279. The usual problems attendant upon drastic curtailment of the hours of supply were again very much in evidence. A large programme of renewals and improvements including temporary alterations to the distribution system was carried out to obtain the maximum benefit from the limited quantity of water for disposal.
280. During the summer months, while the reservoirs were overflowing and where filtration was adequate to meet the local demand, certain outlying districts were given a full supply.
Rainfall.
Supply
281. The rainfall for the year, as recorded by the Royal Observatory, was 96.27 inches or 11.53 more than the average of 84.74 inches. This compares with an average of 93.23 inches recorded by the raingauges in the various Waterworks catchment areas.
Storage.
282. The following table gives details of storage in the impounding reservoirs:
Date Storage in Million Gallons Remarks April 1st 1955 1,986 Slightly below normal. May 8th 1,598 Minimum. July 19th, 22nd 23rd & 24th...... Aug. 19th, 20th 21st & 30th..... 5,971 Maximum. All reservoirs overflowed for 8 days. Between May 12th & Sept. 10th ..... One or more reservoir overflowed to waste on 75 days. April 1st 1956 1,858 Below normal.58