London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1879
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
This page requires JavaScript
88
When examined under the microscope the sediment deposited by
turbid water on standing, is generally found to contain living and
moving organisms. During the year these organisms were observed
in the Chelsea and West Middlesex Companies' water twice, and in
that of the Grand Junction Company once.
The annexed table shews the results of such microscopic examinations during the past eleven years:—
| Name of Company. | Number of occasions when living organisms were found. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | 1870 | 1871 | 1872 | 1873 | 1874 | 1875 | 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 | |
| Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Grand Junction | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| West Middlesex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
The subjoined table shows the annual averages of each determination, and thus summarizes the average results of the analysis of the waters supplied by the local Companies during the year ; the Kent Company's water being taken as a standard for comparison. The numbers in this table relate to 100,000 parts of the waters:—
| Name of Company. | Temperature in Centigrade Degrees. | Total Solid Impurity. | Organic Carbon. | Organic Nitrogen. | Ammonia. | Nitrogen as Nitrates and Nitrites. | Total combined Nitrogen. | Chlorine. | Total Hardness. | Proportional amount of organic elements, that in the Kent Company's Water during the 9 years ending 1876 being taken as 1*. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 9.9 | 28.74 | .224 | .035 | 0 | .194 | .229 | 1.49 | 20.3 | 4.4 |
| West Middlesex | 10.0 | 29.70 | .257 | .038 | .221 | .259 | 1.47 | 20.7 | 5.0 | |
| Grand Junction | 29.60 | .253 | .041 | .211 | .252 | 1.46 | 20.4 | 5.0 | ||
| Kent | 11.9 | 45.09 | .083 | .014 | .448 | .461 | 2.54 | 28.4 | 1.0 |
Having thus summarised Dr. Franklacd's views—reproducing in
the consumers' interests, as in duty bound, the strictures on river
water of what may be considered the official report, it is only fair to
state that river water is not without its defenders and advocates.
Among these, Dr. Meymott Tidy stands conspicuous, and he has
recently summed up all, perhaps, that can be said in its favour in a
paper read before the Chemical Society in May, and printed in the
Society's transactions. He contends that dangerous organic matter is
rapidly destroyed through the operation of natural laws when