ABOUT THE BOOK Everyone in Britain many times a day turns on the tap to get water for drinking, cooking or washing. Even larger quantities are used by industry. Seldom do we give much thought to where the water comes from, how it gets from there to our taps, and how it is cleaned to a potable standard. This book answers these questions. It explains how the expansion of towns and cities from Jacobean times necessitated the bringing of water long distances to ensure a supply of pure and unpolluted water and it describes the massive engineering schemes that were required to achieve this, culminating in the construction of large dams and reservoirs that flooded valleys and submerged villages. This book also includes a list of places to visit throughout the United Kingdom where water supply and its history can be better understood. There is a list of reservoirs that the public can visit; many of these are in areas of outstanding scenery and many have facilities for outdoor recreation such as sailing, canoeing, fishing or walking. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peter Naylor has a keen interest in water and its behaviour and is an authority on the New River, described in this book.

Another title for Shire by this author: 'Discovering Dowsing and Divining'.