London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1880
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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The following table shows the amount of organic matter in the water of the Companies which supply Kensington, the Kent Company's water being taken as the standard of purity for comparison:—
| Name of Company. | Maximum. | Minimum. | Average. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Chelsea | 5.7 | 3.1 | 4.3 |
| West Middlesex | 8.4 | 2.2 | 4.8 |
| Grand Junction | 7.4 | 2.4 | 5.0 |
The organic elements consist chiefly of organic carbon, and the maximum
pollution in the river waters greatly exceeded the standard, which is—0.l part of
organic carbon in 100,000 parts of potable water.
A marked and undeniable advantage of spring water is its evenness of temperature.
The range of temperature of river waters is considerable, and last year
in the water of the Thames, as delivered by five of the Companies, it amounted to
270 Fahr., viz., from 410 in February to 68° in August. The water, therefore, was
unpleasantly cold in winter whilst it was unpalatably warm in summer. The
deep-well water delivered by the Colne Valley Company ranged through 140 Fahr.,
and that supplied by the Kent Company through 5°4 Fahr. only, viz:—from
520 Fahr. in January to 570 Fahr. in September.
The transparency or otherwise of water is ascertained by its appearance in a tube two feet in length, and is expressed in arbitrary terms settled by common agreement, as in the following table, which shows the degree of efficiency of filtration of Thames water as supplied by the Companies in this parish, the examinations being made monthly:—
| Name of Company. | When clear and transparent. | Number of OccasioNs | When very turbid. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When slightly turbid. | When turbid. | |||
| Chelsea | 11 | I | 0 | 0 |
| West Middlesex | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Junction | 6 | 5 | I | 0 |
The deep-well waters were clear and transparent on every occasion.
The annexed table shows the results of such microscopic examinations during the past twelve years:—
| Name of Company. | Number of occasions when living organisms were found. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | 1870 | 1871 | 1872 | 1873 | 1874 | 1875 | 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 | 1880 | |
| Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | s | 4 | 4 | I | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| West Middlesex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | I | 2 | 0 |
| Grand Junction | 4 | I | I | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | I | 3 |
The subjoined table shows the annual averages of each determination, and thus
summarizes the average results of the analysis of the waters supplied by the local