The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-21
CAHABA WATER SUPPLY STATION
FOUND IN UNSANITARy CONDITION
Surprise Sprung on the Water Company BY City Officials and
Secretary Of the Board Of HEALTH

hilsides which form natural drainage to
| Cahaba river.
1--WE found great deal of filth in the
closets which we were told were cleaned
out once a week, and around the stables.
Horses, cows and hogs are allowed to run
at large and the droppings from these ami
mails is allowed to wash into the stream.
1--WE also found two cases of typhoid fever
in the settlement one convalescent and the
other in it's second week. The excrement
from these patients, we were told, was
| hauld away, but it is doubtful if such is the
case.
I'VE found the water in the reservoirs
| extremely low, and were told that this was
because of broken pump, which would be
| fixed in a day or two.
Things generally were far from what
! they should be at station from which the
water supply of Birmingham is pumped"
/ Dr. Cunningham Wilson when seen con-
| firmed the statement made by the other
members of the party, but preferred to give
no detailed statement until his official re-
port to the board of health be made public.
The Paramount Question
Dr. E. H. shol, chairman of the board of
health, who has served in that capacity
for the past fifteen years, considers the
| question of the water supply of tine city
paramount to all other questions before the
| people. In a statement to an Age-Herald
reporter he spoke very frankly on the SUBJ
iect:
1.-The committee of health, of which 1 am
chairman" said ne, ".have found it neces-
sary to make some investigation into the
cause of the existence of an unusually large
number of cases of typhoid fever in the
exists to a greater extent than at any time
during the past eight years.
''The disease is usually tracable to the
water or milk supply, and While we do not
yet know the exact cause. we are inclined
to believe it is the water, because the dis
ease is confined to no special part of the
city.
81 believe that the water question is para
mount to all other Issues before the people of
Birmingham, whether 1t be the United states
senatorship, the governorship, any other
question, political or social.
"rhe only solution can see OF the question
is municipal ownership. The water supply
should be taken out of the hands of private
corporation and put under an absolute auto
cratic authority; a power rs absolute as that
possessed by the car of Russia.
"The health of the city comes before any
industrial commercial consideration, and
believe that if necessary a debt of a million
dollars should be put upon future generations
to obtain control of the system, because fu-
ture generations will be the greatest benefi-
ciaries.'
DR.. Sholl expressed the opinion that alb
solutely pure water could only be obtained
through a system of sand bed liberation,
which is very expensive. He referred to
the low mortality of such manufacturing
cities as Lynn and Lowell, Mass, under
this system, stating that the death rate
had been reduced to practically nil.
IN lalkS
Superintendent A. M Lynn, of the water
works company, was shown the above
statements last night. He seemed very
much surprised at the comments of Alder
man Heidi and others, and prepared the
following card for publication:
Eve are surprised to read the report
of the sanitary conditions existing at
the Cahaba station and reservoirs. At
the present time we have nnety-five
million gallons of water in the reser-
voirs. AS to the conditions at the river,
the company has a man regularly en-
ployed to collect all Objectionable mat
ter and remove same from the limits of
the Cahaba river water shed. AS to the
stable, while the company owns several
hundred acres of land around the sta
ton, yet in order to remove any possible
chance of contamination to the water
supply tract of land is rented of the
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railway conn
pany, so situated that any drainage
from the stable would have to pass
through uncleared land for distance of
at least one mile before entering the
river below the intake.
1.-THE company has also just completed
the erection of a wash house at the
same location, where, in the future, all
those living at or near the station will
be required to do their washing.
I'VE are more interested than any one
IN Tho
and at any time will be glad to carry
out any suggestions that may be made
looking to that end.'
A. NJ LYNN, Superintendent.