Evening star., 1909-09-12
Bad Water and Insanitary
Conditions Emphasized.
PLAIN TALK BY THE MAYOR
Proposition to Bond Town and Con.
struct Filtration Plant.
DEMAND FOR BETTER SYSTEM
People to Vote Tomorrow on Bond
Issue-Result Of Recent
Investigation.

That the water supply Of that portion of
Takoma Park situated on the Maryland
side is bad, and existing conditions dan
gerous. was forcibly impressed on the
residents of that suburb at a special meet
ing held last night in the Takoma Presoy-
terian Church on Maple avenue. The sit
uation was fully set forth In a report
from the board Of health of the state Of
Maryland, which was read at the meeting.
The installation of a new filtration plant,
at a cost Of $4,000. was proposed by the
town authorities as the means Of remedy
ing the situation and removing any possi-
bility Of danger to the health Of the resi-
dents OF that community.
It was pointed out that should single
case of typhoid fever break out on the
water shed that there would be an cpl
dernic In Takoma Park with disastrous re-
suits.
The meeting was called to order by AL
bert F. Woods, president Of the Takoma
Park Citizens Association, under the aus
pices Of which the meeting was held.
After brief remarks. in which he out
lined the meeting and the importance at
tached to 1t, the speaker introduced
Mayor w. G. Platt.
NOUuCl4S 1IOpOScO ACtlOU.
Mayor Platt then stated what the coun-
ell proposed to do. He said that for over
two years the council had been watching
and studying the water supply from the
Sligo stream. Agreeing with the mem
bers of the council. he felt that the wa
ter has been for some time unsuitable
for use. While there had been no real
danger yet, he said something might hap
pen at any time. That the water has not
been pure for some time was also'a we'll
known fact, and for this reason samples
OF the water following rains had been
procured and put through a test Water
taken from seven different points was
analyzed at the Office of the filtration
plant in Washington. Samples were also
submitted to the state board of health
OF Maryland and analyzed. The result
aminations showed the water conditions
to be bad in six of the seven places ex-
amined, and at the seventh point 1t was
of suspicious character.
The cost of installing a new filtration
aplnt. Mayor Platt continued, would cost
approximately $4,000. The town, he said,
was now under heavy Indebtedness. and
personally he did not want to see the
taxes any higher. In order to make the
improvement. he said. 1t would be neces-
sary to bond the town for the amount
needed. as this was the only means pro-
vided by the town charter for raising
funds This amount would cover the in
stallation OF plant, the enlargement of
installation Of water meters in every
household. He compared the water rates
In Takoma Park with those OF Washing
ton and other cities, and said the rates
in Takoma Park suburb were lower than
in any state in the Union, including the
state of Maryland. The low rate in the
District. he said. was due to the fact that
the CITY, was provided with reservoirs and
proper viaducts, and that the federal gov
ernment paid half of the running ex-
penses Of the city.
Amount Of Water Available.
The minimum amount of water now
being pumped daily, said Mayor Platt,
further, was 100000 gallons daily,
while 10000 to $4,000 suffced when the
plant was erected in the town several
years ago. Since the system was first
installed the town has grown to much
larger proportions and the population
greatly increased. BY the installation
of water meters 1t was hoped the wa
ter consumption would be decreased
and numerous leaks stopped. In this
way the operating expenses of the
plant would be reduced. all Of which
would be in favor Of the taxpayers Of
the town.
The meters are coming. he strongly
emphasized, whether the filtrat tion
plant comes or not The question will
be put up to the resident taxpayers
Monday, and when the final returns are
made that evening. whether the propo-
sition Is voted down or not. the meters
VIII come. he declared. The RESPONSE
bility of the water system, he said. had
rested on the shoulders of the mayor
and council for a number Of years past
and the time had now arrived when
that responsibility would be shifted to
the shoulders of the. people.
At the conclusion of Mayor Platt's re-
marks, Councilman l.. r. Grabiil was
presented. Mr.. Grabill is chairman OF
the water and sewer committee of the
council and is thoroughly informed as to
the water system and its conditions.
Precarious Source Of Supply.
In the course Of his remarks he de-
scribed at length the character of the
watershed from several years ago up to
the present day. The Sligo, he said, was
fed largely from springs, and during the
summer months the water was very low,
and If it was as low at the present time
as during the month of June. there would
be shortage Of the supply. When the
water was in good condition 1t was better
than the filtered water used in the Dis
trict, he said. but after heavy rains the
contents of the watershed for several
miles up went into the stream and then
through the residences. The town is
rapidly building up. he continued. as is
also the situation at Silver Spring Park,
which is on the watershed, q few miles
distant.
The contamination Of the supply caused
an examination by the council more than
year ago. he continued, resulting In the
analysis of the water taken from differ
ent points along the stream and in vari-
GUS buildings. In this connection he re-
marked that If three or four cases of
along the watershed it would increase to
a hundred when 1t reached Takoma Park.
II an epidemic of this kind should occur
1t would take over ten years for the
property values to recover their present
prices. He argued that 1t was a sort
Of insurance in behalf of the health
of the community to install filtration
Maryland, he announced, had no advice
whatever to offer on the subject. although
it had sent out warnings where condi-
tions were particularly bad, with orders
that they be corrected.
Some Reports Read.
At this point he read the report OF the
state board Of health OF Maryland SUBJ
mitted by Dr. Marshall Langton Price.
secretary of the board; w. r. Stakes.
bacteriologist. and w. B. D. Penniman.
chemist. The character of the water
from a meteorological standpoint was
bad in six instances and suspicious in
the remaining one. The chemical analy-
sis was good in each instance. The
speaker also read statistical report on