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158
The proportion of organic matter in the deep-well
waters of the Kent and Colne Valley Companies, and
in that of the Tottenham Local Board of Health, was
invariably very small. The New River Company's
water was invariably superior in this respect to all the
other river-derived supplies.
Table A gives the proportion of organic impurity
present in the waters taken from the Thames, the Lea,
and the deep-wells respectively, from 1868 to 1889.
From the figures there given it will be seen that, the
Thames water supplied during the year 1889 was
superior to that of any former year as regards comparative
freedom from organic impurity, that the Lea
water was of better average quality than that of the
Thames, but that the highest degree of purity was
shown last year, as in former years, by the deep-well
water.
Table B shows the maximum, minimum, and
average portions of organic impurity in each of the
waters, the average amount contained in the Kent
Company's water during the nine years ending
December, 1876, being taken as unity. This table
shows that, of the deep-well waters, that supplied by
the Kent Company contained least organic matter,
whilst of the river waters, that supplied by the New
River Company was the best in this respect, the East
London Company's water ranking with the best of the
Thames waters. Of the five Thames waters, the