Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-08-14
THE CITY DRINKING WATER
Two Views Of the Usefulness Of the
Filtration Plant at the City Mill.
THE PLANTS MERITS DISCUSSED
Water Board Believes 1t is a
Good Thing.
INTERESTING, HEALTH STATISTICS

Laboratory OF b16 pJdlb Dodru VI
Health contains the following concern
ing Wilmington's water filter plant:
Wilmington is supposed to have filtra-
tion plant, and yet frequently the water IS
decidedly turbid, 30 much SO that one can
scarcely see through glass filled with 1t.
Filtered water worthy of the name should
never be in this condition. 1t should be as
clear as crystal. 1t should not contain more
than 100 bacteria to the cubic centimeer,
instead of several thousand, as is frequently
the case with Wilmington water. Ninety
five to 9S per cent of the bacteria IN the
raw water should be removed by the hltra-
ticn instead of 40 to so per cent, as is now
the case. 1t should be free from intestinal
bacteria, which is not the case, since the
city water frequently contains these OBJ.
jectionable organisms. The record OF
typhoid fever should be low, instead of
which Wilmington has an exceptionally
high typhoid death rate.
All these facts show that Wilmington has
bad water supply.
The present litter plant Is wrong IN
principle, and grossly defective in practice.
1t was installed years ago before the
science of water filtration was established; {;
in short, it is an antiquated arrangement
and should be replaced as soon as possible
by modern plant. Until then Wilmington
people ought either to boil or filter the
water which they use for drinking purposes.
Water Commissioners and Chief Engi-
neer Bond were spoken to in regard to
the matter Monday at the head
quarters of the department, but both
objected to getting into newspaper
controversy. They said, however, that
the filter plant has been in use for
about 10 years and the people can judge
for themselves as to the result. The
| Water Department considers it good
| thing and has had it in constant use
since it was built and has had very
| little trouble with it. While the origi-
nal cost Of the plant was about $50, 600,
| the cost of maintenance is small. Two
men are employed, one at weekly
salary of Sl2 and the other at So, and
last year the other expenses amounted
to only S207. 80.
As matter of fact, the filter plant
is too small. Its daily capacity is 10,-
| 00e, 900 gallons, while about II, 600, 00C
| gallons per day are pumped. as 1t is
! necessary to have small portion of the
plant idle nearly all of the time, tc
allow the mon to clean it, only about
two-thirds of the water pumped can be
run through the filter, the remainder
being unfiltered, which makes combi
nation rendering it difficult to ascertain
Just how much good the plant does il
the matter of filtering the water.
This is condition over which the
Water Department has no control, as
the city has outgrown the size of the
plant in the past 10 years, and there il
no room at the pumping station for ex
pansion. 1t has been the intention o!
the Wator Board ever since it begar
negotiations for the Weldin farm, tC
erect thereon modern filter plant al
we'll as large storage reservoir. Moth
ing can he done, however, until the
present litigation involving the farm
purchase has been decided. If the de
oision is favorable to the department
work will be begun rs soon rs practica
BILE upon the reservoir and filter plant
and when they are completed the de
partment will be in n position to give
the city better water, as the entire
supply can Oa filtered and it can bt
stored sufficient length Of time to
enable any sediment to be precipitated
sand and iron are used for filterins
the water at present. The system i:
other places. Here the water is forced
upward through the sand, while il
some places it runs downward. From
what can be learned it is thought tbs
department favors the downward pro
cess, although that now in use wa:
favored at the time it was put in, aftel
similar plant in successful operation
at Tacoma, Wash. had been examined
Under the present system the water
before going through the sand, run!
through revolving iron rods. In tbs
new plant it is likely that iron dis
solved in fumes of sulphur will be useC
for the raw iron, to produce a precipi
tant. However, the matter is being
studied and the best system in ex
istence is to be substituted for the on,
now in use All Of this contemplated
improvement, however, is contingen
upon the department receiving au
thority TO purchase the Weldin farm.
For the past few days peculia
taste has been noticed in the water
which, the department officials say
cannot be attributed to the filter plant
This condition exists every year a
times during the summer, and is due
to vegetable matter in the Brandywine
and number of physicians who havt
made study of the subject are Of tht
opinion that it is not detrimental tt
! health.
Water Commissioner Pyle dictated
| the 1OllOWlnS statement. II LneN
have any grievances against thu
management of the department in gen
eral, ,or the filtering plant in particular
! the person or persons having thi!
grievance and desire to remedy wha
they consider radical defects, will ap
pear before the board of water commits
sioners, and state their complaints
the board will carefully give considera
tion to their statements.
DIR. Pyle said that the men unde
whose supervision the filter was built
were men of ability, and in speaking
J thus, he had reference to George Sellers
the consulting engineer, and William
, 4. Porter a former president of tn
, Water Commission, who is now dead
| Months before the present system wa
. installed Mr. Porter had constructe,
i, in the machine shops of the j. Mortol
Poole Co. several miniature waite
! filters with which he experimental il
, order to discover the best and mos
/ serviceable plant for the city. His ex
periments were watched by the the
water board with the keenest interest
and the present plant was the outcom
: of those tests, coupled with the scien
tific ideas of Mr.. Sellers. The plan
; here is sand-bedded one, but there i
/, another the chemical~in in existence