Putnam patriot., 1923-07-27
AGAINST BATHING
IN ROSELAND LAKE
Many Citizens Want City Res
ervoir More Carefully
Taken Care OF
IDEA of Drinking Bathing Water
Disgusting to Many

The agitation against the bathing
in Roseland Lake continues despite
ne report of the water department
thas The city water had passed all
tests for purity. Many Putnam peo-
ME still maintain that whether the
water Is pure or not. the idea of
drinking water that comes from a
AXE that is used constantly for the
bathing of hundreds of men, women
and children is q disgusting one, and
creative of condition that prevents
the city water from attaining the pur
ity that II should have.
The long and short of the argument
at the present time is that Putnam cit
izens should unite in some definite eff
fort 70 have the bathing discontinued.
Most of the bathers in the lake are
Putnam people, though this year
there Is an especially heavy enroll
ment in the various camps that line
the lakeside. Meanwhile the water
which is thoroughly treated chemical
Il before passing into the city water
mains, does not, however, pass
through a filtration process.
Revive the Dead Mule
A good deal of discussion also con-
tinues regarding the story that the
carcass Of a dead mule was recently
found in the lake. Ii was afterwards
stated that the carcass was not in the
actual water but on the bank of the
lake. Several Putnam people have
since asserted that this is not true and
that the body of the animal was actu-
ally in the lake from whence the city
drinking water is derived. At any
rate the carcass has since been re-
moved, and all that remains of its
presence is the continued argument
regarding the condition of the water.
1t is true that Putnam is the only
city in this section of the country
where the source of the water supply
is treated so carelessly. In other plae-
es, the watershed as we'll as the actu-
al reservoirs are guarded and watched
with the greatest care. Bathing is
never allowed, and frequently even
boating is prohibited, and in many
cases even trespassing is not permit
ted on the lands around the reser-
voirs.
In the case of Putnam the opposite
rules. On one side of Woodstock
Lake there is a line of cottages lived
in throughout the summer season.
Many of these house summer camps
for boys and girls who spend most OF
their time in the water. On the 9th
er side of the lake is ROseland Park,
open 10 the public through the gener-
osity Of the Bowen family of Wood
stock. On the hot days of the sum
mer the park frequently has several
hundreds of visitors. Last Saturday
afternoon. one of the hottest OF the
season, the pier was crowded through
out the afternoon.
Pusnam's Fine Health Record
From Woodstock Lake the water
passes through a long course before
reaching the filtration plant. II IS
claimed that the water purifies Itself
sufficiently for public use IN the
course of this passage. AT the mira
ton plant, the water is chemicaily
treated before it passes into the mains
for city distribution. Within snort
time the new filtration plant VIII be
completed and further precautions
for the public safety may be taken.
Those who talk of typhoid cpl
demic as resulting from the summer
bathers will do well 70 consider the
report of the city's health as sent out
each week from the State Board OF
Health. Windham County for years
has held the reputation of being one
of the most healthful sections of the
state, and the number of outbreaks
of disease and epidemics has been SUI
prisingly low.
The matter at hand is not the con
dition Of the water, which has passed
the purity test, but the unpleasant
ness of the idea of drinking water In
which there has been so much pro
miscuoas bathing.