Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-03-16
PURE WATER
Conducive to General Health
and Welfare.
Maumee Water Preferred to
That of Shallow Wells.

Since the wsterworks ordinance ptov de
for Maumee water there is no little talk in i
which the purity of the Maumee water is
questioned. Toledo uses Matinee water and
no one will say but that the water at this
point is vastly purer than that from which
Toledo gets its supply.
The Toledo Commercial says that during
the past two months, there has been much
sickness in Toledo. Physicians have had
but little rest. And yet the dry cold winter
should, apparently, have been conducive to
health. 1t was noticed that the sickness
prevailed the most extensively in those Sec
tions of the city where the waterworks SER
vice does not extend, and where the people
depend mainly upon shallow wells, from ten
to twenty feet deep, for drinking water.
These wells draw their supply of water from
the surface, and surface water always in
city is of questionable purity. Chemical
tests, however, have shown that if the wells
are filled by considerable quantities of wa
ter, the poisons it contains are less active
and less dangerous to health. During the
comparatively dry season of the past few
months the water in wells has been lowered
nearly to the bottom, and reduced to small
quantities, and it is then that the po isons
become the most active and deadly.
| But there are often causes that add to the
poisons of the naturally impure surface wa
ter. Many of these shallow wells from
| which the public use water, have possibly
notbeen cleaned out for years. There are
few of the wells 80 fully protected that in q
year or two, some sort of animal or vegita-
BILE matter does not find its way to their bot
toms. While they are nearly full the water
may be drank without great danger. When
reduced to few buckets full in quantity, 1t
becomes the rankest sort of poison. But all
| the same the people continue to use it,
poisoning their little children with murder
ous recklessness.
| DR.. Gardner of Erie street relates an Incl.
dent to the Commercial that illustrates the
disregard of the people for the fatal conse-
quences of drinking poisoned water. He
was called to a neighborhood where mum.
ber of children were suffering with typhoid
fever, we believe the doctor said. He was
convinced that the trouble came from drink
ing poisoned water, or some similar disre-
gard of the ordinary sanitary precautions.
He had little trouble in locating the we'll
from which the water came. ALI the facts
indicates that it was rank poison, yet but
little attention was given to his warning of
danger, and people continued to drink the
water, grow sick and die. There is little
doubt but large part of the sickness of the
city is caused by the use of impure water.
Maumee river water, as supplied by the
water works service is the purest and the
best. The water from the so-called artesian
wells is the next best, but this ls not 20 pure
as the Maumee water, brought from above
the city. Surface water, taken from the
shallow wells, should if possible be avoided.
Probably one-half of the whole population
of the city drink surface. The extending of
the water works service will do something
in the way of Improvement. The sinking of
deep wells, at public expense would furnish
a water supply much preferable to. and
more cheaply, than the present supply is
obtained.