The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-11-05
Pure WATER IS
CHIEF CONCERN
OF The SCHOOL
"Most Important Point in School
Sanitation" Says Edward
ID. Rich
HEALTH OF PUPILS IS
DEPENDENT ON PURITY
Clearness and Sparkle Not Guar.
antee of Purity, He Main
tains

LANSING, Mich. Nov. 6.-'One OF
the most important points to be
looked after In the sanitation In
schools IL the pure water supply said
Edward d. Rich, sanitary engineer Of
the state board of health In a state.
ment issued here today. This Is the
pupils by the educational authorities
and upon its purity will depend the
danger to it's users of infection by In
testinai diseases, chief among which
may be mentioned typhoid fever.
Responsibility for pure water
supply rests heaviest upon those In
charge of rural schools and upon the
boards OF education In small towns hav-
ing no public water supply delivered
In pipes. In the case of large cities
some municipal officer Is charged
with the duty of maintaining the
purity of the city water and the school
board may generally rely upon him
for proper results. But In cases where
the school has its own supply. its
safety too often depends upon the
mere opinion of some citizen or mem
ber of the board, and not upon positive
evidence obtained by actual test of
the particular water, made with sys-
tematic regularity.
1T Is difficult to eradicate from the
mind Of layman the idea that II a
drinking water looks good, tastes sood
and smells good, 1t must. of necessity,
be good. How fortunate would hu-
manity be IL the disease germs which
infect drinking water were large
enough to be readily seen and thrown
out Of 1t before taking them into our
systems. Unhappily, such is not the
case. and turbidity and color are no
indication whatever OF the germ con-
tent. In fact 1t has often happened in
the laboratory that of two samples,
one dirty and perhaps ill-smelling, and
the other clear and sparkling. the first
has proved by far the safer of the
two. We should try to rid ourselves
and our neighbors of the fallacy that
good appearance Is a guarantee Of
purity.
"ln Michigan, the water supply in
the rural schools. and generally Tor
that OF small village, Is taken on or
near the school grounds. Only rarely
VIII II be possible to utilize springs
WI tuic PuApOSc WellS ul6y De Ol-
vided into two classes, depending In
the geological formation In the local.
ity; shallow wells from 10 to 80 or
more feet deep. and deep wells, those
more than 100 feet deep. Deep wells
are almost always put down by driv.
Ing pipe or drilling a hole into
which tight casing is inserted later.
II the formation Is such that one or
more strata of clay or other imper-
vious layers are passed through and
the casing tightly fills the hole the
chances of contamination are very
materially reduced. II ledge rock Is
encountered near the surface through
which 1t Is necessary to drill, II is
more difficult to protect the deep
seated water from being polluted by
surface drainage finding it's way
through assures In the rock to the
we'll.
1T Is almost impossible to predict
with any certainty the distance from
which a wcll may draw it's supply.
This Is especially true Of wells in rock
or In soils susceptible to cracking or
uneven density. Contamination has
been known to travel long distances
from sources of infection through un.
derground passages more or less open.