Telegram-herald., 1890-03-17
WATER QUESTION.
rcopaaesa tron Firss PaSe.,


p0isioa ia soluuoa- An unpleasant
O1oF o. favor m&y also 01fena tnt
senses. but 4 does not folloW that thls
indicates an unheSiiny mud. It's
presence may be dus % organsSsas tast
are innocent IN t0eH aatuFe. Never
tAsless. the esshefle character Of water
Be- 4 cesirablr, although It should H. q
suho4a nate, matter lts IA ; ecton and
ny h4YIag water tree ir0n shS obJec-
tons Just named, prfJualoes VIII ne
aysrted and a siroag pelut wlI bs
gained ia is favor. Ia such matters
most people are governed by their
senses. aud when once tue se>thete taste
hzs been. ant8goniled sentiments :
sometimes created that 40 amount OF
explanation can remove or subsequent
change NIL atone Tor.
These thea, IA order o. Importance
are the three desirable features 10 be
consulted 10 the selection OF city
water supply; Party, quantity, ss-
tneuc quality.
SOURCES OF SUPPLY.
Now let as turn for few moments
and consider the sources OF water sup
ply. These may be arranged into four
/ classes, as follows: First, RAIN water;
second, surface water, including lakes
aud streams. third, ground water. such
a. isfOund in galleries and shallow wells
| aud fourth, water drawn from great
! depths, as from artcsiau wells.
I'm the general supply of cities, how
| ever, the first aud the last sources must
| ne ruled cut, II Tor 40 other reason than
| Tor their insuticiency. Ram water Is not
| pure, since falling 90 Is artificial hasln,
| Il may be contaminated by organic
/ germs III the atmosphere or gathered
on the roofs of buildings, whlte water
from arteslan wells is liable 10 be too
J strongly lmpregnated with mineral sub
stances TOR general use. But, aside
| from these matters, the amount OF
water obtained from the sources named
would be totally inadequate 70 supply
z city's wants.
There remain then, two other sources
of suppy-surface water such as We
| ind IN lakes and streams and ground
Oh spring water, found by penetrating
Il certain distance beneath the surface.
OF these two, the latter may be SAID to
be at once the most ancient and the
most modern. In the oldest days OF
which We read, wells were dug IN ac-
cessibe places and the water tilterlng
into these was used To Quench thirst,
for cattle and for household purposes.
| Sometimes coplous well even deter
| mined the location OF village or an
| industry. IL is the method which has
! been handed down 10 more recent times
the family we'll in the childhood of
most OF us adults having been the
source Of the refreshing draughts that
A .f~laf ~. F.n 20
call in this connection those familiar
lines of Woodwork on the "Old Oaken
Bucket''-iines that seem fairly satur-
ated with the cool and limpld element
they describe!
That mossooyered vessel hailed as treas
IRE.
For often, at noon, when returned from the
ned,
The purest and Sw .ttest that nature can yield
How ardent sliced II, with hands THAT were
glowing.
And quick TO the whitepebbied bottom IL ieli
Then soon. with the emblem Of truth overflow
And dripping with cOolness it rose from the
% e.
How sweet from the green mosss brim to re
ceive 1t.
As, poised on the curb, II inclined 10 my llps.
Not fun blush.ng goblet couid tempt me u
Though dlled with the nectar that Jupiter
| sips!"
NATURES FILTRATION.
But alas. how often in wells that fur
nished such delicious draughts and IN
spIred such poetry, death fingered, and
many victim of typhoid, whose de
cease was ascribed to Providence, inno
Gently drank the poison, washed OF
percolated from adjacent sources OF
organic contamination. So true 10 tins
that today IN the more thickly settled
: portions of our cities the water IN TIN
wells is totally unfit to drink, anC
most people have been wise enough t
abandon them. And yet 1t ls true that
! the well-principle, or as it is called tins
gallery systcm," has become means
of collecting the purest water tor towi
! supply. Wherever an uncontamlnateC
stream or lake can not bc obtained ant
, wherever a sufficiently protected are:
can toe secured, this system undoubted
| lv furnishes the most feasible means o
, securing the purest water. 1t gather
I, the supply by natures method of filte
: | ing, as the water slowly peIcolate
. | through the soil-the only etfectv
! method of fitering-and protected iron
external exposure, furnishes water con
tainlng the least traceable amount o
organic life. This is the system en-
ployed by our present Hydraulic Con
/, pany, corporation which
i furnishing water by far tn
purest accessible IN quantity to on
Citizens water averaging many time
- purer than that furnished by our cit
authorities. OF course It must be under
) stood that the present capacity of tn
: company is limited to two million ga
Ions daily. whereas the two compani,
n furnish III the aggregate five and on'
third millIons-the amount now n
CURED to supply our citizens, TO sa
Z nothing Of needed extension Of main
I. and greater demand for summer Sc
vice. Whether a sufficient area fire
from contamination can also be secure
to meet present and prospective do
mands, Is another question which
not propose here to discuss. All a.
= SIRE at present 10 say -, that ] ,so0,00
= gallons of spring water-about half th
y quantity pumped by the city autho
: ities-are daily furnished this commit
nifty: that this water Is by far the pure
in general use. I state upon authorii
that II Is purer than the water OF Las
Michigan. 4 table Of thirteen analyse
covering period Of whole year, frOI
March. 1889. 20 March. 1920, shows q
city water 20 contain on an averaG
three and One-qusrter times "a muC
organic matter IS that furnished hy Il
Hydraulic Company, and sHce the re
ftifo~ -~ac mt lsrn.a ard rrrr-ur-nf