The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-09
INSPECT The RIVER
Street and Water Commits
! sioners Personally Visit
The Passaic.
COFFEE CoLoRED FLOODS.
Horrible State Of. Things Discoy-
ered-Why the Water Smells
and Tastes Bad.
COFFEE COLORED FLOODS.

The five members of the Street and Water
of the source OF supply of Jersey
City's water in the Passaic River.
These gentlemen wished to see themsel ves
in what condition the water is and inspect
very thoroughly the watershed. No report
ers were invited, but through the kindness
of one of the board, an account of the days
proceedings is here in the News.
The party proceeded in carriages first to
the Dundee dam, midway between Paterson
and Passaic, which construction arrests the
waters of the Passaic and spreads them over
an area of sixty acres or whereabouts.
Below the dam the water forms in pools,
which were anything but pleasant either to
behold or taste. Algae. weeds,
mud and decayed vegetation pol
luted the waters, which under the
broiling rays of the mornings sun gave out
most foul and pestilential odors
Leaving the carriages the commissioners
walked to the base Of the dam and
closely examined its construction. 1t is
composed of large squares OF basaItic
rock, the crannies and c~revices of which
are filed with cement. But this has washed
out and vegetable matter and deposits of an
6SA SuIclil1E UdtuI0 OOZC IL II q nOi1 "
suggestive IL
wATER AS INK.
On the opposite shore of the lake is the
%gatehouse of the dam through which the
Passaic rushes through like a mill
race. Here the hardy stomachs of
the party almost turned. Even President
Macarthur reported that the people of the
Fourth district were getting fat on such dis
gushing stuff.
NO WONDER THE WATER is RANK.
From this delightful place the party pro-
ceeded to Passaic City which, by the way,
has just completed a new sewag system
by which 100000 gallons of sewage matter
pours itself into the Passaic River
not many miles above the Jersey City intake.
Here along to the city itself the river is a
series of pools of semi-stagnant water, while
here and there are green-mantled ponds
filed when a freshet comes, but still having
connection by small rills with the water
Jersey City people drink.
Along the banks are factories, dump heaps,
pipes from the house n that building pour
ing into the already nasty waters al incredi-
bic amount OF fluids, in which held in solu-
tion, are deadly compounds.
Not many miles from Lodi is a large fac
tory where shoddy mill stands, and here
rags from thousands of ash barrels from all
the surrounding cities are washed and
boiled before Transformation into cloth. The
water IN which they are cleanSed escapes
into the Passaic, of course.
T Added to this, there are manure heaps not
far from the banks, and from each heap,
after a shower OF rain, runs streams of
chocolate-colored water, the very quint-
essence in liquid of the filthy stuff piled feet
high.
~PULLUTlON AT EVERY I'll
And so on, the commissioner found at
almost every step, sources of pollution which
astonished the most doubling Thomas among
them. From Passaic to Paterson, from
thence to the Dundee Dam and on to the
intake at Belleville the Passaic River is ut
terly dirty, polluted, foul, and about as fit
TO drink as prussic acid.
Why, even the farmers whose lands touch
the river, say that their cattle won't drink
the water. Even that easy going and not
over particular gentleman. the pig, turns up
his snout at Passaice water. As for using 1t
in the houses, the ideG is absurd.
Closing an instructive trip. the party pull
led up at Belleville Pumping Station and
found that establishment running in a salts
factory manner and even saving money In
the matter of coal.
Walking to the edge of the river where
the huge pipes are sucking in thousands of
gallons a day for our city supply, the Com
missioners declared that the water was not
fit to drink and President Macarthur agreed
in this.
But what was to be done? They refused
to say, automatically adding hat so
grave a subject demanded the great
est time and thought. In the
meanwhile people must drink the water
germ and swallow it.