Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-11-23
PURE WATER SUPPLY
OF THE UTMOST VALUE IN DEVELOP
MENT o. A TOWN.


the standpoint of comfort and hcaltl.
it is worth all il may cost the taXpay,
ers, AMI as an investment fer the town
IL rarely fails To Ice profitable.
me c..y Of MiddicGown. \. y. has
r,"!4vd .!is necessity ANA is now ef-
f,v,HE lnc thorough publication of its
Wa,,r sgr.!y by filter plant Of the
latest "g..nyed type. Its supply is
drawn .rum impoundng reservoirs
aud, whilc practically free from sew
are contamination. becomes every
spring With the advent of warm wealth.
er imprcluated with vegetable matter
ai,,,r. etc, which give the water col
or like tea and produce an offensive
odur and taste, and on beating is par
ticularly diSaGrccable 1t has been so
bad that ut times no one would use it
for anything but lawn ana street
sprinkijng who could get supply
from other sources.
Today every drop of water delivered
to the citizens of Middlctown is clear.
sparkling and entirely free from odor
and taste. and the consumption has
greatly increased. for the people are
now glad 20 use the city water for all
purposes whenever they can get it.
The past summer. when complaints of
the quality of municipal supplies have
been 50 UNIVERSAL has proved the thor,
ough efficiency and practicability of
I the system adopted at Mi!dletown,
T. q, I'm. I,s ,-a
ter entirely free from all the former
objectionable features, from which SO
many towns have been suffering,
The credit for this improvement at
| MiddletuWn is due to its progressive
/ board of water commissioners. who
appreciated the material advantages
/ which would accrue To their city from
/ the expenditure. Careful investigation
/ showed them that the most economical
and effective method Of curing their
/ difficulties was by filtration, and they
then determined that Middletown
should have it and 10y the best and
most modern system.
The filter plant which they have in
stalled is thoroughly substantial and
! lasting and has Il capacity Of 100000
gallons per day. The building is Of
brick, with slate roof, and is l2S feet
long 10y 36 feet wide. The impounding
rcscrvuirS are of different heights, and
III order to econOmiZc pressure and
combine all the filters in one building
there is Il system of closed or pres
sure" filters for the upper reservoir
and open. or gravity" filters for the
lower, AS you enter the building at the
right there are two aerating or scdi-
mentatiun tanks, each holding about
10000 gallons of water. AS the water
enters these tanks it is thrown out in
thin sheet so as to take up all the
air possible. n small amount of coagu-
liant having been previously applied.
1t then passes 10y gravity TO the four
filters Oh the right Of the building. each
of which has Il capacity Of 100000 gal
Ions per day. AS the water comes from
The reservoirs it is dark in color and
dl4agreeable in taste and odOr. but aft
et it has passed through the filters this
il all removed, and it is clear and
bright and is deposited in clear we'll
which is Immediately under the gravi-
ty filters and holds 10000 gallons, sup
plying the lower part of the town.
On the left of the building is a 1000
600 gallon plant of closed filters, Opcr-
ating or the water from the upper re
Selvoir. There are four tanks of a ca
pacity of 100000 gallons per day each,
and tie highest portions Of the town
are thus given clear, bright water un-
der the same pressure as they have al
ways had. This water is aerated by an
automatic system at the outlet Of the
reservoir, whereby the air is drawn into
tie water as it passes down toward the
filters.
The operation Of the filters is very
simple and perfect. In tiltering the
water passes downward through 4
sand bed four feet in depth. After the
filters have run - hours one filter at a
time is taken out of service. and cur
rent Of air is first sent upward through
the entire bed for about two minutes
thoroughly agitating it ana securing
the PARTICLES Of sand free from the veg
etablr matter removed from the crude
water in filtration. Then the air is
shut off. and water is passed W
thrOug! the bed for about three min
utes. securing the material and flush
ing all the retained impurities off into
the sewer. Then the process is repeat
ed with the air and also with water
the entire cleaning of filter taking
one man 10 to - minutes, After wash
ing the first water from the filter Is
run to waste for a'feW minutes, allow
ing the bed to settle down into posi-
tion for efficient work and then 1t is
turned on tc the clear well, and the fiji
ter is ready for another days run.
At the right of the building are pump
for washing the filters and rotary
blowing engine to supply rforclean
ing ANA acration and also % horse
power steam boiler used in winter FOL
heating the building and in operating
the pump and blower. The entire plan
is compact and very slightly, everything
being neatly finished and painted, ant
the entire building is up to date IL
construction and appearance.
Many towns throughout the country
are using mechanical filter plants FOL
uurifyi4g turbid and polluted waters
but comparatively few people know
tha: vegetable discoloration. odor ant
taste can be entirely removed in tins
way and at very moderate cost. Th'
great prevalence of these Objectionable
features in municipal water supplies
particularly during the past summer