The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-08-10

Ine VXperience Ot Clues, auclent anu
\ nroyes that tha ground mann vvbich


aern, proves that the ground upon which they |
are built cannot be relied upon for any lasting
supply Of water, and that the quality of that
.obtained steadily deteriorates until IL becomes.
unfit for use. Many, Of the noblest worksAof
antiquity are works built for the conveyance
of water Ito cities, not a few-of which fulfil
their Office to this day, bearing witness alike
to the magnifcence of the age in which they
were constructed, and to the wisdom of their
builders. The water level beneath the surface
Of towns Is steadily sinking This has been
ascertained by actual experiment.. Thus in
London it was proved that in the sand springs
underlying the blue and plastic clays, the wa
ter kvel, which in 1927 was seventy-five feet
below the surface, bad fallen in 1887 to one
hundred and sixteen feet below, and by more
careful observations, made each month during
the next twelve years, It was found to sink
deeper every year, varying during each season
according to the quantity of rain during the
different mouths, until in August, 1849,, the
level was one hundred and sixty-three feet
below the surface, As the water level sinks,
the expense Of reaching it, and Of raising the
water to the surface, Of coarse largely iucreas-
ses. xsa .ssghnk sistf1ux
This sinking is easily accounted for. The
steady drain of the inhabitants above, increas-
ing in ratio far greater than that of the in
crease Of the populations as is readily seen
when the enormous quantities required by
steam engines, factories, breweries, fires So,
are taken into view, can only be supported by
an inc ,eased supply from tbe surface. This
supply, however, is at the same timo actually
falling OF. The paving of streets, and the con-
struction Of hard surfaced roads, with cutters
and drains to divert the rain to the nearest riv-
err, turns away the natural supplies, and thus
as the streets lengthen and the houses crowd
more closely together, the. water Is steadily
sinking deeper into the earth. Asl as
f. We're this growing deficiency in supply the
| only evil going on, more weight might be Civ
| en- to the argument of those who say it will be
| time enough to undertake them; but along
with this sinking of the water level, elements
of contamination are rapidly following down
4 from the surface. Without going into Stats
tscs which would not be Of very refreshing
character,it must be evident to all who give
their attention to the subject, that the daily
| deposits of manure and filth in the streets, the
settling of the contents Of numberless privies
cess pools, stables, and drains, as wen as the
teaching from the public sewers, furnish eaus-
es sufficient to account for the actual deteriora-
ton of the quality Of the water, which it is a
matter of proof invariably tax es place. The
deeper the wafer=leyel falls, and the more
thorough theaconsequent dran of the earth
above, the more readily and rapidly are these
noxious elements taken in, to be raised asair
in the water which absorbs them for the bev
erage of men, source Of evils of which thost
who have made ittheir study can only have
discovered few Of the most prominent. 9 /