London Water Supply Infrastructure - Nineteenth Century - Metropolis Water Act

Metropolis Water Act

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-inch (910 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.