Pleased that in IRC's Theme Paper on the Utilitisation of Rural Water they were able to use some of my research into the evolution of water supply in the area of Bedfordshire where I live. I've commented already on the development of sanitation in the Ampthill Rural District Council area but it's also interesting to see how the institutional support to water supply developed, keeping step with the extension of piped water to individual households, from the initial handpump well supplies, through village standposts to house connections.
With the increase of population leading to the necessary development of surface water resources outside the immediate district, and of course, a different set of institutions to manage this more complex system.
