The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-20

Morris Knowles, the prominent engi- neer of Pittsburg, who with two assist electric light plant conditions at North Birmingham, to report to Mayor Gull pepper Exum, filed his findings with the Mayor yesterday. MT. Knowles is con- sulting engineer of the United States Steel corporation and is regarded as one of the ablest in the country.
 The report Is embodied in an extended folio, which analyses the entire history of the plant from it's inception down to the present time. He does not give the city any great encouragement to retain the plants and concludes with these words:
 Fortunately it is not necessary that there should be competition in public services provided there is proper rate regulations secured through competent, conservative official authority, for in the long run the people must pay for the fixed charges of the double service, if the attempt is made to secure competi- ton. Therefore l recommend that no expenditure other than $23OO be made upon the North Birmingham plant for the reasons above stated, unless that it be decided to continue the service for other reason than public service.'
 Says Water Is Impure
 The report of MT. Knowles says that the water furnished at North Birming- ham Is impure and that he would not recommend it for domestic use until it had been both filtered and softened. In I tabulated statement he points out that it contains impurities conducive to ill., ness and says ratio of sickness in the territory supplied by the water now IS greater than the remainder of the city. The examinations were made by Rinaldo Williams and pr. E. M Duncan.
 Upon the impurity of the water, which Is the first serious consideration, his re- port sets out:
 Too Much Organic Matter
 "All of the results show too high an amount of organic matter, particularly after rains the number of bacteria in the water and particularly those of the colon group, which show sewer contami- nations are too high; coli are present in more than one-half of the samples an alyzed Al of these results, taken to- gether with the surface indications of pollution and sinkholes, indicate that the water is of inferior sanitary quality. auidanrpS Of focal matter In the quarry and on the ground of the surrounding watershed territory. The po- tential danger of serious contamination is always present.
 'trhe water has also a great quantity of lime and magnesia, both as carbon ates and sulphate, and is one of the hardest waters in the district As com pared with the water supply of the city of Birmingham, part of which comes from Five Mile creek and part from the Cahaba river, and all of which is filtered by the use of sulphate of alumina as a coagulant, the water of North Birming- ham is decidedly inferior, having greater amounts of chlorine, nitrates and organic matter, total solids and hardness. The water or NOrlH BlfHi1nBndln well IS not suitable as domestic supply without both Altering and softening, and I recommend it not be used unless it be decided to do both
 ''The records of the cases of disease and death from typhoid fever do not ex tend over sufficient period to show marked contrast between the North Bi-- mingham district and the average of the city of Birmingham. The statistics for the former district are available for eleven months of 1910 only, and show an estimated death rate of about 70 per 100, GOO, compared with a rate of about 42 for the whole city. The case rates are s5e and 345 per 100000 respectively. The North Birmingham district shows poorer sanitary conditions, in which the water supply is large factor"
 Cites the Annual Deficit
 MT. Knowles in studying the cost of op- erating the plant and it's income to the former city of North Birmingham, finds that there was an annual deficit from the water works plant of s1195. and an annual deficit from the electrit plant of $2S0. Of this item the report says.
 The final results show that the water