Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-02-20
THEICE AGAIN-AND WATER roo.
Important Communication from the Wa
ter COmmitLrr.

important Communication from the Wa
ter Committee.
There seems To he quite Il connection
just now about our ice CrOp-a decided de-
termination not to have it harvested from
the place where it has been mostly secured
the past twenty years For AL this com
motion we suppose we are responsible,
and might as well own up to it first as
last. When the Water Committee report
ed last June upon so much of the Mayors
annual message as referred to our water
supply they were directed to 90 on and
take the steps they had recommended to
he taken. and report the result. They had
recommended that numerous analyses he
taken during the year, "bOth in summer
and winter and various other matters,
not now important to- state, to determine
by scientific tests whether he waters were
essentially better mt any Of the proposed
places for taking our water supply than at
the present pumping station, and they rX-
pressed the belief "that if the proposed sta
ton proved to he essentially better than
the present station there would he no Sc
riOuS objections from any source to the
proper expenditure of funds to adopt the
better station While invest. cations
were going on ~ thus proposed II largely
signed petition was presented to the Board
repre- Senting that there was an unusual
the community, believed To he caused by
the use of impure water, and asking the
Board to take lmmCdat" steps to extend
the pumping mains to the north end of
the breakWatcr. This petition was re
terrcd to the same COmmittce-tO he re-
ported on. as part of the matter already in
their hands. While considering the facts
alleged in the petition we assumed the re
SpOnsibiitN of taking from one OF the
City Ice carts block of ice and after dis
solving it, one bottle Of the water was
sent To Prof. WitthauS Of Buffalo. and an
o.her to Prof. Sahin of this city In due
time Prof. WitthaUS sent the results of
the ANALYSIS and stated with respect to
this sample that at should be condemned
absolutely, rs unfit for human use The
ice dealers were duly Informed of this re
suit and advised to remove from their ice
houses all their old stock of ice and to ar
range to get their ice thereafter in some
less Objectionable locaton-t having
heretofore been obtained within about
half Il mile of the mouth of
the principal sewer, and uSu-
ally nearly directly opposite its mouth
They seemed glad both of the information
and advice. Not long after this the figures
were received from Prof. Sabn giving the
same general results. The ice season then
was nearly past. \ few weeks since it was
learned that preparations were being
made to cut the ice for this season nearer
than usual to the sewer mouth. The firm
cutting tn" Ice We're demonstrated with
and told that if they cut it there the com
mittee would feel it their duty to give the
public the figures and the comments the
chemist had given them They asked us
to consult the Health officer and see if he
would not consent to their taking it where
proposed, and so the Health Officer was
called i'll, and the facts and figures given
him. lie and they agreed to have an
ANALYSIS made from the present ice crop
and to abide the result. Whether there
has been any laying of traps errors or mis-
takes we know not. We give the figures
as they were reported by the chemists last
summer on the iCc-water we sent them.
Neither Of the chemists knew from what
source the water was obtained. Prof. Witt
haus had sample No. T.. and reported total
solids 3 % grains per gallon, chlorine grains
per gallon OBS, free ammonia .OGG in
l,0)O,OOO parts, albumnOid ammonia IL in
900. 900 parts. Prof Sabin'S figures We're
II fraction higher in each case. The first
figure he increased 20, the second ., the
third OUJ, and the fourth .OOG. only.
Prof. Witthaus, speaking of all the sam
pies he has analysed for us-siN in all
says 1.-THE fact that the amount of chlorine
is low in every cas-" goes to show that this
stances and not to the more serious animal
impurities and Prof. Sabiu speaking in
general terms, for he seemed di>incliucd
to give opinions on unknown water, said,
CnlOIlnt may iHlbUHl To I'VE grains per
gallon without causing suspicion. Meth
er of his seven samples exceeded five
grains and only one approXmated that
amount and hence there is no suspicion in
respect to chlorine.
Prof. Wtthaus condemned only one 9TH
er sample of the six sent to him, and al
though this was not intended to be men
toned till all our investigations We're
closed. still. owing to the circulation of an
anonymous pamphlet here recently urging
us "On to RichmOnd' to extend the pipes
to the break water, and the editorial art
Cle last week on this point, and sundry
communications in the paper, it may be
well to say that the other sample con
demned was taken during II strong south
wind from the west face of the breakwa-
ter, within ten feet of the North end of it,
and % feet below the surface of the wa
ter. This sample was worse than the 9TH
erO one i'll that, while it contained the same
amount OF "albuminOid ammonia as the
other. it had liG Of free ammonia''-al-
most double the amount III any othersprc-
linen examined. We are waiting now for
analysis after the lake shall have been
closed over a little longer SO as to see if.the
free ammonia will he increased by the ice
cover which prevents its evaporation into
the air, as il does III the summer and what
currents will appear when the ice prevents
the wind from acting ON the water.
There would seem To he no ground OF
complaint against the committee for de
lays since they are taking the cOurS they
recommended the Board to take, and what
they believed was necessary to get at the
facts from which to Judge intclligently
They believe it better to investigate first
and afterwards eNpeud the money, though
some people believe the other course best
to spend the money first and if ii prove
not to have been right try again and spcnt
more They are extending their iuNcoti
gatiDls in several other directions. all OF
which will be duly rpUOItpl