Some comments on the paper by Edward S. Fry on the visible and near-ultraviolet absorption spectrum of liquid water.

It is contended that the most comprehensive collection of data on the visible and near-ultraviolet spectrum of pure liquid water can still be found [Appl. Opt. 38, 1216 (1999)]. The data produced [Appl. Opt. 36, 8710 (1997)] from the integrated light loss in a light-scattering cavity containing water produces a useful set of data, although the error bars presented are underestimated. Furthermore, an oxidative purification step was not incorporated into the water purification procedure to remove residual traces of light-absorbing organic impurities.