Our Rivers

LIFE in Great Britain, while not at first sight greatly influenced by rivers, in actuality is very profoundly affected by them. At one time the rivers were far more than a convenient means of disposal of sewage, and there is an increasing deepening of interest in the restoration of the rivers to something like their pre-industrial condition. Government departments which are greatly interested in these matters include the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (with wide interests in fishing and in the irrigation of farm lands), the Ministry of Health (which watches zealously those rivers which are used for water supplies to the public), the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (which is interested in water pollution research, and also in the hydraulics), the Ministry of Transport (on account of inland transport, water power, and the dangers of pollution from tarred roads), and many others. Obviously the subject is one that is important to the engineers of towns and cities and to civil engineers in general in relation to land drainage. Our Rivers By J. W. Kempster. Pp. xi + 300 + 21 plates. (London, New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1948.) 25s. net.