The Opelousas courier., 1902-12-13
IS SPRING WATER PURE?
SCIENTISTS NOW CHALLENGE
THIS TIME.HONORED BELIEF.

In most rural places, to ask sucl
a question as this is heresy; but there
is no doubt that the tacit assumption
OF the purity of all springs has done
a good deal of harm, especially in the
case of springs once pure, which have
been necessarily contaminated by the
increase of the population in theil
neighborhood. In an article in La
Nature, DR.. F. Malmejac shows thai
the purity of a spring depends on
number of well ascertained conditions
He says:
Every n believes that spring wa
ter is certain not to be contaminated
the very name conveys the idea Of
purity. The absolute confidence that
is felt in such water is as old as the
world; the ancients mad a veneratiou
for it, SO that springs with them were
actually worshiped.
Nevertheless it is a gross error tc
believe that Spring water is a syn,
onym for pure water for springs, like
the reservoirs from which they come,
may be contaminated. We can I'm.
derstand this better when we realize
how springs are formed.
Speaking generally the water that
we drink comes from the condensa.
ton of yapor in the atmosphere,
whether we collect it as it falls in rain
or as it runs over the ground, or as
it gathers in pools on or beneath the
surface.
When water falls on the ground,
part runs over it and part soaks down
into the deeper strata, through per-
meable layers, until it reaches an i'm
permeable stratum, above which it col
lects. But water thus collected will
not stay in n place; it will follow the
slope of the ~impenetrable layer and
Will reappear at the surface gener-
ally, where this layer crops out, thus
We have a spring.
1t is easy to see now how springs
can be contaminated. At the mdment
of condensation of the atmospheric
Vapor, the rain carries down with it
all the dust and germs that aree con
stantly in suspension in the air, and
it thus reaches the ground charged
with a considerable amount of animal,
vegetable, m%icrobian, and mineral
contamination.
Before reaching the ground these
are of slight importance, but when
the water reaches the layer of arabic
soil that covers the geological strata
almost everywhere, st will become
much more contaminated, as it will
take from this soil all it's impurities.
We know that the soil is the great
reservoir where all the waste pro-
ducts of life are Transformed; it is
constantly contaminated by the sys-
tematic addition of dirty water, the
waste water of factories, and deiecta
of men and animals.
"The water that pcnertates into the
coil carries with it all the organic
and mineral matter and all the germs
that it can hold, and in this condition
reaches the lower layers, which act
as a filter. It's progress through these
will be more or less rapid as the pores
are more or less fine. The more SLOW
ly it filters, the more perfect will be
the alteration. That this may take
place, 1t is necessary that the ground
should be homogeneous; then the wa
will reach the impermeable layer
pure. But if the water passes through
like limestone, which almost
has huge assures, it will flow
these as through actual con-
Quits, and will reach the underground
reservoir with almost all the impuri-
les that it collected On the surface.
shall thus have a contaminated
that a furnish only contain
mated water, whether it appears as a
spring or is reached by wells.
"Pasteur and Joubert have shown
hat we may have springs that are
at their point of emergence, and
,hese results have been confirmed.
But that it may be so, the springs
must come from deep underground
reservoirs, so that the water may
been well filtered and protected
rom surface impurities.
1--WE must also be sure that we are
lealing with a true spring. Often a
ipring that appears under alluvial de-
,osits and amid limestone debris is
ormed only after the water of the
cal spring has traversed these de-
'osits. We see thus that we may have
;ood springs and BAG springs, that is
o say, springs more or less contamin-
ted.
Therefore we must not consider
spring water as always meaning pure
7ater,' since springs can be no better
han the reservoirs from whence they
ONE.
"The waters of springs and deep
eservoirs will be always sought for
purposes, because they are
much superior to running water,
Thich, keeping in the open air, be-
charged with all the impurities
f the atmosphere and of the diff
srent soils " which it runs, with
ut taking into account contamina-
on by towns and factories. But it
lust be forgotten that a spring
lay be contaminated, and that when
is to supply a large number of per-
ons we should always go back to the
ctual sourc and then make sure
lat it is well projected.
ITO sum up, that a spring may fur
Ish a pure drinkins-water, it must
from a deep reservoir, well fl