The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-02-25
THE VALUE OF PURE WATER

/ al
Water is one of thesfrst necessities
of life. We can go without food a
much longer time thin we can go
without water. Everybody drinks it
and must drink it. 1t is used to car
ny away sewage and waste of all
sorts and even at the present time
towns and cities are located by pref
erence on the banks of streams which
are then used to carry away the
wastes of the city. The next city
down stream in all probability uses
this same stream as source for it's
water supply. 1t is not at all strange
then that typhoid fever is entirely too
common in the United States.
Typhoid fever is always caused by
swallowing germ which is round in
large numbers in excretions of ty-
phoid fever patients or typhoid car
riers. 1t is evident then that if prop
er regard was paid to the rules of
common deceney this disease would
soon disappear. 1t has been said:
| "for every case of typhoid fever some
percon or community is criminally re-
sponsible and should be adequately
punished"
The director of the Division of San
itary Engineering New York, State
Department of Health, has recently
given a description of twenty out
breaks of typhoid fever which have
occurred in that state fairly recently.
They teach US a lesson as showing
how. water supplies may be infected.
First, and perhaps most important is
the pollstion of the water shed from
which cities get their supply; second,
the use of water from private wells
which have become infected through
lack Of safeguards; third, the pollu-
ton of good water supply by un-
usual floods; fourth, the pollution of
a poor water supply by auxiliary sup
plies not intended for drinking pur-
poses; fifth, the use of water not in
tended for drinking purposes but for
fire and commercial use; sixth, the
use of impure waters to supplement
the pure supplies during dry seasons;
seventh, the failure to watch the OPP
Grafton of filters; eighth, the failure
to control apparatus intended for the
chlorination of the water supply.
Almost all of these causes are liza
bic to occur in any community. AS an
actual matter of fact they frequently
do occur. Perhaps the most common
causes, however, is a failure to install
a proper publication plant for the use
OF waters which are not properly safe
guarded. It should be clearly reeog-
nized that with the increase Of popa-
lation SO does the danger of impure
water supplies increase.
We cannot at the present time
drink from any stream or pond with
safety as was formerly possible.
Sewage increases with the population
and sewage is the source of danger
GUS contamination of water supplies
which we must guard against.
: 1t is being generally recognized
that efficient control of public water
supplies is an engineering problem
] and many State Boards of Health in
the country conduct an engineering
department whose chief duty is to in
r vestigate the water supplies of that
state. 1t is an important branch of
public health control and those states
which have made appropriations for
Engineering Divisions have been re
. paid many fold by the prevention of
sickness and death. Missouri has not
yet recognized the Importance of this
step although typhoid fever has been
quite prevalent in this state.
In 1917 six hundred and twenty-five
deaths were reported to the State
: Board of Health as due to typhoid
fever and at the common estimate of
ten cases for each death it means that
six thousand. two hundred and twenty
persons suffered from this disease
: this one year.
Typhoid fever ranks amongst the
easily preventable diseases and those
unnecessary deaths should be stopped
by proper control of our water sup
plies,
M. P. RAVENEL,
Director Dept. of Preventive Medicine
University of Missouri.