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
City of London 1871
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of]
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being made to remedy this defect, so that objectionable
flood waters may be diverted from the supply.
The quantity of water supplied daily to London by
the several Companies has been as follows:—
| QUARTERS ENDING | Entire Year. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec., 1871. | March, 1872. | June, 1872. | Sept., 1872. | ||
| Total Rainfall (inches) | 6.08 | 5.42 | 6.65 | 6.34 | 24.49 |
| Average in City for 10 years | 6.36 | 5.60 | 5.34 | 6.13 | 23.43 |
| Number of Wet Days | 28 | 48 | 47 | 33 | 156 |
| Average in City for 10 years | 41 | 42 | 37 | 35 | 155 |
| Degree of Humidity (Sat,=100) | 80 | 89 | 71 | 69 | 77 |
| Average in City for 10 years | 82 | 84 | 73 | 71 | 77 |
| Dew-point (Fahrenheit) | 39.6 | 41.3 | 44.9 | 53.3 | 44.8 |
| Average in City for 10 years | 42.6 | 37.8 | 46.0 | 52.7 | 44.7 |
| Temperature (Fahrenheit) | 45.0 | 46.4 | 53.8 | 64.6 | 52.4 |
| Average in City for 10 years | 47.6 | 41.9 | 54. 3 | 62.1 | 51.5 |
Taking the population of London at 3,311,298, it
will be seen that the average daily supply per head
ranged from 30.5 gallons in January to 36.2 gallons
in July; and that the quantity supplied to each
house was rather more than 218 gallons a day. About
60 million gallons of each day's supply were derived
from the Thames, about 45 million gallons from the
New River and the River Lea, and the remainder
from the chalk wells of the Kent Company.