The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-07-31

| ~ ;nsnsotion nv Colonel w. Il. Cutshaw, MIR.
| il. b. Whitcomb. Mr. Frank lssscs engineer nns
water power for the CnSsspeare eity a water
| works. Wv Mr. West OF the Chamber OF Cou,,
| nerce hoard OF health: by Messrs., Campbsll
and White, OF the City Coupcii, ana Dy Dr "
| N parter Mr. Blsseii aud Mr.. Dunl9p, secre-
tarr offhe Chamber OF Commerce. The work
! Of The Committee was greatly facilitated py
| valuable information cheerfuily given Dy
many OF the above mentioned sen'loinen-
now ABOUT THE RIvER?
The river itself. after pa,sing over bosn pc
| bouIders and islands, having also so great
| fsll ia these sir miles between the dam, ana
| tbe Nav pump house as TO be q true rapid.
| There are as yet but few sources OF poliu,
ton 1 90 tbis great river above the dam. and
! The communicating waters below 1t are onec.
| tually cut of from IL by the canal. IL a. !.
| seems probable, that bV contact WITH the OH
! water IS in measure self-purihed, we ha,e
! the conditions for publication in great pei
lection ia the river bed for this SIX miles end
! ing as the New prmp-honse; ana nls eYluens
| that the river water should be ireer ron 9.l
/ dsleterious matter than ~ the canal a!ouE lls
/ banks after receiving the drainage described
| above. and which is diluted by but fraction
/ of the river water. Ii Will be said, perhaps,
! that either OF these sources Of supply Is COCO
enough; that chemical tests have been msde
| by competent hands, and these snow 10
/ deleterious matters In the canal or river OK
! indeed at the bydrants OF the. CITY ..,-
1 with TeRHTQ 10 tulht VIC VIII AuCfD ~
| from a paner read by Charles q. Currier. NJ:
| d., momber Of the New YORK Academy 81 81
| Medicine. before the American society, oil
Civil Engineers, Noyemoer ~. s emii' he
! Influence Of Polluted Water In tho tausat!on
| OF Disease" DR.. Currier says; eCheenIstI ~
/ affords us no sufficient test OF me freedom Ii
! A water from the infoctiVe principles "hiSu
| cause serions diseases or which lessons the
snm total cf the vital forces and increases the
susceptibilitv to Infection yet IN iecK OF
biological study OF the question OF seIl-puII-
fcation of polluted sources OF water supply;
the reports of chemical e1amlnapons OF
numerous streams are interesting ana IN
structiye." Again; 1t seems as thO ya 81
typhoid 10 dffuse an epidemic throughout a
community can be added 70 drinking water
and not be detachable by chemical tests.
perussl OF the very complete ana lh'tLuctvl,e
tional Board Of Health for 1850 shows now
! widely such determinations may vary, anu
how unreliable chemical standards NAV De.
In discussing the paper OF Or. turrief. Mf q.
Rudolph Herring than whom no one stands
! higher as q sanitary engineer SAYS: thtH-
/ istry alone doss not seem suihclent 10 Ieo
| termine the presence OF these bacterls, a. nc
is informed that there may be 1OhOVO III q
cubic centimetre OF water about one-IouItn
teaspoonfuD without being discovered by any
chemical means" .r, .,.-. -
nracticSi hvgienists believe that among other
diseases, such as typhoid. and probably
/ rbolera- are SOLELY caused by the vital &C
tivity within the human organising OF 'he
epecifc bacteria OF these diseases, ana no
other factor has there been constant or per
manent; but" he proceeds, while empha-
sizing the bapsful effects OF polluted uIlnh-
ing water il is of course admitted that un-
clean, injesta, or anything that introduces
these living bacteria INTO the aIlnienlhry
cana may lie the means OF carrying the IN
lection into the system. Cold does NOT 90
stroy ell bacteria, although certain num-
her succumb to extreme cold. but freezing OF
the water in which they are living seems
relatively favorable TO portion OF the per
nicious microbes. present. in many serious
epdemics il has been observed that III Ice
and snow tho infection OF typhoid was kept
inactive for months"
THE typhoid fever epidemic OF 1889 az
Wilkesbarre. Pa, caused It 10 appear that the
bacillf Of that disease were probably unaf-
fected by the comminglng OF coal-mlh9
water with the SusQuehanna river wafer; anu
the small amount of carbonlc acid found IN
streams can devitaliZe no bacteria; only few
varieties we're markedly Affected ana nearly
all the harmful ones could live IN carDonateq
waters for days" In view OF bacteriologlcal
explanations the potency Of polluted water
in inducing the diffusion Of some infections,
and notably OF typhoid fever, cannot De
doubted like other harmful germs the char
acteristic bacilH OF this disease can I'VE Iof
days In water whose gross appearance y that
of purity. and of which only the biologist can
detect the impurlty. Dilntion Of the water
in which they are living does not XIII bacte-
ria; dilution by better water iesisensl OF
given volume. We may believe that lesson
ing of the number Of harmful bacteria by
means OF dilutlon renders water less UNIT lot
drinking, yet IL does not make II aDsoiutey
wholesome"
sELF-PURIFIcATIoE.
With regard to the self-purifcation Of
water DR.. Currier says: There exists In al
streams a capacity Tor at least partial sell
publication after sewage or other poiigutiio19
has entered Biologically this IS manifested
by lessening Of the number OF bacteria
present after several miles OF now IN case no
fresh accession of inferior water occur.
authorities differ as 70 the amount OF
mission in years following 1868 assert no
river, even in course OF one hundreu
miles, became purified after pollution ~
organic matter. The chemists connected
with the investigation Of the Seine waters
found that after a flow OF from sixty-seyen to
Dinety-three miles below Paris the chemical
quality of the river had returned TO the same
chemical quality that II had before reaching
Paris" "Hulwa found the odor. after receiy-
ing the sewage OF Bresau. had completely
purified itsef,chemic aly,in flow OF less than
twenty miles" 1T IL found also that stagnant
water and that standing in vessels require
much longer time than moving water 70 have
definite degree OF oxidation take place IN
organic substances present" III must appear
unsafe to consider that a river sufficiently
purifes itself within a short distance from
the entrance into il of considerable amount
Of sewage or other contamination
Your committee is informed that the large
receiving reservoir for the Washington aque-
Ducts temporarily out OF use, because II has
been found contaminated by the drainage OF
surrounding farms, and that an intercepting
sewer at a considerable cost. perhaps 100000,
will be constructed around It's entire area be-
fore il is again used. The Potomac river
water is now taken direct TO the distributing
reservoir near Georgetown,wh IL above the
drainage Of the country around It,
Commissioner GilrOy, in recent report on
the pollution Of the CrotOn watershed, made
to the Mayor of New York city, advises as a
first step towards purifying the water supply
of that city in the most direct, reasonable and
economical manner, the acquisition 81 strip
Of land not less than 80 feet wide above high
water mark on each side of the principal
streams and around each pond, reservoir and
| lake tributary 10 the water supply. whore nuis-
ances now exist and do eteriOus SUI distances are
discharged into the water; so that all obiec-
tiOnabie buildings and nuisances could then
! be removed 10 a safe q stance. where they
/ he estimates this would require 5,46) acres Of
land at cost Of 81, O92 900. hls means q strip
! of land about 10 miles 'ong 10 protect the
! CrOton lake, thlrty-hye miles from the city.
THE CANAL 4 SEWER
| The canal which bring the water TO Rich
! mOnd city, receiving the whole Of TuckahOe
creek. in,ercepts all the drainage of the left
/ miles above the New pumQ-houso The near
| est town above is Olumbla fifty three miles
| OF. i he river, with Its present surroundings,
/ would seem 70 have sufficient volume TO
! dilute and 10 furnish aeration enough TO oxy-
| date the comparatively small amount OF inn
purities which enter it and deliver II oppO-
/ site your New pump-house in an exceptionally
| pure state AS we have mentioned, the river.
/ after passing over Bosher's Dam flows over
rocky bed, obstruct6d with bOulders and
islands. having so great A fall in tina sir Tofles