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
Orpington 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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Average Results of the Chemical and Bacteriological Examination of the Water Supplied to Orpington during the year 1955. (Parts per million, unless otherwise stated).
| Description of Sample. | No. of Samples. | Ammoniacal Nitrogen | Albuminoid Nitrogen | Oxidised Nitrogen Nitrate | Chlorides as Cl. | Oxygen abs. from Permanganate 4 hrs. at 27°C. | Turbidity in terms of Silica | Colour m.m. brown 2ft. tube Burgess's Tintometer. | Hardness (Total) | Hardness Non-Carbonate | pH Value | Phosphate a III P.O. 4 | Sulphates as SO4 | Silica as SiO2 | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orpington Well | 4 | Nil | 0.019 | 7.5 | 15 | 0.08 | 0.3 | 3 | 282 | 50 | 7.2 | 0.06 | 13 | — | 425 |
| N. Orpington Well | 4 | 0.003 | 0.019 | 5.4 | 13 | 0.07 | Nil | Nil | 265 | 35 | 7.2 | 0.06 | 8 | — | 425 |
| Jewels Wood Well | 3 | 0.005 | 0.020 | 3.6 | 10 | 0.03 | Nil | Nil | 241 | 25 | 7.2 | 0.04 | 5 | — | 375 |
| Sundridge Well | 4 | 0.002 | 0.013 | 2.9 | 18 | 0.06 | Nil | Nil | 210 | 45 | 7.5 | 0.13 | 27 | — | 325 |
| Eynsford Well | 5 | 0.001 | 0.019 | 4.2 | 16 | 0.10 | 0.1 | Nil | 254 | 34 | 7.3 | 0.06 | 9 | — | 400 |
| Shortlands Well | 10 | 0.002 | 0 020 | 4.5 | 17 | 0.08 | Nil | Nil | 272 | 70 | 7.1 | 0.05 | 41 | — | 450 |
| Westerham Well | 4 | Nil | 0.021 | 4.8 | 13 | 0.08 | Nil | Nil | 270 | 46 | 7.2 | 0.05 | 11 | — | 425 |
| Lullingstone Well | 3 | Nil | 0.025 | 3.8 | 14 | 0.08 | 0.1 | Nil | 249 | 33 | 7.2 | 0.05 | 9 | — | 400 |
| Horton Kirby Well | 2 | Nil | 0.015 | 5.0 | 16 | 0.08 | 0.4 | Nil | 254 | 39 | 7.3 | 0.10 | 18 | — | 425 |
| Thames-derived filtered Water | 1663 | 0.014 | 0 085 | 3.8 | 26 | 1.04 | 0.2 | 12 | 258 | 65 | 7.8 | 0.50 | 49 | 10 | 450 |
Average Results of the Chemical and Bacteriological Examination of the Water Supplied to Orpington during the year 1955. (Parts per million, unless otherwise stated).
| Bacteriological Results. | Before Chlorination | After Chlorination (Water passing into Supply). | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plate count (average per millilitre) Colonies counted on Agar | Bact. coli test | Number of samples. | ||||||
| Plate count (Av. per ml.) Colonies counted on Agar 37 °C. (20-24 hrs.) | Bact. coli test | |||||||
| 37 C. | (20-24 hrs.) | Percentage samples neg. 100 ml. | Average No. per 100 ml. | Percentage samples neg. 100 ml. | Average No. per 100 ml. | |||
| Orpington Well | 249 | 5.0 | 100.0 | — | 255 | — | 100.0 | — |
| N. Orpington Well | 226 | 5.3 | 25.2 | 6 80 | 230 | — | 99.6 | 0.004 |
| Jewels Wood Well | 132 | 0.5 | 98.5 | 0.04 | 134 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Sundridge Well | 302 | 0.1 | 100.0 | — | 256 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Eynsford Well | 311 | 0.5 | 99.7 | 0.01 | 316 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Shortlands Well | 499 | 0.04 | 100.0 | — | 256 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Westerham Well | 251 | 0.2 | 98.8 | 0.03 | 257 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Lullingstone Well | 227 | 0.1 | 100.0 | — | 232 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Horton Kirby We | 140 | 0.2 | 98.6 | 0.01 | 143 | — | 100.0 | — |
| Thames-derived Filtered water | 7040 | — | 60.4 | 3.73 | 7.8 | 99.9 | 0.002 | |