Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-05
AFTER PURE WATER.
Possibility Of Any Source Becoming
Polluted Eventually.
RIVERS CLEANSE THEMSELVES.
The Danger From Sewage Not 60 Great as
Generally Imagined.
METHODS USED IN EUROPEAN CITIES

1.-THE report of the proceedings of Selec
Council Of Allegheny quotes me as OBJ
jecting to the issue of bonds for watel
works improvement" said j. R. Henricks
the Allegheny Councilman. yesterday. SO
do not object to the improvement nor to
the issue of bonds. What I do object tt
is that all the facts have Rot been put be-
fore the public We should ascertain the
cost of complete water works either al
Six or Nine Mile Island and make il
known to the public Then by popular
vote the matter should be decided, SO that
no cholera scare nor any other method
could be used to hurry the public into vot-
ing on any incomplete scheme.
''They talk of sppropriating 81, 25o, 900 for
the building of a reservoir and works at
Nine Mile Island. This would not be a
drop in the bucket in the paying for such
an enterprise. Some time ago when this
scheme was advanced, bids were taken for
the building of such works at this same
place Every move toward new sytem OF
water supply has pointed toward Nine
Mile Island. just because it has beautiful
sight for a reservoir.
Very Costly Proposition.
Gas said, bids were taken, and the low
est one was something over S., 100000
This did not include the amounts which
would have to be paid for rights of way and
damages caused by bringing the pipes down
TO the city.
''This idea of going great distance away
from the city in order to obtain pure water
Il
water is the nitrogenous matter. The re-
suits of the tests of samples of water
taken from the region of Nine Mile
Island, over the intake pipe from which
Allegheny's supply is now received from the
reservoirs, and at hydrant in Allegheny
nfter filtering and at hydrant before
hlteriug, made by Francis c. Phillips are
very interesting at this time. His report
showed that the water taken from above
the intake pipe was charged with twice the
organic lmpurity as the water taken from
the hydrant before filtering A COM
parison of the water taken from above the
intake pipe with the samples taken from
Nine-Mile Island and from the
hydrant after fltering showed the
former one-third more impure than
the other two So far as organic matters
were concerned the samples taken from the
hydrant were the best, although the until
tered sample was probably the purer of the
two. The waters taken from the reservoir
and from Nine Mile Island were very
nearly alike in the proportion of organic
matter, and scarcely inferior to the filtered
sample. The water taken from above the
intake pipe was inferior in quality to all the
others, being richest in nitrogenous matter.
All of Them Fit for Drinking.
"Prof. Formad's archaeological ANALYSIS
showed that the filtered sample was from
this standpoint, a water much better than
the rest The other samples varied, but
little as far as bacteria and organic matters
were concerned. Next to the filtered water
came the water taken from Nine-Mile Island;
then the water from the reservoir, from the
intake pipes and the sample taken from the
hydrant before fltering followed in the
order named. In Prot. Formad's opinion
any one of the five samples was fit
tor drinking purposes, and contained moth
ing I'M urous to health. Prot Henry Left
mann's tests resulted in declaring that there
was not much choice, but the Nine-Mile
Island water was the best, and the samples
obtained from the hydrant, filtered and until
tered; the worst; but he considered them
all good waters according to the chemical
tests. In the face of the results
of these analyses, which were made
some time ago, but not long
enough to have conditions arise
to materially change the characters of the
water, it seems to ME to be absolute folly
to cry out and make scare about impure
water. consider the Allegheny river one
OF the best supplies that a city could wish
Tor water.
The Rivers Purify Themselves.
at is stated on the best scientific author
tiles that streams purify themselves within
few miles. Therefore, the sewage of the
small towns above the point where the
cities sewage ceases need not be taken into
consideration. / would advise a filter
ing plant to be erected at a
point to avoid the cities sewage, and
here have small pumps sufficient to raise
the water from the river to the filter From
here would advise the piping of the water
down to the pits we now have and from
there have it pumped up into the reservoir.
We have pumps of 30,000,000 gallons
capacity and the reservoir. Why should an
extra expense be gone to in this direction?
We have SO increased in growth that the
reservoir is no longer of use for
pumping the water by subsistence, as
it is emptied three times q day. Reservoirs
are built for two purposes, storage
and subsistence. The reservoir we have is
large enough for us for storage and filter