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5
Water Supply.
In view of the serious outbreak of Enteric Fever at Croydon,
which proved to be a water borne infection, special attention has
been given to this subject and frequent conferences have taken
place between Mr. Haseldine the Engineer of the Barnet Water
Company, the Chief Sanitary Inspector, the Surveyor, Mr. Barnes,
and myself. Visits have been paid to several of the wells and
pumping stations and in particular to the well at North Mymms
near which is a "swallow hole" which provides a possible source
of contamination. Here there is a well equipped laboratory
with a fully qualified chemist in charge and Mr. Haseldine has
kindly afforded myself and other Medical Officers of Health in
the County every facility for making a thorough examination of
the methods of purification in daily use throughout the year, viz.
sedimentation, filtration and chlorination. Daily samples are
examined by the Water Company's Chemist at the laboratory
and daily samples are also taken from the main on the way to
Barnet. Independent analyses are made monthly by Dr. Beale
and Dr. Suckling of the Counties Public Health Laboratories and
an additional sample of the water is taken by us each month and
submitted to the Clinical Research Association for bacteriological
examination. Reports on these various analyses prove
that the water supplied to this district is of a very high standard
of purity.
Housing and Overcrowding.
The benefits of the 1936 Housing Act will be very apparent
to any one who cares to pay a visit to the new houses in St.
Wilfrid's Road. No one who was familiar with the appalling
conditions under which these people were previously living could
fail to be satisfied with their new environment or to approve most
warmly of the wise and far-reaching provisions laid down in the
Act. With regard to the Act of 1936, I attended, along with the
Chief Sanitary Inspector, the annual conference of the Hertfordshire
Medical Officers of Health held at St. Albans in November,
and with him opened the discussion on overcrowding, pointing
out several apparent anomalies affecting what is known as the
"permitted number" of occupants of houses. These apparent
anomalies are due to the fact that two different standards are
laid down, one for houses already occupied, and another, totally