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109
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Compared with 1904, the analyses show that there has been
some improvement in the quality of the water supplied, only in one
month, viz., November, in both supplies, was the water characterised
as of fair quality by the examiner.
The Lambeth District supply showed that in November the free
ammonia was .001 parts per 100,000 ; in the Southwark district, .003;
while in this month the albuminoid ammonia, and the oxygen
required to oxidise at 80° F. and at 122° F. were also high. This
deterioration in the supply was due to the floods in the river Thames.
In December also the albuminoid ammonia and the oxygen
consumed were high in both supplies, due to the same cause.
The Metropolitan Water Board during the year appointed an
officer to examine and report on the chemical and bacteriological
condition of the London water, and these reports, although of a very
technical characler, are most complete.
The Examiner reported that with regard to the Lambeth supply
in November, only on one occasion was the number of microbes per
c.c. above 100, while with regard to the Southwark supply on five
occasions the number of microbes per c.c. was above 100, on one
occasion reaching 580.
In the month of December in both supplies the water, from a
bacteriological point of view showed improvement, as no sample
taken contained 100 microbes per c.c.
With regard to the Bacillus Coli test, in November the results
showed that in the Southwark supply 56 per cent. of the samples gave
a negative result in 100 c.c. of water, in 22.6 per cent. a positive
result was obtained in 100 c.c., in 19.1 per cent. in 10 c.c., in 1.1 per
cent. in 1 c.c., and in 1.1 per cent. in .1 c.c.
The Lambeth supply in the same month gave a negative result
in 57.6 per cent., a positive result was obtained in 25.4 per cent, in
100 c.c., in 13.5 per cent. in 10 c.c., and in 3.4 per cent. in 1 c.c.
In December in the Southwark supply 36.6 per cent. of the
samples gave a negative result, a positive result was obtained in 43.6 per
cent. in 100 c.c.,in 16.9 per cent. in 10 c.c., and in 2.8 per cent. in 1 c.c.