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
Kensington 1884
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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213
When examined under the microscope, the sediment deposited by turbid
water, on standing, is generally found to contain living and moving
organisms. The occurrence of such organisms has become more and
more rare in late years, and last year was observed on one occasion
only, and that not in water supplied to this Parish, the several waters
being examined monthly.
The subjoined Table shows the annual averages of each determination, and
thus summarises the average results of the analysis of the water
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, but may be converted into grains per imperial gallon by multiplying them by 7 and then moving the decimal point one place to the left.
| Name of Company. | Temperature in Centigrade Degrees. | Total Solid Matters. | 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 Dec., 187C, being taken as 18. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 12°.1 | 26.27 | 142 | .026 | 0 | .177 | .203 | 1.6 | 18.9 | 2.8 |
| West Middlesex | 12°.9 | 26.62 | .143 | .021 | 0 | .179 | .201 | 1.6 | 19.1 | 2.8 |
| Grand Junction | 12°.l | 26.82 | .155 | .026 | 0 | .182 | .207 | 1.6 | 19.4 | 3.1 |
| Kent | 13°.3 | 40.77 | .039 | .009 | 0 | .452 | .462 | 2.5 | 28.6 | 0.8 |
The Water Examiner's Report.— I turn now to the Annual
Report of Colonel Sir Francis Bolton, R.E., which contains much
information of general interest relating to the water supply.
Sir Francis Bolton, it should be mentioned, makes monthly
inspections of the several Metropolitan waterworks, filter beds,
reservoirs, &c.; he examines the quality of the water, both at
the intake and after filtration at the works, and he reports
monthly the results of such inspections and examinations to the
Local Government Board. One of the most important of his
duties is to ascertain whether or not the requirements of Section 4
of the Metropolis Water Act of 1852 are complied with, viz., that
"every Company shall effectually filter all water supplied by them
within the metropolis before the same shall pass into the pipes