London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lambeth 1972
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
117
Well water from Honor Oak and Merton pumping stations.
No new sources of supply were instituted and there were no changes
to the general scheme of supply in your area.
The number of samples collected and the bacteriological and chemical
analyses of the supply from the above sources after treatment are
shown on the attached sheets.
(b) On account of their hardness content and alkaline reaction the Board's
river and well water supplies are shown to be not plumbo-solvent. It
should, however, be appreciated that all types of water pick up
varying amounts of metal from the material of water piping particularly
when it is newly installed; this applies to copper, zinc, iron and also
to lead.
Average results of the Chemical Examination of Water supplied to the London Borough of Lambeth during 1972 Milligrammes per litre (unless otherwise stated)
| Description of the Sample | Number of Samples | Ammoniacal Nitrogen | Albuminoid Nitrogen | Nitrate Nitrogen | Oxygen abs. from KMnO4 4 hrs. at 27°C. | B.O.D. 5 days at 20°C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) |
| River Thames — derived | 364 | 0.031 | 0.069 | 6.9 | 1.06 | - |
| Honor Oak | 4 | 0.008 | 0.004 | 0.6 | 0.08 | |
| Merton | 1 | 0.070 | 0.016 | 0.5 | 0.04 | |
| Description of the Sample | Hardness (total) CaC03 | Hardness (non-carbonate) CaCO3 | Magnesium as Mg | Sodium as Na | Potassium as K | Chloride as CI |
| (8) | (9) 3 | (10) | (11) | (12) | (13) | |
| River Thames — derived | 274 | 82 | 5.0 | 24.5 | 5.5 | 35 |
| Honor Oak | 306 | 46 | 18.0 | 15 | ||
| Merton | 244 | 24 | 13.0 | 23 |