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
Islington 1880
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Parish of St Mary]
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I now place before you the quantity of water supplied by the New River Company, month by month, during 1880, the number of inhabited houses to which it was delivered, and a calculation of the number of gallons daily supplied to each house.
| 1880. | No. of Houses. | No. of Gallons Daily. | Gallons of Water to each House. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 129,683 | 27,186,000 | 209.6 |
| February | 129,741 | 26,151,000 | 201.5 |
| March | 129,792 | 27,392,000 | 211.0 |
| April | 130,121 | 26,808,000 | 206.1 |
| May | 130,373 | 29,703,000 | 227.8 |
| June | 130,601 | 30,877,000 | 236.4 |
| July | 131,103 | 30,603,000 | 233.4 |
| August | 131,425 | 31,343,000 | 238.5 |
| September | 131,693 | 30,765,000 | 233.6 |
| October | 131,693 | 30,765,000 | 233.6 |
| November | 132,245 | 25,666,000 | 194.1 |
| December | 132,471 | 25,344,000 | 191.3 |
I do not propose discussing at this time the quality of the
Water Supply. This I have done so frequently that the Members
of the Vestry are probably conversant with my views on the
subject. Speaking with an experience that can have fallen to the
lot of but very few—having analysed some hundreds of samples
supplied by the Company—being familar with the New River from
its commencement to its very end, and also with the works of the
Company in all their detail, I can only reiterate what I have said
before, and of the truth of which I have no shadow of a doubt
that no better, purer, and more wholesome water could possibly be
furnished to the people than that supplied by the New River
Company.