The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-27


Washington street at Kentucky avenue to- |
getller with It's tributaries, effects the ma
jo- drainage or the town, the sewage even
tually being emptied into White river with
in the city boundaries Ever since it's be-
ginning the inhabitants OF Indianapolis
have. been supplied with water from wells.
and have deposited their wastes In the same
earth near their wells. IL Is estimated now
that probably 20 per cent OF the citys sew
per cent. is still deposited in pits beside our
wells. Nature is indeed kind, for In the ma
ture of things it would have been but just
had we long ago expiated this filthy sin In
| sickness and death.
| This, however is being done now, at the
rate OF ABOUT four deaths TO the thousand
annually, together with an amount OF sick
| ness and poor health which cannot be esti-
mated. This is TO say of the ia OF the peo-
| ly four OF the number die from privy poison
| ing.
As it gradually dawned upon the minds of
Ell had become polluted they have gone
| deeper by driving wells into the gravel be-
| meath the blue clay. Here is found a nard
| water. always containing iron, usually or
high degree Of organic purity, and some
1 times sterile. Second water. as IL Is called,
is much esteemed, and its users nave conf
| dence in its healthfuiness. Owing, however,
| to the occasional fault in the clay blanke'.
| which lies beneath the two water-bearing
grayels, II frequently happens that the aoeep
| ones. 1t further appears that some people
/ cannot, without Ill effect, stand the mineral
| that the ferrous carbonate which is held IN
solution by the carbonic acid is the disturb
1 ing agent.
Among the many interesting instances OF
deep wells furnished bad water may be
| mentioned what are known as Burfords
well. Dagget's well and the Grand HOT, Hotei
well. The last two arc in the same block,
| being $40 feet apart. Burford's well is in the
block Immediately TO the north Last win
Gerry 0 house use Of ScSnu ue Co burned to the
Other provisions fell from the floors above
to the cellars. The firemen, in throwing
water upon these flames, covered these sub
stances in the cellars to the depth or SIX
| feet OF more. Slowly this water sank into
| much salt, sugar ana soluble matters from
| the fish and bacon. Two or three weeks
passed, and the deep wells began TO yield
| water OF bad odor and taste. the Daggett
| well, two hundred feet distant from the cell
lar ard forty-hve feet deep was the first
80 a1raS sor and TASTE 20 we're enough. Tn
swedish, salty taste and the nauseating door
told the story. The Grand Hotel we'll iso
next noticed to possess the characters just
named, and. lastly, the Burferd well. 3to
feet distant from the celar ana Sky iee &c
these wells Were reported TO draw their
supply from below the blue clay.
Qualitative chemical tests Of these waters
with solution of silver nitrate gave CO.
pious precIpitate of silver Chord, which
quickly. blackened in the light
|
| to condemn, still steps were taken to esti-
mate the ammonias and the nitrogen in the
other forms, when 1t was discovered that
solutions. After this no further efforts at
analysis were made. Thus it has been
proved that our deep wells wells MAJ may receive
that water is, in the greater proportion OF
our city, polluted. confidence in all our sec
Long before the occurrence as renee narrated anal.
| ysis had shown many of the deep waters
to be bad. but the public was loath to be-
ieve it.
NOTABLE NEGOTIABLE WATER
1t may be well to mention two of the
deep wells that furnished notably impotable
water. One is on South Illinois street, the
other on Virginia avenue, neither being over
two spares from Washington street, and
both over seventy feet deep. The men who
drove these wells acknowledged that the
| clay pierced by the tubes was hardly over
two inches thick and there was had testi-
mony that no clay whatever was met with
after fifty feet of earth had been penc-
, | trated. We should note. too, that the re-
gion was primarily swampy, and is now
made ground to a considerable extent. Nu-
merous sanitary analyses then, and not a
: | little testimony from the we'll builders
prove, as said before. that the clay blanket
beneath us, and which was formerly sup
,, is not continuous, having numerous faults
The testimony is conclusive, and warrants
! | the general statement that it will not do to
. | depend longer upon wells in Indianapolis
: either shallow or deep, for drinking water
! The Indianapolis Water Compary's source
o se sad npy wa
: 1870, and obtained its first supply from a
: large well. near where the lower pumpins
station now stands, which is close by the
, | Washing ton-street bridge which crosses
White river The well did not furnish
> sufficient supply, and large main was ex
o. IN ri no = N
{ river water was added to that from tht
we'll 1t was soon plain that this would no
DO and so, in 1881, when the first company
failed. the present supply was obtained b,
y White river is on the extreme western
&c removed from habitations. where Fall creel
% from the east empties into the river, ant
y north of this Is situated the gallery; Th
= water-bearing gravel, 200 feet long, 100
J. feet being opened, the rest covered. Tn
:. hundred feet of the north shore of Fal
e creek. It has an average width at the bot
u tom of forty-five feet. and is walled witt
ar | OF water is twelve and one-nalf feet
le thirty-inch main leads from the eastern en-
70 station, and another main of the same siz
l. supplies the pumps near by.
lie The covered gallery runs north at righ
le angles TO the open part, and is about nine,,
ar feet from White river. Throughout it
IN whole length OF 1,100 feet it has a waterwa,
L III the Cie8T OF nine 1ecl VIDE ana Tour Zee
lie deep. The covering of this gallery was ef
x fected by throwing across the excavation
"a from wall to wall heavy pine tiaioers, upo
lie which rests seven feet of gravel and sand
pr From the north end of the gallery tunne
as extends westward under the ned OF tn
e. river Into this tunnel water filters froI
IL the river above, and gate is provided, ID
x means of which the tunnel, which has bee
n called filter gallery, may &c shut OF fror
ersl the main gallery.
~ This river connection was made pursuan
". to the recommendation of the City Boar
n Of Health which was in power at the time
ly There seems that there was a widespread
fear that the gallery supply would prov
insufficient ~ the case OF a great fire or
long drought and hence this precaut.on.
TIE CTTY'S SUPPLY.
e Nine artesian wells dow into the galleries
furnishing about 100000 gallons daily {
II very pure water. Five of these are ter
inch wells and one eight inch. They hav
ia average depth OF 400 feet, 200 of whic
~ is in the rock. Three are four-inch. an
II. have average depth of eighty feet, bein
"a below the blue clay. An interesting and ps
IS culiar fact concerning the very deep G
We rock wells is they must be connected /
Ne rock crevices. If well No. 1 be shut of III
- water in well No. s, three hundred fee
er distant. rises Immediately. And No. 3, IL
IS teen inches in a minute and half. Tn
er | Eiizabeth-street well, which Is one-half mi
Id from well No. /. when being drilled. Shove
ne another remarkable feature which attend