St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1912-07-10
CONSERVATION PAPER.
Protection of Sources of Water Sup,
MY hr In. Hanrr II Val


.. Protection of Sources of Water SUP
ply by DIR. Henry 81. Vail.
prepared at the request Of tn
Commission on the Conservation o
Natural Resources Of the State o
Vermont
Where does our water come from
Even in Vermont most of our watel
comes from the ocean. The grea
spiral storms that are daily reported
by the Weather Bureau at Washing
ton cover thousands of square
miles and their winds bring clouds
from the ocean to drop their bur
den of moisture on the land. II
should be remembered that the
ocean surface of the earth is
three times as large as the land
surface. The ocean is the great mag
azine of water that supplies the
| land-howeVer remote from the
shores. But the immediate sources
of the water we use are wells,
springs, brooks and rivers. In an
uninhabited region these sources
would supply water entirely pure
and safe. If the sources are dan
gerous in populated regions it is
because of the action of men.
1t is now perfectly we'll known
that many of the diseases most fatal
to men are communicated from the
sick to the we'll by means of inf
nitely small germs--living organ
isms-many of which may live for
a considerable time i'll. water. These
disease germs are so minute that
a thousand of them would not if
laid side by side extend across
the period used in writing this
article They are wholly invisible to
the naked eye and the finest mic
roscopes are needed to distinguish
one kind from another. They are
in effect the seeds of disease. Sew
eral kinds may be conveyed from
sons and may produce in them the
disease existing in the patient. Ty-
phoid fever comes from taking in
to the system typhoid germs
as certainly as wheat seed
sown in the earth produces a wheat
plant. From typhoid patient mill
lions of germs are thrown out in
the excrement. These germs are
more dangerous than are the drugs
poison" in the apothecari-
es shop for there is no known an
tidote for typhoid germs. If they
are once lodged in a mans body |
under certain conditions, run of
typhoid fever is inevitable.
Since there are many kinds OF
disease germs that may be conveyed |
from the sick to the well by drink
ing water it is exceedingly import
ant to secure the sources of water
free from contamination. The history /
Of one case will make this clear. A
village of some two thousand inhab-
Itants in Vermont was supplied with
water from a reservoir made by
damming a brook. This brook ran
farm lands. In one house
was a patient having typhoid fever.
1t was winter and the excrements
from the invalid we're thrown out
On the snow BY the melting Of the,
snow the disease germs were car
lied to the reservoir, and were
thence distributed to all the users
If pubic water. Typhoid fever
broke out all over the village but
vas limited to those using the
public water. Thus the epidemic was
raced to it's cause. The germs of
)ne endemic disease were conveyed
through drinking water from the
nucuous membrane of an invalid
% the bodies of hundreds, and
If these many died. The careless
hess or ignorance of one person
caused the death of scores. In this
,ase the germs of disease were car
led in surface water down slopes
hat were visible.
But the water that falls in any
'egion does not all at once run
IF as surface water. A large part
sinks into the earth through the
the sand or gravel and
md through the loose rocks, I'M
il it comes to some continuous I'M
,roken surface of clay or rock along
which it slowly trickles until it
ONES to the open air as spring.
some of this ground water is
aught and held through the sum-
ner by vegetation; some is held by
he earth, maintaining it's mois-
ure, but a large part passes down
O the impervious layer of clay or
ock and runs, out of sight, carry
ng with it soluble matter from the {
oil and rocks and also carrying any |
Iisease germs that have been scat
cred on the surface of the soil. 1t
5 therefore necessary to guard not
My the surface water in the form
# brooks and rivers; but the ground /
water that finally unites with the
urface water. Wells and springs
re all fed by the ground water.
The clearing away of forest
the blowing and smoothing
# the surface, the draining of
wampy places have all lessened
he flow of ground water. On Guilt
rated land the rain flows off quick
Y. A heavy rain floods the brooks
which quickly drop away to much
body of water. All the pro-
esses of cultivation have tended TO
hasten the flow of water from the
and. 1t is quite certain that the
annual rainfall in Vermont has not
materially changed since it has been
inhabited by white men but it is
equally certain that the water flows
,ff more quickly and the surface
low is greater while the ground
low is less. The swamps that
,ordered every stream have been
Trained, the beds of the streams
lave been Strengthened and the