The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-10-16
Dug Wells or Drive WeIls-Which is
the Safer Source of Water Supply?

the Safer Source of Water supply?
| Let us look into the N after moment.
Al soil, to a certain depth from the
surface, holds in the pores more or less
air. The action of air upon water is 20
oxidize the animal or vegetable matter
held In suspension, TO a G:eater or less
extent. Oxidation simply amounts TO
burning up the matter attacked by the
oxygen, the complete removal of them.
All water, however, is not rendered fit
for domestic use by such oxidation as
it undergoes while percolating through
the soil Far from il. The water may
, be so surcha-ged with foreign matters
as to make complete oridizdtjo1l impossi
Bile. Still the chemicaI action referred to
is car ried on as fares the amount of oxy-
gen contlinei in the az held by the soil
will go.
In this city, owing TO the rapidly in
creasing population, the sources of pol
luton of water are keeping pace with
the influx of settlers. Now we can
readily see, that if all matters held in
suspension are not completely destroyed
by the action of the oxygen, great por-
tion of them s-e. Though this may be,
and probably = Tue, it does not by any
means prove that such water is free
from unhealthful qualities.
Chemical examinations show that the
denser the population of city the fouler
and more injurious for domestic use the
water becomes. Though the water may
appear bright and sparkling, and be
odorless aud tasteless, still we are far
from being assured that the pollutIag
matters are not there. TIC , many analy-
ses have shown thisto be true.
Undoubtedly dug wells in thickly
settled community ere a source of evil.
How is it with driven wells? Are they
safe? Is the wafer from them good and
pure?
Dive wells are geuCva''y S,.k into
and through ha~d-pan, may IL clay or
soft rock. In such wen it IS vel diff
fioult to determine where the water
does come from. 1t may come directly
from stable, or privy vault, or a cess
pool for all we can know or determine.
The pollutio of the water in a driven
we'll is liable to he far more serious than
that taken from a dug well. The rea-
son is PLAIN enough, and cannot be con-
troverted. The communicating or pullut-
ing matters carried and absorbed by the
stream supplying the driven well do not
have the same opportunity to become
oxidized as they do when the water
slowly filters through the sandy or po-
rous soil.
Water flowing underneath hardpan
finds its way to that location through
some fault in that stratum; the flow
Of this water to this ''faglt" unquestion-
ably makes a small channel. thus Gre
ating permanent cor~se through which
the water flows, in greater or lesser de
gree polluted by various matters. Air
underneath hardpan is as scarce as an
gels visits; in fact. it ca1 lie safely said
that it does not exist there in any appre-
ciable quantity. Therefore when we
pump up quantity of water from our
driven well, ninety-nine times in one
hundred we get bad Whitewater that
and taste peculiar, and people having
such a supply Of water often deIude
themselves and their neighbors with the
idea that it is miuera, water. and conse-
quently tonic.
Strange how sensitive man is abou.
the purity of his water supply Who
ever heard of man wanting an ex-
animation of his well made, because he
thought the water impure: No, no, just
from curiosity!
Facts show that the dug well is safer
than the driven well.
Facts 1RQueSti0Hcd show neither the
dug well nor the driven well, nor yet
the cis,ern, to be safe and healthful Us a
source OF water supply.
What shall we do? Build water
works and go 200 feet for our supply.
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Tamnany aud the County Democ-