The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-01-25
Future Demands of Indiana
Cities to Be Considered
Right Now.
DEEP WELLS ARE FAILING
IMPORTANT QUESTION WILL
COME UP BEFORE THE INDIANA
SANITARY AND WATER SUPPLY
ASSOCIATION.

Indianapolis, Jan. 2o.-One OF the
most important questions to come up
for consideration at the meeting of
the Indiana Sanitary and Water Sup
Fly association, to be held in this city
February %. will be the future water
supply Of the cities of the state. Ac-
cording to the annual report of the
water laboratory department Of the
state board of health, now in the
hands of the state printer, the supply
is rapidly lessening, even in the deep
wells which have long been common
ly thought to be inexhaustible. The
question has been up for discussion
by the association at former gather
ings, but will receive additional atten-
ton this year because Of the findings
of the laboratory during the last year.
H. E. Barnard. state food and drug
commissioner, who has charge of the
water laboratory, attributes the less
ening of the water supply to before
station.
The underground water supply is
diminishing just as rapidly as the sur
ldSc SupplS, NCS VII Dbl udl u AZ
his report. wells which a few years
ago flowed continuously must now be
pumped, and in many instances the
underground water supply is made
Quate to meet the needs Of the com
munity"
Mr.. Barnard sees in the gradual les
SEEMING of both the surface and the VI,
dorOr0rn1 cunn1inc on
ace, made all the more SO by the com
mon practice Of dumping material il
to the streams which renders the wa:
err therein unfit for use except wher
put through an expensive filtration
process. When to this constantly
lessening quantity of water" says the
report. lis added all the sewage Of
the increasing population, the magni
tude Of the question of future watel
supply is apparent" The observation;
are based on careful examinations
made during the last year of the water
supply of thirty-seven important cite:
of the state.
During the year 922 samples of wa
ter were analysed in the laboratory, O
which 269 were from deep wells. tn,
water coming from below an impervi
GUS stratum of rock. Four hundred
and seventy-eight samples were from
shallow wells and were supposedly sur
face waters. Nineteen were from
ponds or lakes, fifty-one from springs
and thirty-eight from streams. In ad
dition to these. twenty-eight miscella
OF the deep we'll supplies, 234 wer'
of good quality, twenty-eight were 81
polluted as to be classed as bad, an,
seven were of doubtful quality. OF tn
47Ssamples from shallow wells. %
were of good quality. PIP unqualified,
bad and thirty-two of doubtful quality
Since a shallow we'll of doubtful
quality" says the report, lis sooner o
later sure to become more seriousl.
polluted and pass into the class of ba'
wells. doubtful and bad samples o
shallow we'll water are classed togeth
err We find that 3l4. or .O.J per cen
of the drinking water from shallow
wells, must be classed as unsatisfacto
ry."
Fifteen stream supplies were goo
and % bad. Twelve pond or LAX
supplies were of good quality and
bad. OF the II samples from spring
A. were of good quality. Il bad and
doubtful OF the II cistern supplies
examined Il were of good quality.
bad and 1 doubtful, 30 per cent of tn
cistern waters examined being not pc
table. According to the report tn
unsatisfactory condition of cisterI
water is usually due to the location Q
the cistern and to faulty construction
Three hundred and four analyse
were made of waters from public sup
ply sources. "a from deep wells. l
from shallow wells. IS from stream:
10 from ponds or lakes. and II fror
springs. Of the deep well supplies,
were of good quality, Il bad, and
doubtful. OF the So stream supple:
Is were of good quality and % wer
bad. Several of these samples cam
from the polluted Ohio river.
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