[Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Stamford Borough.

  • Stamford (England). Borough Council
Date:
1950
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Stamford Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Of the 7 samples of Tuberculin Tested Milk submitted to the Methylene Blue Test 3 passed and 4 failed and as a result with the co-operation of the Ministry of Agriculture check samples were taken at the producer’s premises in order to ascertain the cause of the failures. WATER SUPPLIES The monthly sampling of all sources supplying the town has again been continued throughout the year, samples of both chlorin¬ ated and unchlorinated water being submitted for bacteriological examination. The results are summarised below :— Type of Water No. of Samples Satisfactory Suspicious Unsatisfactory Chlorinated 41 41 — — Unchlorinated 50 40 5 5 Nine samples embracing the five sources supplying the Borough were also submitted to chemical analysis and all were reported satisfactory in this respect. A sample of chlorinated water from the Swimming Baths was found to be very satisfactory. Two interesting examples of sources of pollution in the lime¬ stone area were detected during the year. A tank lorry of gas liquor (excluded from the river after last year’s pollution) was emptied into a disused quarry now used as a semi-controlled tip for dry refuse. As a result a well about 150 yards distant became badly contaminated and the water assumed a dark red colour and had the characteristic odour of gas liquor. A considerable amount of time and pumping were necessary in order to clear the well. In the second case there had been a recurrent blockage of a combined house drain on an estate in the vicinity of the Ryhall Road bore. This bore has on previous occasions shown an intermittent unexplained contamination of a faecal origin. The blocked drains had been cleared by private labour but on this occasion the complaint reached this office with a request to determine the precise point of blockage. After a prolonged and detailed investigation it was revealed that by a strange mischance the stoppers of two adjacent rodding eyes in the surface water and foul drains were both missing. The foul drain had been blocked for a considerable time, the sewage had backed up and discharged down the surface water drain in to the soakaway and it was only when the latter drain also blocked that trouble occurred. The procedure then had been to clear the wrong drain and thus the foul drainage from 4 houses had been discharging into a soakaway within some 200 yards of the Ryhall Road bore thus undoubtedly being a contributory cause of the hitherto unexplained contamination. The need for caution in dealing with effuents in a limestone area is thus well demonstrated. [19]
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