The evening world., 1894-03-03

cleanly as Consclvea Pond the water fur
nishe1 to Brooklyn would b. much
healthier
Another source from which fairly pure
water Is obtained In this vicinity - from
Clear Stream Reservoir. The water
there comes chiefly from driven wcl.s.
Several small streams Contribut" t. the
reservoir and carry with them the drain
age of "A few farm-hOuscs and private
residences. The waters II these small
streams are polluted with orgaai" matter,
which might, with little s%pense ani
thorities After the water has been
passed through the pumps, however, II
Is fairly well suited for drinking plr-
poses.
Further down the plank road a differ
ent state OF affairs exists, which, in the
way Of conta mtnatiOn. IS somewhat to be
compared, with the pond At Jamaica.
Reservoir, and covers about t>'cnty-threc
acres. and draws on o drainage Of sew
eral square miles. The northern end
of the pond tapers off into an arm which
natives say in hot weather reeks with
NTH. Traces of pollution from the neigh
boring farm-houscS may be seen at n
time of the year.
The pond proper Is composed OF clear
looking water and In some places Is very
Geep. n narrow parts of the pond In
Summer are said to be absolutely. alive
habitants and sold to New York market
men,. The pond has become so thickly
populated With the choppers" OF every
frog-catching has become quite an in
dustry in the village.
At the, southern end OF the pond. where
the banks are Shiny, there Ia a stream
leading to Watts pumping station,
which adjoins the conduit a half mile
away.
Four or five miles away to the east.
owing to its location on a Hill, is not
contaminated by the refuse OF farm
houses.
The pond has an area of twenty-six
acres and a drainage OF twenty-five
square miles. 1t Is the largest reservoir
In the group Of the Rockville Centre
ponds, The pond Is fed chiefly by a num-
Der OF brooks. which do not drain the
houses of the town. The water is, there
fore, fairly good before passing through
the hltering process.
Beyond tnis point as the course goes
from Brooklyn all the smaller ponds of
the system are on high ground and CON
tain good water. ~Neighb1r,ng cemeteries
and factories do not .pol.ute the waters.
city and Jamaica, Is the system drawing
from the ~cesspools and cemeteries OF
East New York and lildgewood. =,
charged with the sewage from thousands
OF residences.
Here Spring Creek carries off the
refuse of the place and deposits 1t into
the water to be used for drinking pur-
Actual tests OF this water made by the
authorities have shown clearly the con
tamination of the stream Little or no
effort was made by the officials to rem
edy the evil, and unless Commissioned
White takes some action the filthy
waters may go on flowing into Brooklyn
for years to come.
The fact that the water was put
through n course OF tiltering was for
merly deemed sufficient excuse for the
laxity of the authorities, Under the new
administration II may not be so. The
water Mt Spring Creek pumping station
has always been regarded as II menace
to public health. and the debris which
may I've tlshed out of the weir at this
point daily Is alone sufficient to support
the theory. An epidemic would thrive
upon the substance furnished by this
stream.
ON the line OF the Merrick plank road,
on the outskirts OF jamaica, the next
reservoir Is even more filthy than the
Spring Creek stream. 1t is known as
One Mile Pond. m Is supplied by foul
sluggish brooks.
And now this system OF the water,
shed has practically been covered from
Hampstead to East New York.
At Ridgewood, the water is obtained
from a series OF ponds, brooks, springs
and wells, The conduits supplying the