Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-09
THE WATER QUESTION.

At the last meeting of the council
report was read from Prof E. e. Smith
of the Beloit Sanitary Laboratory, who
was engaged some weeks ago by the
city to make an analysis of the city
water and determine rne cause of the
vegetable growth that is now filling up
the mains and purifying the water
Mr.. Smiths report is long and ex-
hanstive End fully covers the question.
The growth in the city mains we have
mentioned in previous issue and think
the people of Wausau are all aware of
its presence. For long time past, and
more strongly of late, have the people
complained of the presence of foreign
matter in wates drawn from service
pipes and of bad taste and odor Mr.
Smith accounts for this in this way
''It is true that the orga nism
! by its death and subsequent destruction
is Objectionable, and may impNrt some
odor to the water and possibly some
taste, but we have no evidence thus far
that its presence is positively detri-
mental to the public health.' In speak
ing of the causes which lead up to this
growth the professor says:
THE cause of this sincrustingmaterial
may be briefly explained as follows: All
plants desire food for their existence.
and the most of them require light also
FOR their development. There are
/ forms of plants however which can grow
without light but must have a food
supply. Such plant is the crenothrix,
or fully crenotl TX kuehniana. This is a
plant OF the low fungus type, and is one
of family which thrive under similar
conditions. This plant, or fungus, has
the remarkable power of growing in
the dark, but requires as its peculiar
food-stutf a certain amount of iron dis
solved in water. This iron becomes its
chief food stuff and the plant gets its
energy by the oxidation of the iron
which it abstracts from the water
and stores up in its sheath while
it grows. If a water contains a GER
tain amount OF iron in solution then this
crenothriX will thrive. Ii there is no
iron in the water then this organism
will not develop, or if the iron be re-
moved from the water then organism
will cease to flourish, and will disappear
Experience has shown that crenothrix
will grow in the water which carries
o.3 parts of iron pei million parts of
water. The sample [ received from
Wausau carried more than four times
this amount necessary for the develop
ment and maintenance of the plant
Here We have a simple explanation of
your difficulty. The water carries
af,nnub 10 %lo ,.In
some way the spores or seed have found
access to the m iins; these seed have de-
veloped; in process of time\the growth
has extended until now it reaches
nearly every point of your service; the
older plants have died and left their
debris, largely the oxides of iron and
manganese. Hence the deposit has
been gradually accumulating during
the years until now it has assumed
alarming proportions, and with the
certainty that in the future the deposit
will be increased.
If the present condition and the
causes outlined above be clearly un-
derstood, the remedy to be applied
will be .eEident If the food supply be
cut off, the organism will cease to de-
velop and die; hence there will be no
increased growth in the mains, and
that growth already there will grad |
ually disappear. 1t is probable,
further, that under such conditions, !
continued flushing of the mains would |
loosen the deposit already accumulated.
and thus in process of time the mains
would gradually clear.
AS remedy for our present difficulty
Mr.. Smith suggests the following. either
of which he says is expensive:
q A change of the supply from the
present source to non-iron bearing
water, if such can be found in your
locality, and within reasonable dis
tance"
-. Filteration of the present supply
with treatment to remove the dissolved
iron"
He states that people have no cause
for alarm over the healthfulness of the
water but that the vegetation will keep
on increasing which will impair the
entire service.
he also says that with the use of a
stereopticon lantern he can more fully
explain the situation and would be
pleased to meet the members of the
council at some future time for that
purpose and at the meeting the council
extended the invitation for him to come
An experimental filtering plant, such
as he recommends for a trial, would
cost the city 81 900 and to put in a COM
plete plant of that kind would cost
something over $4,000. 1t may be that
some such measure may have to be re-
sorted to, to save the system from be-
coming entirely useless.