Biology of Water Supply

Abstract

SOME years ago the British Museum (Natural History) produced a useful publication on the biology of waterworks, giving an account of the different,kinds of animals and plants which live and often cause nuisances in reservoirs, filter beds and pipes Now the Freshwater Biological Association has produced a work on the subject^*, approaching it from quite a different angle. Up-to-date knowledge and theory of limnology—the freshwater equivalent of oceanography—has been combined with practical experience of waterworks as a result of a fortunate association of authors. Prof. W. H. Pearsall has brought to bear the resources of research at Wray Castle, with which he has kept in very close touch since its inception; the late Alan Gardiner and Dr. F. Green-shields have contributed much experience from the laboratories of the Metropolitan Water Board. This pooling of resources has produced a handy work which should be of high value to water engineers and others concerned with the provision of pure water supplies. Though concerned essentially with Great Britain, it should also be read overseas, where the biological problems of water supply are likewise coming into prominence.