Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-08-28
TIE WATER WE DRINK.

Every living soul in Wilmington is consul |
nar Of water, yet how many Of them know any |
thng Of the fluid which they daily drink Nearly
TIE entire population this side the OhristiAna
aiaw their supplies from the City Basins, but
ii IS know little beyond this, and the fact that
l. is pumped from the Brandywine Many sup
l,vse that the volume which sweeps down through
tue race from the upper dam finds its way to the
l .sins, and thence, through the mains, to their
4 ceilings, but in this they are mistaken. The
W ter which courses through this race only turns
q art of the machinery which pumps smaller
C.. ntity from the river below Market street
/ dge.
heCornish Engine IS the main dependence in
aiming our water =lp,ly, but this is only IN
g ration when the .ide is high, and hence all
t.. water lifted by it is what is known AZ tide
" .er-that is, water which flows in and recedeT
" i the tide 1t is nothing more nor less than
,7a.sr from the Delaware River, andis filed with
i impurities and fth. TIE two water pumps are
l.. constant operation, but pump up only the
,v,.er which flows down he Brandywine when
tide is low. When drawn from the pipes the
v,ter is oft-times muddy and discolored, from
a. fact that our daily consumption is greater
tan our storage capacity, and the water is used
Lstore the mud and other impurities have had
tine to settle.
We all turn with nauseated stomachs from the
D-lndywine water, especially when most discol'
ufad, but it has other deleterous effects beyond
the question of health, 1t is largely used in the
manufacture Of morocco, and seriously affects
this branch Of our industry. Being impure OF
ifelf. it "sours" at very low degree of tenn
psrature, and manufacturers are compelled to
l.-s ice literally to counteract this action. Que
single manufacturer is compelled to use up
wards of ton OF ice daily to preserve the watel
Ia I condition suitable for his purposes, Will,
the entire trade uses it to greater or less de
gree. This extra expense Of course lessons th'
profits Of the business aud manufacturer said
to us, the other day, that if the evil was not re
nodied, it would cripple this branch Of our in
dlstry, and divert it to other and more favorable
localities
The question, then, for Wilmingtonians t.
consider is, Are they willing to dismiss the man
utacture Of morocco from our city industries
Ii is now one of our leading branches Of trade
giving employment to great number OF worl
men, and bringing into the city vast sums
money annually. If not, then some action mu
be taken. 1t is proposed to divert the wat
from the race into the canal which s nov beir
dag through the mill after it shall have passt
tu-ough the wheel Of the water pumps, and SUI
ly this to consumers, but this will only partial
obyiate the difficulty. 1t will give us clear, pu
water in dry seasons but in wet ones the watt
will be but slight Improvement over thSt whiC
We are now using. The Brandywine will have
|, tapped further up the stream, or else a su
pIv be derived from another source. What tn
r5urce shall be, we will not attempt to say o
only object is to awaken the people to t
necessity for better water and afterwards
will consider the most feasible plan to obtain
The city has already incurred heavy expeI
in the purchase OF a new pump, but its full dt
iii not have been discharged until it has pro
Ged purer and healthier supply Of water.