Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-05

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would do away with the necessity Of hav-
| ing the water settle. NY idea is to have .
reserve pumping capacity when the source
of supply is sufficient to meet all demands,
and not 60 to the expense Of building
larger reservoirs than necessary"
How to Get Good Water.
Dr. James II. McClelland, OF the State
] Board of Health, said: "It is q great waste
| of money to bring water from long dis
! tanoes We don't know how soon towns
will spring up along the stream we may
utilize or how the population is going to
increase. What is now an absolute pure
| water NAV a few years hence be contami-
mated in the worst way. What is wanted
is large and unfalling source. I think
Colonel Roberts' plan is about the best that
/ has been devised so far. It might be sup
| plemented with the system of filtration by
iron or manganese ore and it would be decid-
edly improved. First, take out all the grosser
| impurities by the means of rock pebbles,
/. etc; then let this water percoiate through
] manganese ore or prepared iron and you
| have water that will compare favorably
| with any spring water. Filtering beds in
the river would be inadvisable. They
should be so placed that they could be
handled easily and be far removed from any
| damage that might be done by floods An
| other point against having them in the
river bed is that leak might occur and un-
observed polluted water might get pumped
I'D into the reservoir, which would be as bad
as having no filter at all.
''Tne State Board of Health made an ex-
animation of the river about Sharpsburg
some time ago and found that deal of
sewage came from that town. The selection
of the point for the filters would have to be
far removed from any place where great
amount of sewage is discharged.
Antwerp's Source ofDrinhing Water.
81 was deputized by the State Board to
make an examination of the systems used
by various foreign cities to filter their
drinking water. more particularly
examined the systems in use at Berlin and
| Antwerp, especially the latter place, as
Antwerp was receiving her supply of
water from one of the most sluggish,
filthy and muddy streams ever saw. Not
withstanding this they transformed the
water by the metallic system of filter
ing into water as good and as pure as any
spring water The standard for grading
waters on the other side is pure mountain
stream water, as all waters have more or
less impurities III them-none being per-
fectly pure. Even if you should be able to
produce perfectly pure water, moments
exposure to the air would fill it with num-
berless bacteria. For the six years this
system, had been in effect they have
produced this pure quality of water.
1t is not an expensive method either.
They told me in Antwerp that the cost per
million gallons was IS shillings. This sys-
tenn has been used with great success in
half dozen cities in the Netherlands and
has recently been introduced in Paris,
where it is giving satisfaction. At first
they utilized spongy iron plates through
which to filter the water; but this did its
work so well that it was impossible to keep
them clean. Now they use q large iron
cylinder filled with scraps of iron. The
water is put in this and churned well, then
is allowed to enter settling basin, where
the iron particles fltrate and settle to the
bottom.
Distributing Berlin's Sewage.
sIn Berlin the same system is used,
though they do not discharge their sewage
into the river, but pump it out to the farms
in large pipes Here the farmers, when
they need fertilizer, just draw it from one
of the many great taps 1t would be sup
posed that these pumping stations would be
objectional. They don't seem so, for there
Is a ohC uAiCS1Ay opPosieO VIC LII PCAAdh
Palace.
'sNo filtering system is practical unless
the filtering substance can be removed and
cleaned. In the manganese system the ore
could be removed at intervals and replaced
very cheaply. Iron or manganese destroy
nearly all the bacteria, at least all the harmful
species, that may exist in the water
Charcoal is regular breeding place for
germs. In connection with this subject it is
interesting to note the great disparity in
the amount of water supplied different
cities. The English towns and cities pro-
vide for from 80 to 40 gallons day each in
habitant. New York has capacity of 83
gallons per day for each person; Philadel-
phia SS and Boston 80 gallons. Baltimore
has the maximum capacity of 500 gallons
for each person and is only exceeded BY
Rome which can furnish 800 gallons for
each inhabitant. Pittsburg has capacity
to supply about 100 gallons for each in
habitant
'Since the great cry for pure water has
arisen, there is possibility of cities jump
ing into one system or another which may
cost great deal of money and will perhaps
give no results of any benefit except the ex-
perience. So they should 60 slow in the
choosing of a system"