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120 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The quality of the water was stated to be good in both the
supplies in each month of the year, although in January, February,
November and December the amount of Albuminoid
Ammonia and the Oxygen required to oxidise were high.
In the Lambeth District Supply a trace of free Ammonia was
reported in January and December, and in the Southwark District
Supply in December.
Although the chemical results were on the whole satisfactory,
yet the bacteriological results were not quite so satisfactory.
In January the Director of Water Examinations reported that
compared with December, 1905, the total number of the microbes
was greater, and the Bacillus Coli results (both quantitative and
qualitative) less satisfactory, the filtered waters containing about
twice as many bacteria.
In November he stated that chemically the Lambeth and
Southwark filtered waters were open to objection as judged by the
colour and the oxygen absorbed, and that bacteriologically the
deterioration of the raw and filtered waters was still more marked.
In the month of December he reported that the raw unfiltered
water gave a satisfactory result from a bacteriological point of
view, yet the filtered waters gave better results than in November.
The Director reported that the Southwark and Vauxhall water
yielded the worst results.
He specially noted that the Chelsea water also taken from
the Thames was, from a bacteriological point of view, satisfactory,
but that the Southwark and Vauxhall was unsatisfactory.
He explains this by the fact that at the Chelsea works the
sand on the filter beds is much above the average in thickness.
Owing to complaints received in the month of February the
Public Health Committee gave instructions for samples of water
to be analysed, but such analyses did not materially differ from
those published in the Reports of the Metropolitan Water Board.
In November analyses were made of two wells in the district.
In one the water was badly polluted and quite unfit for use. The
owner of the premises was warned and the Company's water was