Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-11-19


tages above the pond and the toilet
| facilities and also the approximate
| distance from the intake, there be-
! ing only two other cottages at the
| lower end of the pond. All other
cottages were at a great distance,
and would not be likely to furnish
any large quantity of sewage to the
waters of Branch pond. We also
had at hand information concerning
previous inspections which were also
considered while looking over this
watershed for possible sources of
pollution.
During the last year and a half,
the water of the water company has
been analysed once a month in con-
! trast to the previous practice of
only four times "a year, and during
/ last year all tests have been salts
! factory until the last two during the
/ last part of October. If an unsatis-
! factory sample is received other sam
pies are obtained at once for check
analyses,
/ After we had had two unsatis-
factory tests, the superintendent of
| the water company was informed
| that something was wrong and more
chlorine was needed He examined
his equipment, and on November l,
| found that a feed line from the
chlorinator was plugged and chlorine
was not entering the system, there
| for accounting for the unsatis-
factory analysis The valve was i'm
mediately repaired and we have
reason to believe that from that date
the water has been sufficiently ster-
! ilized to destroy pollution in the raw
| water.
! There is no means of preventing
| farming, pasturage, camping and oc-
casional visiting to sources of water
supplies, excepting by purchase of
the entire watershed, which would
| involve a tremendous expense which
would have to be borne by the COM
munity supplied by the water COM
pany in question,
1t is a more logical and economical
method of handling occasional pol
luton by means of publication APP
paratus such as is used by the Pc
nobscot County Water Company at
| Ellsworth This involves mechanical
appliances which, of course, occasion
| ally may get out of order and require
a considerable amount OF care, The
only definite means of telling that
these are operating properly is by
means of meteorological eXamina-
ton of the water, which, as stated
above, is now done once month.
The standards for public water
/ supplies have been raised to a point,
| by law, TO equal the requirements of
the U. S. Public Health Service for
water furnished to Interstate car
riers. These are much higher than
ever required OF water companies in
/ this State before this standard was
adopted, and now if water does not
reach this standard the company is
/ Immediately notified that the sample
was unsatisfactory and steps need to
| be taken TO correct the unsats-
! factory condition
| Never before the last year and a
I half have the people of this State,
i including the city of Ellsworth, re-
ceiyed 50 much safeguarding of the
water supplies and so much work
i done TO keep them in safe quality.
| 1t seems that the more work which
| is done to protect these supplies, the
| less pleased some people are with the
results Under the old order, before
! the standard was adopted, it might
have been a matter of three months
| before this supply was found to be
unsatisfactory, whereas now it was
found within a few days after becom-
ing in an unsatisfactory condition,
and remedied at once
1t appears to us that the editor of
this paper has been greatly misin-
formed, and if the people of Ellis
worth are indignant at the manner
with which the health department is
handling the water company, they
! have become so without knowledge
and information of the large amount
of work which is being done to pro-
tect them from the possibility of
! contracting disease.
Sincerely yours,
Elmer w. Campbell.
Director Division of Sanitary En-
cheering.