Reading between the lines of the evidence it would appear that in 1892 the decision was taken to install a water carriage sewage system at the same time as mains water. The Local Board called a Town Meeting on the 11th of March 1892 at 10:30 in the morning at the Mechanic’s Institute on Jepp Hill. [Later to become the Town Hall.] It was described as being ‘an enquiry into the supply of water’. I suspect that this was when the Board laid out to the townsfolk the cost of the laying of water pipes and the matter of water charges. I have a note dated 1st March 1894 of an enquiry held in Barlick under W J B Clarke to examine a proposal to borrow £8,000 for the provision of public sewers and other similar meetings in 1896 and 1898 for further sums of £2,000 and £1,850 so I think we can safely assume that from 1890 to at least 1900 almost every street in the town was torn up to lay water and sewage pipes. It must have been chaotic and makes our experiences with Balfour Beatty in 2006 when they refurbished the water mains seem like a picnic.
This isn't the full story of our water. The town was booming and new mills and housing were being built. It soon became obvious that good though the supply was from the boreholes on Whitemoor, demand was outstripping supply. Remember that as more and more housing was converted from the old system of dry toilets and the collection of night soil to water carriage and flush toilets, this also increased demand. We needed more water! Barlick had to look further afield and I'll look at how they solved the problem next week.
SCG/15/06/18
One of the cores from a bore at Whitemoor in Letcliffe Park. This one marked 593ft.