The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-10-24

The early water publication
plants were built according TO
ideas which developed from exper:.
ment. Filters have now been In
use for ten, twenty Gad thirty
years, SO that from now on en-
gineers can base their designs on
experience. a more trustworthy
guido than experiment. The sue,
cess of water filtration in protect.
Ing communities against wate.'
borne disease and furnishing u
clean, wholesome water has been
fully demonstrated. The cost CT
filtration has proved TO be not OK
cessivn. The public do2s not object
to paying for purity In It's water
supply, People are coming to he.
! eve what the sanitary engineers
told them many years ago. that all
surface waters should be filtered.
a dozen years ago tho method
OF dislnfectIng waters BY chlorin-
alton came suddenly to tho front
II has been adopted extensively
not only in scores of small citie4
but by tho largest cities Of the
country. l'nQurstionahlv 1t has
made a place for itself and demon
strRted it's usefulness. It's limi,a.
ons arc also being learned by
experience. At one time II wac
said by somo that the Use OF chic
rlnc would make it possible 10
build filters more cheaply. usins
them merely physical stratners
and depending upon chiOrinntion
for bacterial purity This false
idea Is being gradually cast as de.
COLONIZATION cannot take the
place of adequate liberation. II IS
false economy to slight the filtra
ton process, because filtration
with its accessory processes docs
more than remove haclcra, its
function Ia TO clarity dirty water
decOlUrizc n stained water anil ~
move tastes and Gdo.4 from waters
nrfcrtnd by them. Colonization
should be- regarded rs ono or III,
processes accesaO-y 10 filtration
and used whom necessary. Just as
aeration. cOaEulation, sedimrria.
ton and other processes are used
Chlorluation is also useful IN emf
C:genC es
From a purely scientific stand
point interest iE water filtration is
now conferred around the phcncm
ena Of coagulation. Our Old and
simple idea that when aluminium
sulphate was added to wate. it
was oil changed 10 hydrate and re-
moved by filtration appears to he
unsound. Aluminums does go
through filters, and tho corrosive
ness OF the filtered water and even
the meteorological efficiency rf
the filter are affected thereby.
water differ greatly In their &C.
tIou upon alum and the newer
methods of physical chemistry,
such as the determination Of tho
hydroEenat'on concentration and
the stud yOf colIoIds are being
employed to give us. II possible.
an answer TO the many problems
involved. Tho torch Of research
has been temporarily handed over
by tho bactcriologist to the sani'
tary chemist and in his hands 1t
Is now burning brightly.
Since 1914 the United States
Treasury standard for the qualit"
! for drinking water used by trav-
elers on interstate carriers has
been employed and in spite Of its
I frequent misuse its influence hn1
been for good. It clearly needs re-
vision however. to adapt II to
more general use and recently the
United States Public Health SCI.
vice appointed committee to con-
slider the matter. This investiga'
ton. only Just begun, will last for
perhaps two years. 1t is an ad-
vance In the subject WHICH war
rants attention as the whole sup
iect OF water analysis Is involved.
On the whole. It may be said
that tho art Of water publication
Is In q healthful state Of mature
growth with vigorous strivings to-
ward perfection.
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