The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1920-09-02
DOCTORS OPPOSE PLAN
TO DUMP UNTREATED
SEWAGE INTO THE BAY
Concluded from page OneJ

the opinions already expressed by the
medical practitioners of the town.
The four great problems always
confronting the modern sanitary Of
ficer are:
First, the providing of an ample
supply of safe water, from such a
source as to render it secure from
possible contamination, present or
future, by disease organisms.
Second, adequate drainage. where
by no stagnant water can accumulate
for the breeding of dangerous mos
quitOes or the dissemination of Or
doris and filth.
Third, the disposal of garbage. to
prevent the growth of flies, the con-
gregatlOn of rats, and for other ap-
parent reasons.
Fourth, the disposal of the sew
age, in such a manner as to prevent
food or persons of the population and
! to render it harmless and unobjec-
tional to the inhabitants of adjacent
communities.
I'm addition to certain diseases in
directly dependant upon water for
their propagation, of which malaria
and yellow fever are types, being
spread by infected mosquitoes, there
are three principal water-borne dis
eases, spread by contamination OF
water food or the individual by in
feCted sewage. These are typhoid
fever, dysentery and Asiatic cholera.
OF these we are in more or less con-
slant danger and whose ravages up
and down the land in epidemic form
are only prevented by the constant
day and night wGtcnfulness of health
officers at ports of entry and various
parts of the world, and by the con-
slant sanitary supervision exercised
by the authorities in the various COM
munities from which such epidemicS
may spread.
That a town has no cases of such
diseases present or that it has never
suffered from any such epidemic, is
no sign that it is immune, for the ar
rival Of even a single case, which in
evitably happens sooner or later if
conditions are right, is quite sufficient
to start an epidemic of the most de-
vastatng character.
From this, it is apparent that the
only safety from such epidemics lies
in fOrehandeness-in being prepared,
so that when case of any such dis
ease arrives in town, which surely
must happen sometime, the disease is
limited to that individual from lack |
of opportunity to spread and become
epidemic.
There are various ways in which !
sewage may be disposed of, some bet
ter suited to certain localities than
others. But the prime factor for
consideration in the selection of a !
particular method should be salely,
for that is the ultimate reason for !
disposinS of sewage at all, and it |
should not compromise with any ex-
pediency of expense, ignorance or /
property consideration, for it is vital
Any disposition that carries the sew
age beyond the possibility of contain
mating the drinking or washing
water, food or persons of individuals
is safe. Amy disposition that does
not do these things is not safe.
"Of the two methods in most COM
mon use, by means of the septic tank,
the sewage is worked over, |
liquified and rendered harmless by |
bacterial action in a confined, special |
ly constructed space, and the method !
of discharging the contents of the
sewage into an adjacent stream or
body of water, the latter has in its
favor, where it can be safely employ
ed, the advantages of cheapness in in
5tallatiOn and operation, and OF the
2apiCity to care for practically unlim-
tied quantity. But unless due con-
3idcratton be given to such conditions
rs the size of the stream, currents,
tides, freshets, location of the sewer
outlets and the effect upon adjacent
towns or settlements, it can never be
rs safe as the septic tank, whose dis
;udI Se mas Deen lcnueTeu perfectly
harmless by the action of living bac-
.eria within the tank and can even
be drunk with perfect safety.
Sewage emptied into a stream
will purify itself, or be purified, with
in a longer or shorter time, in pre-
csely the same manner that the pur-
ification is brought about within the |
confines of the septic tank by bacter- !
ial action, and the point on stream |
below the point of sewage contamin- |
alton where the water may be again |
considered safe will depend on many
things, mainly the temperture of the
water and the rapidity of the current |
The slower the current the sooner the |
water will become purified, and a dis !
tance of thirty miles may be taken as
a rough average for streams.
The sooner certain fallacies re-
garding the publication of polluted
water are gotten rid of the better and
safer. The mere fact that water is
salt instead of fresh makes no differ
ence. Certain very severe epidemics
of typhoid fever have been nndisput-
Oh to