The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-08-02
FAMILY WATER SUPPLY.
A FRUITFUL SOURCE OF SICKNESS,
SUFFERING AND DEATH.
Impurities Caught In Reservoirs for "~'"
water-sIineraI Substances Found In
Water from wells-Poison from Leu"
Pipes-Fouiing Of - Rural Wen.

health and vigor to all tho tissues, while I'M
pure water is one of the most fruitful sources
OF sickness. suffering aud death, shortening
the average duration OF human lie by many
wears. A pure and abundant water supply
ia therefore an object of the first importance
to every family in the city or country
rhc sources of supply are numerous Many
families depend upon rain water stored !"
cisterns or other resei1 olrs. Under ia'or
able conditions this is pure AMI wholesome
II is. however, liable to absorb dust, smoke
and other impurities IN its passage through
the atmosphere, especially over smoky cities
and i'm case of the first shower after u
drought. When falling on the wooden roofs
of houses tho first rain washes Or the dust
and weathcrbeat Of the shingles, aud should
be filtered before it enters the cistern. Bet
ter still, an automatic arrangement may DC
used which will collect the first raliifali III
some shallow receptacle, and when TINS Is
filed, will turn the pure stream mo tue Us
tern. II then the cistern is divided INTO t"C
equal parts by q partition OF brick llld III
cement. so arranged that the water which
enters upon one side of the partition Is made
to filter through the wall of brick before
being drawn of on the other side, the water
may re relied upon as sufficiently clean and
pure for ordinary uses
VARIOUS MINERAL SUBSTANCES
Most country people depend upon the
ground water Of springs and shallow wells
for their supply This is liable in its passage
through the earth TO absorb various mineral
substances the most common and trouble
some OF which are the salts of lime and mag
nesia, which constitute hard water Thi;
requires the use of a largely increasec
amount Of soap in washing, and is therefore
much less economical than soft water. In
Glasgow it is estimated that the introduction
of soft water in place Of hard has diminished
the consumption of soap at least one-halt.
Hard water also produces in many persons
arrangement of digestion, chronic darrhGa.
gravel and other inorganic deposits. One
way in which the hardness Of water may bt
leSsened is by boiling il. Another method
paradoxical as it may seem, consists IN add
ing lime, usually in the form of lime water
or milk Of lime Both these methods result
in breaking up the chemical combinations
and p-ecipitatng the mineral substances,
which should then be removed by filtration.
In cities and large towns. tho usual source
of supply is the surface water OF rivers and
lakes This is stored in artificial reservoirs,
and distributed through pipes Of lead OF
iron Where lead pipes are used, either in
bringing water from reservoirs or springs, or
in pumping il from wells into houses, the
lead is gradually dissolved, and poisonous
compound formed, which when drank for a
sufficient length of time IS liable 10 produce
unpleasant and even dangerous results. Ac-
cording to Professor Mayr, water containing
one part of lead in one million parts of water
is sufficient to produce lead collie, wrlstdrop
and other symptoms of acute lead poisoning,
while much less quantity may cause lrrita-
tion of the digestive organs and loss OF mus
cular control These effects may be pro
duced in one member Of the family only,
while all are using the water, and the others
escape, owing to a less degree Of susceptible
ity. The path of safety III this matter lies in
avoiding tire use OF lead pipes as far as pos
sible; and in never using water for drinking
or cooking, which has stood in a lead pipe
for any length OF time, but always taking
the precaution first to run OF or pump OFF u
sufficient quantity to completely empty the
pipes
| DECAYIyG ORGANIC MATTER
All surface waters are liable to contamina-
| ton from decaying organic matter such as
| dead leaves. bark and pieces Of wood, frag-
ments of rotten fruit and vegetables, dead
| worms, insects and other small animals,
| garbage and animal excrement Not only
| this. but in all old and thickly settled
countries-wherever civilization has massed
| large numbers Of human beings-both sur
| face water and ground water arc liable to
| the still more serious contamination of foul
drainage, such as the teachings of farm
| Yards, cess pools, sink drains, privy vaults,
| CID gravewlrds and the sewerage OF cities.
DR.. |. A. Watson, in a New Hampshire
board of health report has given a vivid
picture Of the foulng of rural well from
these sources. as follows: clustered on a
fow square rods of land are the farm build
| incs. the dwellings wood she'd wash house,
| horse stable. cow barn, sheep yard, corn
house. swine house, hen house, compost heap,
cess pool and privy. All those are arranged
| in q hollow square, and in their midst Is the
| farmers well. with its curb, sweep and
bucket or its cover, pipe and pump. Around
|
of q New England farm. Birth, life and
death: bloom. fruit and decay, Of men and
animals, of shrubs and trees, have TRANSFERRED
here for century. All the waste has beer
dropped upon the surface. there to accumu
late. decay and putrefy. The earth beneath
has become surcharged with animal and
vegetable waste The whole establishment
is resting upon and above mass Of the mos
dangerous fifth ard this filth IS being daily
leached into the bottom of the well. "
In water thus Astounding in organic impuri
ties are found vast mul,itudes OF animal
cula. which, when taken into the human
system, develop into such frightful parasite
as tape worms, trinchina and hydatids
Still more to be dreaded are the myriad hi
croscopic bacteria, or germs Of disease, which
breed and thrive in filth, and literally swarm
in impure water These are the source o
such deadly pests as dphtheria, typhoid anc
malarial fevers and Asiatic cholera. Tn
importance of some method CT preventing
these dire results can hardly be overcsti
mated. Few persons have any adequate con
ception OF the extent to which pollution IL
water exists. Even in wells, it is said b,
competent observers that the water in nine
ty-fve out Of every hundred is insanitar,
ond unfit for uSa In the wafer of cite, th