The daily gazette., 1879-11-11
Water Black sUith DyestssH.


MILL OF THE MEssRs. BANCROFT
POIsoNs THE BBANDYwINE WATER
AND PREVENTS THE CITY PUMPS
FROM RUNNING.
''lL's been that way ever since yest,r-
day afternoon, and the pumps have not
been running at all since midnight on
Sunday" remarked Robert Cottinghain,
of the Water Department, at the City
Mill Pumping Sta ion, at 4.3O o'clock
last evening, when questioned with re-
gard to he dyestuf from Bancroft's mill.
with which the race, that bears down The
city's drinking water, was running with
inky blackness. So densely pregnated
was the water with the poisonous stuff
that the bottom of the race could not be
seen, even along the edges where the
wa;er was shallow, and Wien a glassful
was dipped out, and held between the
eye and the sun, it had the appearance
Of jet black ink. As MIR. CoLtinghan
had remarked, the pump, had not been
running since the aow Of the black water
bad started, aud at that time had been
Idle for mo than forty hours. 1t still
continued 10 Iun, and was not al by un-
Til nearly midnight last night, and, there
fore, the delay amounted to no less than
forty-eight or fifty hours.
1t is already understood by the people
generally that arrangements have been
entered into between the Water Depart
ment and the Messrs. Bancroft, in order
that the pumping of the poisoned water
into the Cool Spring Reservoir may be
avoided, and in order to do this the
pumps have to stand idle during the time
the black water is running down from
the Bancrois' capac;Ous watts. The dye
stuff is released at stated times by the
firm, and the Water Department, being
apprised of the sction, has ''to hang uI
fiddle and bow" for the time being, and
cannot start tie pumps to work again
while the deadly stuff continues to run
Lately much more time has been wasted
by waiting for this than formerly, and, In
order to ascertain just how The matter is
at present Chief Engineer McIntire wa
called upon and interrogated.
Said h: yes it has been much worse
during month or two past than evel
before, and the Water Department has
lost more time than it really can aAort
to lose. We stop the pumps at the City
Mill Pumping Static, on Saturday nigh
at twelve o'clock, IN order to give thu
workmen the rest on the Sabbath that |.
always accorded to laboring men. Abou
four o'clock, Oh Sunday afternoons, the
Messrs. Bancroft let out the dyestuff
and it always runs until the vats are emp
ty. Generally it has all passed by between
| and O'Clock on Monday morning, and
the Department has not lost 50 much
time.
Bnt lately this has been far different
and the volume of the dyes uff has beer
so great thai it takes twelve or fourteen
hours to run down. l p.esume it II
owing to the fact that the mills are doing
more work. On the last Monday in Sep
tember the pump did not run at all, AN,
was the same on the Mondays comm,
on Oct. 9th. 12th, 10Th and 26th. Las
Monday Nov, Sd, it was just as bad
and you see how II is Today your self
On these days the pumps have lost abou
tniry-tOur hours OF valuable time.
The impression has got abroad tha
the Chief Engineer hs ] been in favor of tn,
Messrs. Bancroft, but this is not the case
AT the conference between that firm anC
The Water Committee of City Council
the lawyer of the firm asked the Chic
| Engineer II the delay was at all unSatlS
factory to him, and he replied that /
was as satisfactory as the Department
could make il. 1t is decidedly the re
verse, but we can do no better than pu
up with it, remarked the Chief yester
day.
1t argued by some people that although
the black wafer runs down and leave!
the Water in the race clear, the water il
ST II impregnated. No black water i
pumped, but it is claimed by some thai
much of the poisonous dye-stuff lodge!
sedilnent-like on the bottom and side
Of the race, aud that it continues to at
feet the water for d d,ys. Ii it did so dur
ing the Summer, when it only took
few hours for the volume to pass down
how much more SO must 1t be now wher
the quantity of the dye stuff is trebleC
over what il was then?