Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-12-26
RGFILTRATION
PLANT IS URGED

Declaring emHhatically against Nun
anu water in its present state fOr hui
man consumption and backingl1is state
ments with data submitted By health
experts. CharleszR Forbes in his re-
port 10 the city water commission,
made public today, urges the imme-
date adoption of comprehensive
filtration system.
Forbes gives official indictment TO
Nuuanu water in statements by DR..
Donald H. currie, Engineer S,W. Tag
OF the board OF health; Dr. j. 5. b..
Pratt, president CT the same board,
and Governor Rinkham.
Wants Filtration Plant
He submits plans for Q filtration
scheme, which, he declares. will! rem
der perfectly safe to drink water much
fouler than Nunanu water
Acceptable drinking water, he
points out, must be free from taste
and odor from color, turbidity, and.
most OF all. from bacteria and baclIi,
Water that is unpalatable and NAL.
odoTous will not be accepted. says
the report. "eEen though il be free
from germs aRd safe to drink Water
that is stained d suspicious color may
be clean and sweet, lbut, on the
strength of the showing TO the eye. it
will be convicted of turbidity without
a trial ....... ..=<.
Turbid Water. Repulsive
''Turbid water is esthetically re-
pulsive; nobody likes TO think of his
stomach as settling basin, even
though the mud that settles be chemi-
cally pure and bacteriologically harm
less: Yet sparkling, tasteless, odor-
less, clear water, pleasing to all the
senses, may be highly impregnated
With malignant germs.
I'm so far as the water supply of
Honolulu is drawn from artesian wells.
its :meets all requirements, eshethic
and scientific; in SO far as ii is drawn
from surface sources, il fails in all.
BY the evidence of the senses. Nuu-
anu water is sometimes malodorous
and distasteful, frequently muddy, and
always perceptibly discolored.
"Turbidity registering more than
five parts suspended solids in a mil
lion of water always provokes objec-
tions. The readings of the board OF
health show Nuuanu water to have
turbidity of "a and upwards.
Nuuanu Readings High
Maximum color readings should be
lower than 10, and Nuuanu readings
are from IL to 100.
.The archaeological standard adopt
ed by the U. S. public health service
rejects all drinking water, samples
/ of which show more than 100 miscel-
laneous bacteria to the cubic cent?
meter, or the presence of B. coli in
more than one out of five samples
containing each 10 cubic centimeters.
Nhuanu water shows a count of 100
and upwards and almost any test will
reveal the presence of B. COLI
Bacillus coli communis infests the
human intestines His presence in
water is presumptive evidence that it
may be contaminated by germs of
cholera, typhoid and other maladies,
the specific organisms of which have
the same habitat, and it is proof posi-
tive that the water has been fouled
by man or the higher animals"
Two Possible Remedies
The report then shows that the two
possible remedies for the condition
of Nuuanu water are either in shut
ting off the system or filtering it.
why wait for the scourge of sick
ness?" he asks. why not cleanse
and purify the water now by the in
stallation of filtration and clorination
plant, adequate to care not only for
present needs but for the total pos
sible supply of the future? At the
lest this supply is not large
Theoretically, he says, this supply
might be developed to ,14,2S0,000 gal
Ions daily, the present being only
100000 gallons. AS practical mat
ter the future supply is not likely to
exceed 100000 gallons.