Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15
THE WATER SUPPLY
Impurities Which Cause the Spread
Of Typhoid Fever.
FILTRATION Is A PREVENTIVE
Two Methods and Their Different
Action Described.
AGITATION OF THE SUBJECT
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
| When anywhere among the millions of
| people inhabiting the United States a few
| dozen or more are made seriously i'll by
| partaking of some food by reason of its
| improper preparation or preservation the
| fact is heralded in press dispatches over
| the entire country and ptomaiue poisoning
| becomes at once of interest to every citi
zen. If even single individual dies from
eating mushroom a startling announce
ment is made in the daily papers and the
| public is at once alarmed The very rarity
| of such occurrences causes them to be sub
! ject to comment. Analogous conditions of
| a much more serious character pass with
out notice because they are present with
| US at all times. Typhoid fever claimed 1863
victims in the District of Columbia during
| the year which has just ended and tempo
| rarity disabled many more persons from
| the performance of their duties, depriving
| the community of their labor and incum-
berlng the PATIENTS with bills for nursing
and medical attendance. And yet typhoid
lever is a disease which is due altogether
to preventable contamination of food
drink. Typhoid fever originates, the medi
cal profession tells US, chiefly in contain
| mated milk and impure drinking water In
| fact, If we charge all cases of this disease
! to impure water we will not go far astray,
for the contamination of milk is due to the
water used to adulterate it or to wash the
receptacles in which the milk is kept.
Drinking Water the Chief Factor.
1t is not intended to beittle the import
| ance of the common house fly in causing
| the spread of typhoid fever, but the Won
| derful reduction in the death rates from
| this disease which has been effected in
some places by purifying the water sup
ply proves beyond question that the chief
! factor in the spread of this disease, at
least in thickly settled communities, is the
drinking water. So close is the connection
| between typhoid fever and the character of
| the drinking water consumed that it has
been said that no better measure can be
selected of the wholesomeness of a citys
water supply than that furnished by list
| of the annual cases of typhoid fever The
| trouble has all arisen from the practice of
| using our rivers as places for the disposal
| of sewage and at the same time as the
| sources of drinking water-a practice that
was justified by the formerly prevailing be
J lief that flowing streams purify themselves
/ after travelling comparatively short dis
! tances, but which is no longer permissible
| since bacterologY hss taught that in
| actual practice no Strsam flows far enough
| to accomplish such result. The purti-
| cation of streams by means of their nat
| ural flow depends upon the action of air
and light, the growth of certain animal
and vegetable organisms and upon dilution,
and these cannot be relied upon to accom-
| piish the destrustion of pathogenic bac-
| terra however effective they may be in al
| tering chemical constituents.
Source of Contamination.
The source of Contamination of drinking
water which is most to be dreaded is the
sewage of Others communities or even of
| isolated farm houses The city of Ply
| mouth, Pa, with.a population of about
! 5000, suffered from an outbreak of typhoid
| fever'in 1885 which, developed there within
few weeks more than 1000 cases and re-
suited in more than hundred deaths, and
| these originated from a single case. That
the source and method of distributing the
water supply of this District does not af-
ford protection against a CORRESPONDING out
break in the District is apparently demon
strated by the unusual prevalence of ty-
phoid fever i'll this city from December,
1889, to April, 1890. following an outbreak
of typhoid fever at Cumberland, Md, and
the continued prevalence of the disease
shows that there are sources of pollution
of our water supply which are more or less
permanent The existence of a number of
points of pollution has been definitely de-
termned by the recent investigation of the
marine hospital service.
What can be done to protect the COM
munity from this enormous loss of life and
great number of cases of sickness which
are due to impure water? Can the sources
of contamination be removed, or must such
contamination be allowed to continue while
efforts made to remove the dangerous
elements from the public water supply af-
ter the water has been collected and before
1t is distributed to0the consumer? Potomac
water which is consumed in the District of
Columbia comes from watershed extend
ing into four states, covering an area of
some thousand square miles, and we'll
populated. The impossibility of acquir-
ing control of such an area, of removing
the sources of contamination and of polio
ing the watershed after it has been thus re-
claimed, is manifest, and We are driven to
consider the means, If there be any, by
which water once contaminated can be
rendered safe for drinking purposes
To Purify a Water Supply.
There are various chemicals which will
destroy disease germs, but none are avail
able for purifying public water supply
because when used in sufficient quantity
to be effective they render the water I'M
fit for drinking purposes. Boiling and dis
filling water reliable as methods for
rendering it safe for drinking purposes,
| and either is practicable as applied to
water for domestic use. But the enormous
expense of such methods when applied to
| the water supply of city renders it i'm
! possible to adopt them. Aeration OF water
while oC asiCnaliy improving its appear
ance and taste does not materially change
| it otherwise, and from a sanitary stand
| point can hardly be called a method of
publication. An unsatisfactory water sup
| ply can sometimes be improved by allow
| ing it to settle before it enters the dis
| tributing mains; the coarser impurities set
| tie to the bottom and can be disposed of
| there, while many of the bacteria die as
! the result of their detention in surround
/ ings which are unfavorable to their exist
ence. But sedimentation is slow process
! and in order to realize from it the full
| benefit Of which it is capable, extensive
| systems of settling basins must be con-
structed. In view of its limited efficiency
| as a water purifying agent, 1t is never
| used as the sole means of ACCOMPLISHING
! this result except when it is necessary TO
| do so on account of money considera tons
! AS auxiliary to sand filtration sedimep-
tation is an agency of great value and i'm
| pOrtance - az
BY FILTRATION.
The publication IF water supply by
means of chemicals or heat is, then, i'm
practicable; and aeration and sedimenta-
ton as purifying agents inefficient
| The only other means of freeing our drink