Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-07
PLANT FOR PURE WATER
,rDr. John L. Leal, Eastern Expert, to
Install Lime Process System
DEATH RATE Is NORMAL
Fatalities from Typhoid Fever, He
Says, Are Not ProportIonaIIS HiEh
burt street station in
Best shape.

Omaha water supply Is TO be treated
by the new chlorinauon process as soon
as DR.. John L. Leal. water expert Tor
the Jersey City Water supply company
the East Jersey water company and the
Newport r. l.. Water company can ie-
turn home drawn plans and specifica-
tion, send them to omaha and have the
plant built The water company viii build
the tanks and buildings soon as they
receive the plans and Dr. Leal will then
return 70 install the process.
Dr. Leal has been making a thorough
examination Of the water and health con-
ditions OF the city Of Omaha. He has
made his report to the water company and
that company has decided to Install the
process In his report, Or. Leal declares
the defects In the Omaha water system
can be easily remedied by the use Of the
chloride Of lime process. lie also finds the
deaths from typhoid fever in Omaha have
not materially Increased over those Of the
last four years. Work will begin i'm
mediauy on the new plant
water wen AerIated, Says LeaI.
In reporting his findings after a can
vass Of the situation and n close examlna-
ton Of the reports Of DR.. Milard S. Lang
field. city hscterioogist. and the water
company's plant. Dr. Leal said:
II find that the water supply taken
from the Missouri river drains an area
Of 32S. 600 600 square miles and that the
0nean flow or discharge is $1,000 feet per
second. The water supply for Omaha Is
taken from two points, Florence and the
Burt street pumping station. At Florence
there Is a pumping station and settling
basins. which have capacity of 7s.1100OO
gallons The water is pumped from the
intake 20 the first OF the settling basins
and from this flows through seven more
dlscharging from one to the other by
means Of wcirs. BY this means the water
is efficiently aeriated
THE water is treated with sulphate II
aluminium to aid in sedimentaton. This
was originally applied at the point of dis
charge from the suction main. This is
the proper place. as the heavier matters
are allowed TO settle first and the alumni
mum assists in settling the finer sedl-
ment.
The average amount of water delivered
from this station Is 1900 600 gallons a
day with a maximum Of 16,3OOoOO gallons
and a minimum of 1AOO0OOO.
Another point of intake Is the Burt
street plant. The water is pumped into the
first of a series Of six basins flowing from
one 10 lle OLLeI lnEOuEh Six pipes and is
delivered to the surface through pumps.
Sulphate Of aluminium is used at the point
of discharge from a suction pipe. The ca
pacity of these basins is 2s,9sOo 900 gallons
and the average water delivered daily is
100000 gallons.
Burt Station Water Best.
''The records from the health department
show that the water delivered from the
Burt street station Is slightly better than
that from the Florence plant, in spite Of
the fact that the location is not as good
The river receives the drainage Of $500
acres within the city limits through the
Omaha creek for Some distance above the
intake.
Il have gone carefully over the chemical
and meteorological reports of the health
department and they give no evidence of
typhoid Infection OF the city supply but
as is always the case in all water drawn
from rivers running through populated sec
tions, receiving the drain and sewage and
not purified, there is a possibility Of typhoid
infection.
The amount OF water In the Missouri is
so great that it is practically impossible,
unless due to some specific conditions, for
an epidemic to be caused Typhoid infec-
ton would show In an increasing ratio,
but not in an epidemic outbreak.
In the case Of the Missouri above Omaha
a comparatively small amount OF sewage Is
discharged and the dilution is a great safe
guard.
Infection from Outside Sources.
LAS to the typhoid fever now existing
in the city. find that in the year 1909 there
were but thirty-seven deaths from typhoid,
the present increase having started in the
mcnth Of December. 1 find that from Janu-
airy / to the present time March s. there
have been twenty-seven deaths. 1t has
been positively ascertained that five Of
these were received from outside the city
and that was probably the case with some
Of the others. This leaves twenty-five