Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-01-10
THE MUDDY WATER
1t Results From Heavy Rainfalls Up in
the Mountains.
1t is Not Pleasant for Habits of
Cleanliness Nor for Drink
ing Purposes.

1t used to be the proper thing in writing
about water to refer to 1t with such ad-
jectives as clear. crystal and sparkling.
That was before such water Washington
must needs put up with now was ever
dreamed of by the most far-sighted
prophet.
AS water-well, as water it is unique. 1t
is pretty good for mud and If it could but
be properly handled and dried it might
make a pretty fair quality of adobe house,
but for drinking and bathing purposes
angels and ministers of grace defend. u.s.
1t would be hard to imagine anything fun
nier than a bathtub filled with water these
days. person of cleanly habits, who
knows he is not as dirty as the contents Of
BIS tub, hesitateS long before he takes his
dip. He can hardly be blamed either, for
the best that can be said of the water is
that 1t IS wet, and if thoroughly wiped off
a1terWard with rough towel the man
may feel that he has had a bath That
is ALL
Worse for Drinking Purposes.
But when it comes to using the stuff as
a beverage the matter takes on even a
worse aspect 1t is as dark in color as a
glass of book beer. and not nearly as trans
lucent, ror anything like as tempting
Dealers in household goods have been doing
a big business in filters the last few DAYS.
out even a filter cannot remove all evil
dences Of the soil from the water. 1t is all
wen enough to say that the water is free
from typhoid and other disease germs, but
no one can claim for it that it is tempting
drink. Plants that sprout from bulbs grow
admirably in it, and find in 1t both food and
drink. put the average mortal would pre-
Ter to have his drink and food in separate
dishes.
To the general run of Washington peo-
pie the question has settled into one Of how
eko%1
to last.
Why" said one wearied and irritated
Wash1ngtonian to a Star reporter, 1.-The
drinking water we have to put up with at
our house just now is as dark as a room
lighted by Washington gas"
According to the officers in charge of the
water supply of the District, the causes for
the present unfortunate condition are nat
ural and beyond their control. In the
course of a conversation with a Star re-
porter this morning, Mr.. Pickering Dodge
said it was the result of rains w the Po-
tomac, end it would depend entirely UPON
climatic conditions how long the water
stays muddy.
Result of Rains.
During the fan."- continued Mr. Dodge,
there was protracted drought around
the headwaters of the river, and the result
was that from September 10 to December
q, continuously, the condition of the water
meant that a little ball in a tube of the
water could be seen for SO inches. That is
as clear as the water can ever be expected
to get. There were few slight rainfalls,
but the ground absorbed it all, and it did
not affect the condition of the city's water
in the least. Since then there has been
mere rain, and the result IS what We see.
December % there was a rainfall of 10 of
an inch at Great Falls. How much fall there
was in the mountains we do not know.
December p there was fall of SO of an
inch. OF course, the amount at Great Falls
does not affect the water; it is only the
Potomac by the little mountain streams
December - and % the condition of the
water was L, that is to say, it was possible
to see through the water for the distance
of only an inch. That's pretty bad. On
December 81 there was rainfall of an
inch, and on the I'd and Sd OF January the
condition was 1. Since then it has risen
steadily, until at o'clock this morning it
was up to 8, and the river may be said to
be clearing.
Dalecarlia Reservoir Helps Some.
Some surprise has been expressed that
the use of the Delecarlia reservoir has not
helped matters to greater extent than it
has, but the truth of the matter is that
Washington uses so much -water--over fifty
million gallons a day-that it has little or
no chance to settle. Even if there were
dozen Dalecariias it would not help mat
tiers to a much greater extent, for the
reason that so much of the sediment in
the water is very light and can be held in
suspense. If you take glass Of it and let
1T stand it Will be clearer, OF course, but
not all Of the sediment will SETTLE no mat
ter how long it may stand. The Dalecarlia
reservoir does help things good deal, for,
as rule, it Detters the condition of the
water from one to four points. This morn
ing it was improved two points by passing
through the settling basin. When it went
in it was but +, but when it came out it
YES 8, which Is a considerable improve
ment'
Hnhraxv IN rifio. n.II