007, Thames Water is still in the process of a rolling programme of upgrading the water supply network to use modern plastic piping.
The single largest infrastructure project in recent years has been the creation of the Thames Water Ring Main
, a "backbone network" for London's water supply. This connects all the waterworks, and pumping stations.
works on the Ring Main are as follows.
s on the ring main are as follows.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and now represents a sizeable infrastructure investment. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and the River Lea. A crisis point was reached in the mid 19th century with outbreaks of cholera and general problems arising from extraction of water from the polluted Tideway
Tideway
The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...
, and major new facilities were built up river at Hampton and Molesey. After merger and nationalization into the Metropolitan Water Board, and later reprivatization, their modern descendent Thames Water
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
still runs London's water supply infrastructure.
Early London water supply
Until the late 16th century, London citizens relied on the River Thames, its tributaries, or one of around a dozen natural springs for their water supplies. In 1247 work began on building the Great ConduitGreat Conduit
The Great Conduit was a man-made underground channel in London, England, which brought drinking water from the Tyburn to Cheapside in the City....
from the spring at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
. This was a lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
pipe which led via Charing Cross, Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate to a large cistern or tank in Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
.
The city authorities appointed keepers of the conduits who controlled access so that users such as brewers
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
, cooks and fishmonger
Fishmonger
A fishmonger is someone who sells fish and seafood...
s would pay for the water they used. Wealthy Londoners living near the a conduit pipe could obtain permission for a connection to their homes, but this did not prevent unauthorised tapping of conduits. Otherwise - particularly for households which could not take a gravity-feed - water from the conduits was provided to individual households by water carriers or "cobs". Records of frequent drownings indicate that many poorer citizens collected water from the Thames or nearby streams running into the Thames. The Grand Conduit system was extended over the centuries and in the 15th century was supplemented by a conduit from springs at Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, and another at Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
which supplied Cripplegate
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate. The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War II and today is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre...
.
Sixteenth century
In 1582, Dutchman Peter MoricePeter Morice
Peter Morice was a Dutch-born engineer who developed one of the first pumped water supply systems for the City of London...
(died 1588) developed one of the first pumped water supply systems for the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, powered by undershot waterwheels housed in the northernmost arches of London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
spanning the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The machinery was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
in 1666 but replacements engineered by his grandson remained under the bridge until the early 19th century, before the New London Bridge was erected in the 1830s.
Seventeenth century
Hugh Myddleton
Sir Hugh Myddelton , 1st Baronet was a Welsh goldsmith, clothmaker, banker, entrepreneur, mine-owner and self-taught engineer...
was the driving force behind the construction of the New River
New River (England)
The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
, an ambitious engineering project to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
to 17th century London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After the initial project encountered financial difficulties, Myddleton helped fund the project through to completion. The New River was constructed between 1609 and 1613 (being officially opened on 29 September that year), and was originally some 38 miles (60 km) long. It was not initially a financial success, and cost Myddleton substantial sums, although in 1612 he was successful in securing monetary assistance from King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. The New River Company became one of the largest private water companies, supplying the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and other central areas.
The construction of London's current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
in 1666, which destroyed most of the city's previous water infrastructure, most of which was made of wood and lead. One waterworks not affected by the fire was at Shadwell
Shadwell
Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east...
which dated from 1660.
The city's water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then.
Eighteenth century
Chelsea Waterworks Company
The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1902....
was established in 1723 "for the better supplying the City
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
and Liberties
Liberty of Westminster
The City and Liberty of Westminster was an independent liberty, located to the west of the City of London in the county of Middlesex, England....
of Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
and parts adjacent with water". The company received a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
on 8 March 1723. The company created extensive ponds in the area bordering Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
and Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
using water from the tidal Thames
Tideway
The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...
.
Waterworks were established in East London, at West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
in 1743 and at Lea Bridge
Lea Bridge
Lea Bridge is a district of the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated to the northeast of the borough and bounded by Upper Clapton to the north, Lower Clapton to the south, and the River Lee Navigation to the east...
before 1767.
The Borough Waterworks Company was formed in 1770, originally supplying water to a brewery and the surrounding area, which spanned the distance between London
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
and Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge for traffic linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London, England. It was designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott. It was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. and opened in 1921...
s. The adjacent area was supplied by the London Bridge Waterworks Company.
The Lambeth Waterworks Company
Lambeth Waterworks Company
The Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...
was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west London. It was established on the south bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
close to the present site of Hungerford Bridge
Hungerford Bridge
The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. It is a steel truss railway bridge—sometimes known as the Charing Cross Bridge—flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge's...
where the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
now stands. The first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river. After complaints that the water was foul, the intake was moved to the middle of the river.
New companies
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
.
The Lambeth Waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones.
The South London Waterworks Company was established by private act of parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1805. The company extracted water from the Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a south–east north–west direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank...
.
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company
West Middlesex Waterworks Company
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...
was founded in 1806 to supply water to the Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
and Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
areas of London. In 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at Hammersmith.
The East London Waterworks Company
East London Waterworks Company
The East London Waterworks Company was one of eight private water companies in London absorbed by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.The company was founded by Act of Parliament in 1806, and in 1845 the limits of supply were described as "all those portions of the Metropolis, and its suburbs,...
was founded by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1806, and also acquired existing waterworks at Shadwell, Lea Bridge and West Ham.
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company
Grand Junction Waterworks Company
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was formed as an off-shoot of the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1811 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:The company was created...
was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the Grand Junction Canal
Grand Junction Canal
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...
Company's Act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the River Colne
River Colne, Hertfordshire
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...
and River Brent
River Brent
The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
, and from a reservoir in the north-west Middlesex supplied by land drainage. It was thought that these waters would be better than those of the Thames, but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand. After trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at a point near Chelsea Hospital
Expansion
New River (England)
The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
defining a boundary between their areas of supply.
The London Bridge Waterworks Company was dissolved in 1822, and its water supply licence was purchased by the New River Company. Later that same year, the Borough Waterworks Company purchased the London Bridge licence from the New River Company, and it was renamed the Southwark Water Company. The company extracted water from the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a 60 feet (18.3 m) tower.
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company established a 3.5 million gallon reservoir at Campden Hill
Campden Hill
Campden Hill is an area of high ground in west London between Notting Hill, Kensington and Holland Park.The area is characterised by large Victorian houses. It is also the site of reservoirs established in the 19th century by the Grand Junction Waterworks Company and the West Middlesex Waterworks...
near Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
. In 1825 the company built a new reservoir at Barrow Hill next to Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
in North London.
In 1825, the ponds of the Chelsea Waterwork Company were used as the basis of the Grosvenor Canal
Grosvenor Canal
Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1825. Almost nothing of it remains today.The canal started as the ponds of the Chelsea Waterworks Company, constructed in 1723 to supply west London with drinking water...
which was opened to traffic that year. By this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the River Thames, and in 1829, under engineer James Simpson
James Simpson (engineer)
James Simpson was a British civil engineer. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers from January 1853 to January 1855....
the Chelsea Waterworks Company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water.
In 1829, the East London Waterworks Company moved their source of water further up river to Lea Bridge
Lea Bridge
Lea Bridge is a district of the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated to the northeast of the borough and bounded by Upper Clapton to the north, Lower Clapton to the south, and the River Lee Navigation to the east...
as a result of pollution caused by population growth. Clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by-passed by the Hackney Cut
Hackney Cut
The Hackney Cut is an artificial channel of the River Lee Navigation built in 1770 by the River Lea Trustees to straighten and improve the Navigation. It begins at by the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir, below Lea Bridge...
, to a new reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
at Old Ford. In 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at Clapton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
.
In 1832 the Lambeth Waterworks Company built a reservoir at Streatham Hill, and in 1834 obtained an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to extend its area of supply. In the same year, the Company purchased 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of land in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
and built a reservoir and works on Brixton Hill adjacent to Brixton Prison.
In 1833 the South London Waterworks Company was supplying 12,046 houses with approximately 12,000 gallons of water. In 1834, the company was renamed the Vauxhall Water Company.
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company built a pumping station near Kew Bridge
Kew Bridge
Kew Bridge is a bridge in London over the River Thames. The present bridge was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and opened in 1903 by King Edward VII. The bridge was givenGrade II listed structure protection in 1983.- Location :...
at Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps purchased from Boulton, Watt and Company in 1820. The water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft (61 m) high water tower to provide gravity feed to the area. A six to seven mile (11 km) main took the water to a reservoir on Campden Hill
Campden Hill
Campden Hill is an area of high ground in west London between Notting Hill, Kensington and Holland Park.The area is characterised by large Victorian houses. It is also the site of reservoirs established in the 19th century by the Grand Junction Waterworks Company and the West Middlesex Waterworks...
near Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
capable of containing 6 million gallons.
In 1841 the East London Waterworks Company was supplying 36,916 houses.
On 10 January 1845 the Southwark Waterworks Company, and the Vauxhall Waterworks Company submitted a memorandum to the Health of Towns Commissioners proposing amalgamation. The bill promoted by the two companies successfully passed through parliament, and the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was formed by the merger of the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Southwark Water...
was formed later that year. The area supplied by the SVWC was centred on the Borough of Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, reaching east to Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
, south to Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
and in the west including Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
and parts of Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. The amalgamated company established waterworks at Battersea Fields with two depositing reservoirs with a capacity of 32 million gallons; and two filtering reservoirs holding 11 million gallons. In 1850 the company's water was described by the microbiologist
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
Arthur Hassall as "the most disgusting which I have ever examined".
In 1845 the limits of supply of the East London Waterworks Company were described as "all those portions of the Metropolis, and its suburbs, which lie to the east of the city
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, the Kingsland Road, and Dalston
Dalston
Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
; extending their mains even across the river Lea into Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, as far as West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
." The water supplied by the company was taken from the Lea, with waterworks on 30 acre (0.1214058 km²) of land at Old Ford.
Metropolis Water Act
John Snow (physician)
John Snow was an English physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered to be one of the fathers of epidemiology, because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1854.-Early life and education:Snow was born 15 March...
during the 1854 cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic. Population growth in London had been very rapid (more than doubling between 1800 and 1850) without an increase in infrastructure investment. The Metropolis Water Act 1852 was enacted in order to "make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water." Under the Act, it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames
Tideway
The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...
after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers
Metropolitan Commission of Sewers
The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was one of London's first steps towards bringing its sewer and drainage infrastructure under the control of a single public body. It was a precursor of the Metropolitan Board of Works.-Formation:...
was formed, water filtration was made compulsory, and new water intakes on the Thames were established above Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The lock is on the southern Surrey side of the river....
.
The Chelsea Waterworks Company and the Lambeth Waterworks Company, who shared the services of James Simpson
James Simpson (engineer)
James Simpson was a British civil engineer. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers from January 1853 to January 1855....
, established facilities at Seething Wells
Seething Wells
Seething Wells is a locality of Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is the site of a former water treatment works on the south bank of the River Thames. Part of it was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The filter beds remain the property of Thames Water, via their...
between Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...
and Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
. The Chelsea's former site was taken over by the railways to make space for Victoria Station. The Grand Junction, West Middlesex and Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Companies set up facilities above Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at over 268 ft . Beside the lock there are rollers for the...
at Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
designed by Joseph Quick
Joseph Quick (1809-1894)
Joseph Quick was an English civil engineer who was closely involved in improvements to water supply in the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Both his father and his son Joseph Quick (6 November 1809 - 30 March 1894) was an English civil engineer who was closely involved in...
. The Stain Hill Reservoirs
Stain Hill Reservoirs
The Stain Hill Reservoirs lie to the north of the River Thames near Kempton Park Racecourse between Kempton Park and Hampton.The reservoirs were built by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company and are now managed by Thames Water....
and Sunnyside Reservoir
Sunnyside Reservoir
Sunnyside Reservoir is a reservoir forming part of the Hampton waterworks complex within the London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.The reservoir was originally built by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company for pre-treatment water storage, but is now used as a settlement lagoon for...
were constructed in Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
by the SVWC in 1855, with a 36 inches (914.4 mm) diameter main to Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
. A third reservoir was opened later in the year between Nunhead
Nunhead
Nunhead is a place in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead has traditionally been a working-class area and, with the adjacent neighbourhoods, is currently going...
Cemetery and Peckham Rye
Peckham Rye
For the rail station of the same name see Peckham Rye Railway StationPeckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England....
.
Coppermill Stream
The Coppermill Stream is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea and approximately long. The stream is part of a Site of Metropolitan Importance...
at Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
and modified it to drive a water pump
Water Pump
Water Pump is one of the neighbourhoods of Gulberg Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is near main Water Pump that supplies fresh water to the city of Karachi....
to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the Lea Valley
Lea Valley
The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area...
. The company built a series of reservoirs which were High Maynard Reservoir
High Maynard Reservoir
High Maynard Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The storage reservoir is one of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London.- History :...
, Low Maynard Reservoir
Low Maynard Reservoir
Low Maynard Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London.- History:...
, five linked numbered reservoirs making the Walthamstow Reservoirs
Walthamstow Reservoirs
The Walthamstow Reservoirs are located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. They form part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain which supplies drinking water to London, and are owned and managed by Thames Water....
, the East Warwick Reservoir
East Warwick Reservoir
East Warwick Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London...
and the West Warwick Reservoir
West Warwick Reservoir
West Warwick Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain, which supplies drinking water to London...
.
In 1872 the Lambeth Waterworks Company moved upstream on the Thames to Molesey, followed by the Chelsea Waterworks Company. They built the Molesey Reservoirs
Molesey Reservoirs
The Molesey Reservoirs were a group of reservoirs in England near Molesey, Surrey, in the western suburbs of London. There was an adjacent water treatment works....
there in 1872.
The East London Waterworks Company replaced their reservoir at Clapton by a new reservoir at Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
in 1891.
In 1897 the New River Company started developing the treatment works at Kempton Park
Kempton Park, Surrey
Kempton Park is a locality in the Spelthorne district of Surrey, which is the location of Kempton Park Racecourse.Kempton Park appears on the Middlesex Domesday Map as Chenetone. It was held by Robert, Count of Mortain...
to supply additional water to their facilities at Cricklewood.
In 1898 the SVWC started work on the Bessborough Reservoir
Bessborough Reservoir
The Bessborough Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames in Surrey near the Knight Reservoir and the Molesey Reservoirs. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and the neighbouring town is Molesey...
and the Knight Reservoir
Knight Reservoir
The Knight Reservoir lies to the west of the Bessborough Reservoir, south of the River Thames and the A3050. The neighbouring town is Molesey....
which were across the river from Hampton at Molesey. By 1903 the SVWC supplied a population of 860,173 in 128,871 houses of which 122,728 (95.3%) had a constant supply. The Lambeth Waterworks company started work on Island Barn Reservoir
Island Barn Reservoir
The Island Barn Reservoir lies south of the River Thames in England at West Molesey. The reservoir is large with a capacity of 992 million gallons and is managed by Thames Water. It is within the borough of Elmbridge and is surrounded by the River Mole to the west and the River Ember to the east...
at Molesey in 1900.
Twentieth century
The private water companies were nationalised at the beginning of the 20th century. The Metropolis Water Act 1902 (2 Edw.7, c.41) created the Metropolitan Water Board. It was founded in 1903 and as originally constituted in the Act had 67 members; 65 of these were nominated by local authorities, who appointed a paid chairman and vice-chairman. The board compulsorily acquired the following water companies:- The New RiverNew River (England)The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
Company - The East London Waterworks CompanyEast London Waterworks CompanyThe East London Waterworks Company was one of eight private water companies in London absorbed by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.The company was founded by Act of Parliament in 1806, and in 1845 the limits of supply were described as "all those portions of the Metropolis, and its suburbs,...
- The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks CompanySouthwark and Vauxhall Waterworks CompanyThe Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was formed by the merger of the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Southwark Water...
- The West Middlesex Waterworks CompanyWest Middlesex Waterworks CompanyThe West Middlesex Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...
- The Lambeth Waterworks CompanyLambeth Waterworks CompanyThe Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...
- The Chelsea Waterworks CompanyChelsea Waterworks CompanyThe Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1902....
- The Grand Junction Waterworks CompanyGrand Junction Waterworks CompanyThe Grand Junction Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was formed as an off-shoot of the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1811 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:The company was created...
- The Staines ReservoirsStaines ReservoirsThe Staines Reservoirs lie to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in the county of Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is nearby as is the town of Staines. The two reservoirs are placed between the A3044 and the A30...
Joint Committee
Also acquired at no cost were the water undertakings of Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
and Enfield
Municipal Borough of Enfield
Enfield was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1850 to 1965.The parish of Enfield adopted the Public Health Act 1848 in 1850, and formed a local board of health of 12 members to govern the area. The local board's area was reconstituted by the Local Government Act 1894, and...
Urban District Councils.
Banbury Reservoir
Banbury Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. It is one of the storage reservoirs in the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain. The reservoir is owned by Thames Water.- History:...
and Lockwood Reservoir
Lockwood Reservoir
Lockwood Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is one of the ten Walthamstow Reservoirs, which are part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain...
, and the Bessborough Reservoir, Knight Reservoir and Island Barn Reservoirs at Molesey. It also opened the Kempton Park Reservoirs
Kempton Park Reservoirs
Kempton Park Reservoirs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey, England. It consists of a group of reservoirs at Kempton Park between Hanworth and Sunbury on Thames. It is owned by Thames Water.-History:...
in around 1907.
In 1910, extraction facilities were opened at Hythe End
Hythe End
Hythe End is a place in Berkshire between Wraysbury and Staines, England on the northern bank of the River Thames close to Bell Weir Lock.Hythe End consists of several riverside homes, mainly on The Island, Hythe End. There are gravel pits to the north which make up a Site of Special Scientific...
and the Staines Reservoir Aqueduct was built to supply water to Hampton. The Metropolitan Water Board Railway
Metropolitan Water Board Railway
The Metropolitan Water Board Railway was a narrow gauge industrial railway built to serve the Metropolitan Water Board's pumping station at Kempton Park near London. The line was opened in 1916 and closed shortly after the Second World War.- History :...
was opened in 1916 to carry coal from the river at Hampton to Kempton Park. An engine house with powerful steam engines was opened at Kempton Park in 1929, which has now become Kempton Park Steam Engines
Kempton Park Steam Engines
The Kempton Park Steam Engines are two large triple-expansion steam engines, dating from 1926–1929, at the Kempton Park waterworks, Middlesex, London. Each engine is of a similar size to that used in RMS Titanic and rated at about 1008 hp...
museum.
The MWB opened a succession of reservoirs - King George V Reservoir
King George V Reservoir
The King George V Reservoir, also known as King George's Reservoir, is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water...
, (Lea Valley) in 1912, Queen Mary Reservoir
Queen Mary Reservoir
The Queen Mary Reservoir is one of the largest of London's reservoirs located in the Staines/Sunbury area of West London within the borough of Spelthorne in Surrey. It lies south of the A308 and west of the M3 motorway...
(Ashford) in 1925, King George VI Reservoir
King George VI Reservoir
The King George VI Reservoir in England lies to the south of Stanwellmoor near Stanwell and Heathrow. The reservoir was opened in November 1947 and named after the then reigning monarch King George VI. It is owned by Thames Water....
(Stanwellmoor) in 1947 William Girling Reservoir
William Girling Reservoir
The William Girling Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. It is named after William Girling OBE, a chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board . The reservoir and the nearby King George V Reservoir...
(Lea Valley) in 1951, Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir
Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir
The Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames and to the west of the Island Barn Reservoir. To the north are the reservoirs of Bessborough and Knight. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and it is situated in Walton on Thames...
(Molesey) 1962, Wraysbury Reservoir
Wraysbury Reservoir
The Wraysbury Reservoir is a water supply reservoir for London lying just west of the M25 near the village of Wraysbury and Heathrow airport. The reservoir was begun in 1967 and completed in 1970 with a capacity of 34,000 million litres....
1967, and Queen Mother Reservoir
Queen Mother Reservoir
The Queen Mother Reservoir lies between the M4 and the M25 to the west of London. It is in size or about 1 km in diameter - making it one of the largest inland areas in Southern England. It is managed by Thames Water....
(Staines) 1976.
The Metropolitan Water Board and other local Water Boards were later combined into the Thames Water Authority
Thames Water Authority
The Thames Water Authority was one of ten Regional Water Authorities created in the UK in 1975 to bring together all the water management functions of the Region in one public body....
, which was later privatized as Thames Water
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
, a state-regulated private company which currently provides London's water supply.
Present day
Most of London's water still comes from the River ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and River Lea, with the remainder being abstracted from underground sources.
Much of the water piping in London is still cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
piping which dates back to the nineteenth century and is slowly deteriorating. This has led to widespread criticism of Thames Water for the amount of water lost to leaks in its distribution network. As of 2007, Thames Water is still in the process of a rolling programme of upgrading the water supply network to use modern plastic piping.
The single largest infrastructure project in recent years has been the creation of the Thames Water Ring Main
Thames Water Ring Main
The Thames Water Ring Main is a major part of London's water supply infrastructure that consists of an approximately 80 km system of mostly concrete pipelines used to transfer potable water from water treatment works in the Thames and River Lee catchments to distribution within London.The...
, a "backbone network" for London's water supply. This connects all the waterworks, and pumping stations.
Water Treatment Works
The Water treatmentWater treatment
Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the...
works on the Ring Main are as follows.
- Ashford CommonAshford CommonAshford Common is a village in Surrey, England....
- Kempton ParkKempton Park, SurreyKempton Park is a locality in the Spelthorne district of Surrey, which is the location of Kempton Park Racecourse.Kempton Park appears on the Middlesex Domesday Map as Chenetone. It was held by Robert, Count of Mortain...
- WaltonDesborough IslandDesborough Island is a large artificially-created island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock in Surrey, England. The island was formed in 1930s by the digging of a channel - the Desborough Cut - by the Thames Conservancy...
- HamptonHampton, LondonHampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
- Coppermills Water Treatment Works
Pumping stations
The pumping stationPumping station
Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites.A pumping station...
s on the ring main are as follows.
- SurbitonSurbitonSurbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
— PS - MertonMerton (historic parish)Merton was an ancient parish in the Brixton hundred of Surrey, England. It was bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden to the south and Kingston upon Thames to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as . The parish was centred around the 12th century parish...
— PS - StreathamStreathamStreatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
— PS - BrixtonBrixtonBrixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
— PS - BatterseaBatterseaBattersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
— PS - Park Lane — PS
- KewKewKew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
— PS - Holland ParkHolland ParkHolland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
Avenue — PS - Barrow Hill — PS
- New RiverNew River (England)The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
Head — PS - Stoke NewingtonStoke NewingtonStoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
— PS
See also
- History of LondonHistory of LondonLondon, the capital of the United Kingdom , has a recorded history that goes back over 2,000 years. During this time, it has grown to become one of the most significant financial and cultural capitals of the world. It has experienced plague, devastating fire, civil war, aerial bombardment and...
- List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom
- Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough AssociationMetropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough AssociationThe Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association was an association set up in London by Samuel Gurney an MP and philanthropist and Edward Thomas Wakefield, a barrister in 1859 to provide free drinking water...
- Kew Bridge Steam MuseumKew Bridge Steam MuseumKew Bridge Steam Museum houses a museum of water supply and a collection of water pumping steam engines. The museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage...
- London sewer system
- History of water supply and sanitationHistory of water supply and sanitationThis article covers the history of water supply, plumbing, sanitation and sewage collection and disposal.-Ancient age:During the Neolithic, man dug the first permanent water wells, from where vessels could be filled and carried by hand. The size of human settlements was largely dependent on nearly...