Form 31B, 12-20-1881-6000. 
WATER SUPPLY, 
AND ITS 
Relation to Health and Disease. 
BY 
W. H. DICKINSON, M.D., 
MEMBER OF THE 
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, 
AND 
CHAIRMAN OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOOD, DRINKS, AND 
WATER SUPPLY. WATER SUPPLY. 
From the earliest times an abundance of pure water has been 
regarded by mankind as one of the most desirable of blessings. When 
men, in the progress of civilization, began to mass themselves together 
in cities, one of the problems which early demanded consideration 
was, how to supply themselves with pure water. 
There were various sources of supply—from wells, from streams, and 
from rain-water stored in cisterns. Some cities, like Rome, undertook 
gigantic hydraulic works, building magnificent aqueducts to conduct 
the water from distant sources of supply into the imperial city. 
Jerusalem constructed vast cisterns hewed out of the solid rock, and 
filled them by subterranean conduits leading outside the walls of the 
city. The great importance of pure drinking water as a factor in the 
preservation of health is becoming more and more recognized by 
scientists and medical men. It is now generally conceded that impuri- 
ties in water are more potent in the origin and spread of disease than 
any other cause, and that the germs of many of the more fatal forms 
of disease are introduced into the system by means of water. Epi- 
demics of zymotic disease, as typhoid fever and diphtheritis, have so 
frequently been proved to have arisen from the use of contaminated 
water, that there is no question as to its influence. This is abundantly 
shown in the fact that so soon as the cause is removed the disease has 
abated. It is true that this class of diseases arises from other causes, 
but the use of impure water is one of the most frequent. It is 
asserted by some writers who deny the connection between the use of 
polluted water and the increase of disease that water known to be 
very impure has been used for years with immunity from any zymotic 
disease. Although much has been said jpro and con, it is undoubtedly 
true that the weight of evidence favors the theory that polluted water 
may, and does, become the cause of disease, and therefore the great 
importance which writers on sanitary science attach to the subject, 
and the importance of educating the public to right views and 
practices concerning their water supply. 
SOURCES OF SUPPLY. 
There are five sources of supply; namely, springs, streams and 
lakes, rain-water, and wells, each possessing different degrees of purity, 4 
and of various degrees of abundance. In regard to purity they rank 
as follows: 
1. Springs. 
2. Deep wells. 
3. Rain-water. t 
4. Shallow wells. 
5. Streams and lakes. 
Springs found in suitable localities, and furnishing an abundance of 
water, are very satisfactory sources of supply. Their advantages are 
a uniform temperature, and freedom from contamination. Their dis- 
advantages are, their liability to in solution an objectionable 
quantity of substances; as iron, sulphur, salt, etc. When furnishing 
a large amount of water they can be used to supply numbers of 
families by conducting the water through pipes to the places of con- 
sumption. 
Wells are of two kinds—deep and shallow. The first furnishes the 
purer water, to reach which it is generally necessary to bore through 
impervious clay. The water is, therefore, thoroughly filtrated in 
passing from the surface of the ground to the spot reached by the 
shaft. If too deep, however, as in the case of artesian wells, the water 
is liable to contain an exess of inorganic matter; as salts of magnesia 
and lime. Shallow wells, if favorably situated, usually furnish rea- 
sonably pure water; but unless care is taken in the selection of the 
site they will become polluted by organic matter, finding entrance by 
soil saturation, from surface drainage, or through fissures in the strata 
of the ground. 
It would be commonly supposed that rain-water collected in clean 
cisterns from well washed roofs would fill all the conditions of purity 
and wholesomeness; and it would do so were it collected at a distance 
from towns and villages. But rain-water collected in towns is far 
from pure. The water in falling carries with it many gaseous and 
solid substances with which the atmosphere is loaded. Roofs of houses 
are covered with dust, excrement of birds, fungus growths; and it is 
impossible, without the most vigilant care, to prevent these impurities 
from being carried with the water into the cisterns in objectionable 
quantities. It is asserted, also, with good show of reason, that the 
softness of the water, though admirable for cleansing processes, unfits 
it for drinking purposes because the structures of the body are largely 
supplied from the mineral constituents of water. 
Streams and lakes or ponds are placed last for several reasons. 5 
They are the natural drains of the territory through which they 
pass, receiving not only the rain-fall, but also all organic and inorganic 
matter washed into them by a thousand tributaries. After rains they 
become turbid with earth. They are the receptacles of all the waste 
products of the inhabitants of the district; they receive the contents 
of sewers, cess-pools and privies; the offal of distilleries, slaughter- 
houses and tanneries, and the refuse of factories. Into them are 
thrown carcasses of dead animals as the most expeditious method of 
burial. From swamps they receive the matter of vegetable decomposi- 
tion, and are discolored by flowing over beds of peat. In the West 
the evil is not so serious on account of the low percentage of popula- 
tion to area, but some of our streams are beginning to show the effects 
of increasing population, and especially in the growth of towns of 
considerable size upon their banks. In the more densely populated 
districts of our Eastern States, and especially in parts of Europe, many 
of the streams are already hopelessly polluted, and the subject is elicit- 
ing the anxious consideration of sanitarians. 
It is certain that until some method can be devised to utilize sewage, 
the offal and refuse of manufactories, slaughter-houses, and distilleries, 
streams must be the channels through which waste products may 
•escape. 
The objections to the use of the water of streams as a beverage are: 
the high temperature; its occasional turbid condition after excessive 
rains; and the great liability to contamination from organic matter 
and waste products of factories. From the difficulty of supplying 
large cities from any other source the question resolves itself int6 the 
problem of how to secure, under these unfavorable conditions, an 
adequate supply of wholesome water. 
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD POTABLE WATER. 
Absolutely pure water for domestic use is seldom to be obtained, 
und even if it could be, is hardly to be desired. Distilled water is un- 
palatable, having a flat, insipid taste. Indeed, water to be pleasant to 
the taste must contain in solution certain gases; and is not rendered 
unpalatable nor unwholesome by the admixture of mineral substances, 
unless these are in excessive quantity. 
Waters which flow over or through granite and gneiss formations, 
are the purest, yet even these dissolve some mineral substances. The 
most common of these are the chlorides, sulphates, and carbonates of 
sodium, potassium, magnesium,- and calcium, together with silica and 6 
'aluminum. Iron is the metal most frequently found. To the pres- 
ence of these minerals is due that quality of water called hardness. 
For cleansing purposes it is objectionable; but it is an open questionT 
whether hard or soft water is most beneficial to health. Nearly all 
water contains, also in solution, more or less of vegetable organic 
matter, due to the action of water on the vegetable matter over which 
it flows, or to vegetable growths which live and die in the water itself. 
Water flowing through peat formation is often highly colored, but is 
not, on this account, considered unwholesome. It is well known that 
water of this character is often selected for ocean voyages, on account 
of its power of retaining its freshness for long periods. In England 
and Ireland, bog-water is held in high repute for its excellence. So it 
will be seen that water need by no means be pure to be considered 
potable. Many of the substances held in solution by water can hardly 
be regarded as impurities, and their presence, or absence, does not 
affect the health of the consumer. What, then, shall be regarded as 
constituting pollution of water? 
As has been already remarked, it is difficult to find water entirely 
free from organic matters; and when these are present to only a slight 
extent, they do not affect to any appreciable degree the quality. IfT 
however, the organic matter held in solution in water exceeds a cer- 
tain proportion, it becomes injurious to health, and in still greater 
quantity, dangerous to life. Of organic matter, the first in point of 
virulence are the dejections from human sources; and the most viru- 
lent of all are those from persons sick with zymotic disease. It has 
been well established that these diseases are communicated from 
the dejections of the sick finding their way into the stomach of 
the well. That water polluted with excrementitious matter alone can 
originate these diseases has been a matter of controversy, but that 
water polluted with execrementitious matter from persons sick with 
certain forms of disease will induce the same diseases, is a fact well 
established. 
It has been argued by high authority that the reason of danger 
from organic pollution is, not that organic matter is harmful in itself, 
but that it serves as points of attachment and propagation of germs 
of septic diseases, and wherever there is organic pollution there also 
is danger of the presence of zymotic germs. 
Second in point of danger is pollution from offal of slaughter-houses, 
and the refuse of tanneries. Third, excrementitious matter from domestic animals; and lastly, 
from vegetable organic matter. 
If the presence of decaying products from vegetation poisons the 
air, and causes malarious diseases, it would seem equally probable that 
their presence in excessive quantity in water used for drinking would 
give rise to the same evil. 
Turbidity of water by itself can hardly be considered injurious to 
health, unless the quantity of earth held in suspension be considerable, 
and consists of clay, in which case constant use may bring on intes- 
tinal disturbances and indigestion. Turbid water, however, is liable 
to contain organic matter in excess, and hence due caution should be 
observed in its use. 
We come now to the methods of preventing contamination of water 
and of removing impurities when present. 
In many towns of small size, where it is impracticable to build water- 
works, on account of the expense, or the remoteness of the supply; 
and when well water contains an excessive quantity of mineral sub- 
stances, and especially the salts of magnesia, many are driven to de- 
pend upon rain-water for domestic use. In the country, where the air 
is pure, and little dust, it is generally only necessary to cleanse the 
cistern once or twice a year to ensure sufficient purity in the water, 
but in towns, as we have already shown, there are many causes of con- 
tamination. A great many devices have been adopted to render the 
rain-water fit for use. The first to suggest itself, is to allow the first 
flow to escape, until tin? air, roofs, and pipes are thoroughly cleansed, 
and not until then allow the water to flow into the cistern. This 
would necessitate the use of self-acting valves, or'of constant surveil- 
lance, both of which have been proven to be impracticable. 
Another way is to cause the water to flow through walls, or obstruc- 
tions which should remove objectionable matter, and render the water 
fit for use. A great variety of materials have been used for the pur- 
pose; as brick, porous tiles, vegetable and animal charcoal, compressed 
sponge, unglazed earthen-ware, sandstone, and spongy iron. Of all 
these, only two can be relied upon to any extent to remove or destroy 
organic material; namely, animal charcoal and spongy iron. The only 
objection to the latter is, that the water becomes more or less im- 
pregnated with the iron. One common method is to build a cylinder of 
brick in the center of the cistern, the water filtering through in suffi- 
RAIN-WATER. 8 
cient quantity; another, to divide the cistern into two divisions by a 
brick partition. Sandstone or porous tile may be used for the same 
purpose. The objections to all these materials are, that they soon be- 
come clogged and covered on the outside with a deposit of decaying 
organic matter, through which the water must pass to reach the inner 
chamber, and which must necessarily communicate some offensive prop- 
erty to it, or the water is arrested in its passage and the supply ceases. 
This is the most fortunate result, for it calls attention to the condition 
of the filter and necessitates removal or cleansing. It is also doubt- 
ful if these materials destroy organic matter. 
Repeated experiments have shown that the best material for a filter 
is animal charcoal, used either in blocks or granulated. It has been 
demonstrated that this material destroys and removes organic matter. 
Blocks of the animal charcoal may be built up in cylinders, or parti- 
tions. A recent device is to attach the filtering box by coupling to 
the suction pipe of the pump, by which means it may readily be re- 
moved for cleansing or renewal. Whichever form of filter is used, it 
is advisable that it be thoroughly cleansed or renewed once in six or 
twelve months. 
PURIFICATION" OF WELLS. 
As a large proportion of our population are dependent on wells for 
water supply, it is of the highest importance that they should learn 
the danger of pollution, and the most effectual methods of preventing 
it. We read in our journals of whole families dying in farm-houses 
of diphtheria, and the community wonders at the cause. Possibly no 
other cases occur in the neighborhood. Witlt pure water, and pure 
air, these deaths would not have occurred. I do not think that men 
willfully disregard *the laws of health, but they ignorantly violate 
these laws, and suffer the penalties of sickness and death. 
I have placed wells as the second best source of supply, as regards 
freedom from organic pollution, when made with due regard to situa- 
tion and surroundings. 
Wells are of three varieties: 
First—Those which are dug through deposits of soil, sand, and per- 
vious gravel, until they reach a stratum of impervious clay. 
Second—Those which penetrate the first stratum of clay, and pass- 
ing through a bed of gravel or sand beneath the clay, reach another 
stratum of clay. These we may class deep wells, the first variety 
being entitled shallow wells. 9 
Third—Artesian wells, penetrating the earth to considerable depth. 
In wells of the first kind, the supply of water may at first be clear, 
bright, and sparkling, and reasonably pure. It undergoes a process of 
filtration, oxidation (because porous soil contains considerable air), and 
sedimentation, the earthy and organic matters being filtered out and 
destroyed in the slow passage of the water to the water-level of the 
well. But the householder is generally guided only by convenience 
in the location of his well. It is usually in the rear of the dwelling, 
in close proximity to the kitchen. The barn, the privy, and the cess- 
pool, if such there be, are also conveniently located near the house, 
and also near the well. Generally, no regard is taken of the slope of 
the barnyard or of the direction of the stratum of clay upon which 
the well rests. Excrementitious matter from the barnyard, or the re- 
fuse of the kitchen are washed into it; the contents of the cess-pool 
or privy gradually saturate the soil in an ever-increasing area, until 
they reach the well. It is not necessary to the contamination of 
the water that the area of soil saturation should reach the well. As 
water is drawn from the well, there is a movement of the water in 
the surrounding soil to fill up the void, therefore surface water pass- 
ing through the area saturated with the organic matter will dissolve 
this matter and carry it into the well. After heavy rains it has 
been noticed that the water of shallow wells is more than ordin- 
arily impure. In towns and villages, the probability of pollution is 
much increased, owing to the greater contiguity of cess-pools and 
privies to the well, and the greater quantity of refuse matter upon 
the surface. 
WHAT ARE THE REMEDIES? 
First—To lay the upper part of the well in cement, so as to exclude 
surface drainage. 
Second—To pay due regard to the slope of the impervious bed, so 
that the direction of the underground flow should not be from the 
privy and barnyard toward the well. . 
Third—To place privies, cess-pools, etc., at a sufficient distance (not 
less than one hundred feet) from the well, so that if any organic mat- 
ter reaches the well it will be so much’diluted as to be innoxious. 
Another means of safety is frequent cleansing of privy vaults and 
cess-pools, and disinfection of their contents. Slops should not be 
thrown near the well. 
The question will be asked: What distance from deposits of filth 10 
should the well be placed to insure non-pollution? It depends some- 
what on the nature of the soil, and the direction of the impervious 
stratum beneath. Instances, well authenticated, are reported of the 
contents of privy vaults polluting wells situated a hundred feet from 
them. Usually, however, a distance of sixty or seventy feet insures 
non-pollution. 
The water of deep wells, or such as derive their supply from under- 
neath an impervious stratum of clay, and which penetrate a water-bear- 
ing bed of gravel or sand—this kind of well is less liable to contamina- 
tion than the first, because it usually derives its supply of water from 
a distance, provided the surface, or ground water, does not obtain en- 
trance. If the surface soil is clay, no precautions are necessary, ex- 
cept to raise the mouth of the well above the surrounding level. But if 
the well is first sunk through sand, or gravel, the wall should be well 
laid in cement above the first seam of clay. Occasionally, however, 
there is danger of organic matter reaching the well through fissures 
in the clay, and especially the kind known as joint clay. If this is 
suspected, the privy, or cess-pool, from which the filth comes, should 
be removed to a greater distance, and in a different direction from the 
well. 
A new method which obviates many of the ordinary risks of pollu- 
tion is called the drive-well system, familiar to every person in the 
Western States. The pipe being impervious to water, except at its 
lower end, no impurities can find entrance, save such as are present in 
the water-bearing stratum to which it penetrates. If sunk through 
surface sand, or gravel, to the first layer of clay, the water is equally 
liable to contamination, except from surface drainage. 
A system for supplying water to towns of moderate size, situated 
on the margins of streams and ponds, has been practiced in Europe, 
and to some extent in this country. This consists in sinking one or 
more large wells near the bank of the stream, or pond. These wells 
are not supplied, as might be supposed, from the river or lake, as ex- 
periment has proved that the water will not filter through the bank 
in sufficient quantity, and attempts to obtain a sufficient supply from 
this source have proved a failure. Where, in the vicinity of a river 
or pond there is a sufficiently pervious soil, and especially where the 
land rises gradually from the river there is a body of ground-water 
moving slowly, and regularly, to the bed of the stream—if a well is 
sunk into this water-bearing soil, it intercepts and receives a portion 
of the water. A sufficient number of them, connected by galleries, 11 
would undoubtedly furnish a large quantity of water. The quantity 
would be affected, however, by the porousness of the soil, its angle of 
declivity, and the amount of rain-fall. To supply a town from this 
source, the minimum amount entering the wells can only safely be 
calculated on. A well of this kind, sunk on the banks of the Elbe, 
where the soil was very porous, furnished 600,000 gallons every 
twenty-four hours. The pumping was so conducted as to keep the 
water in the well eight feet below its normal level. 
The question has been raised whether the supply for the city of 
Des Moines could not be furnished from large pits sunk near the 
banks of the river, under the supposition that sufficient water would 
pass from the river into them to supply the city, but experiments of 
this kind, as before stated, have proved a failure. It is possible, how- 
ever, that a sufficient quantity could be furnished from the ground- 
water moving toward the Raccoon River from the heights and along 
the bottom-lands. Waltham and Cambridge, in Massachusetts; Tou- 
louse, Lyons, Nevers, and Blois, in France; and Dresden, in Saxony, 
are supplied in this manner. The water collected in this manner, or 
by natural filtration, as it has been termed, is generally harder than 
river water, but more free from organic matter; yet if this ground- 
water passes under a densely populated neighborhood, it is liable to 
pollution from percolation from privies, cess-pools, and other collections 
of filth existing in said locality. 
RIVEKS AND LAKES, 
We come now to the examination of the water of rivers and lakes, 
and especially of the first named, as the source of water supply. 
Many of the large towns of this State derive their supply of water 
from this source, or are preparing to do so. Are the waters of our 
rivers of sufficient purity, when taken directly from them, to be health- 
ful? or do they need some method of purification to render them fit 
for use? I have already stated the causes of pollution of river water. 
Many of these are not as operative in our State as in some others; 
yet, with the rapid increase in the number of slaughter-houses, soap 
manufactories, rendering establishments, and sewerage from large 
towns, the danger is increasing yearly. The source of pollution is also 
a most dangerous one; namely, animal organic matter, a large propor- 
tion of which is in process of decomposition. A very small quantity 
of this matter in water renders it inimical to health. 12 
SELF-PURIFICATION. 
There are three modes of self-purification of river water; namely, 
sedimentation, dilution, and oxidation. In addition, a certain amount 
of animal matter is consumed by fishes; a favorite place of resort for 
them being at the mouths of sewers. Aquatic plants also take up and 
assimilate considerable portions of organic matter. 
SEDIMENTATION OR DEPOSITION. 
Much of the waste matter thrown in streams is insoluble in water, 
and either sinks to the bottom, or is deposited on, or along the banks. 
Earths held in suspension are disposed of in this manner, so that a 
stream which is very turbid after heavy rains, soon becomes clear. 
DILUTION. 
This mode of self-purification is the diffusion of waste and excre- 
mentitious matter through the large mass of water, to such an extent 
that it becomes inappreciable to chemical tests. Sewerage, animal and 
vegetable matter, waste from factories, coloring matter from dye 
houses poured into rivers in quantities sufficient to render the water 
wholly unfit for use, are in the course of a few miles so largely diluted 
as to be probably innoxious. I say probably, for the reason that san- 
itary science has not yet determined to what extent polluted water 
must be diluted to render it fit to drink. Although a certain propor- 
tion of organic matter is destroyed by contact with air and light, and 
is consumed by fishes and plants, yet more or less still remains in the 
water for an indeterminate period. 
OXIDATION. 
It is undoubtedly true that in running streams, organic matter of 
certain kinds decomposes rapidly, and changes into harmless sub- 
stances. Others are less easily decomposed, as muscular fibre, which 
may remain for months in water and still be recognizable under the 
microscope. 
All water holds a certain amount of air, and in swift running 
streams the water is pretty thoroughly mixed with the air, and its 
oxygen unites with the organic matter in the stream, forming new 
combinations of nitrates, nitrites, and carbonic acid. Many examina- 
tions of the waters of streams have been made with a view to deter- 
mine the degree of purification within a certain distance from the 
source of pollution. This largely depends upon the width, depth, 13 
velocity of current, number and size of affluents, rain-fall, etc. The 
Mississippi would so quickly dilute and oxidize the sewage and excre- 
mentitious matters discharged into it from cities like Dubuque, Clin- 
ton, Davenport, Burlington, and Keokuk, that at a short distance be- 
low, the water would be apparently as pure as above them. While 
the same cities, on much smaller streams, would contaminate the 
water for a much greater distance. Of these examinations I append a 
few, as illustrative of the effects of dilution and oxidation. The fol- 
lowing is taken from the Chicago Tribune: 
EXCRETION IN THE RIVER. 
“ There is some discussion and inquiry as to the purity of river 
water from which cities are compelled to seek supplies. Nearly all 
cities empty their sewers, reeking with excretion, into adjoining rivers, 
by which it is floated through smiling valleys to other cities below. 
The natural view of the case would be, that it is injurious to the health 
of the country through which it passes, and that no city lower down 
the stream could use the water with safety to health. But science 
and observation have thrown light on this important question. To 
quiet some minds the following is given, from the Boston Journal of 
Chemistry, May 1: 
“ Ten years ago we published in the Journal the results of several 
careful analyses of the waters of Merrimac River in eastern Massachu- 
setts. These waters were taken from the river at Haverhill, a point 
some eight miles below the last of the great manufacturing cities 
which line the banks of the river almost to its source. The cities of 
Lawrence with 40,000 inhabitants, Lowell with 60,000, Nashua with 
15,000, Manchester with 50,000, are all upon this famous stream, and 
the excreta and filth of at least a half million of people, and the refuse 
from hundreds of immense mills, are poured into it constantly, day 
and night throughout the year. The waste from the mills is not only 
of a filthy nature, but a considerable portion consists of substances 
highly corrosive and poisonous; as acids, spent dyes, mineral salts, and 
caustic alkalies.- The Pacific Mills at Lawrence are of vast extent, the 
largest in the world, employing about six thousand operatives, and the 
filth coming from this establishment would seem to be sufficient 
almost to poison the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The waters ex- 
amined were secured at a point, as had been stated, not more than 
eight miles below the outlet from these mills into the river, and at the 
season (July) when the stream is at a stage of water half way between 14 
its maximum and minimum flow. The analysis showed a high degree 
of purity in the water, the organic and inorganic matter falling below 
four grains in the imperial gallon. Results of this nature, so unex- 
pected, created doubts as to the accuracy of the methods of analysis, 
but they were fully sustained by repeated testing under all the modi- 
fied forms known in chemical research. 
“‘Standing alone, these results would serve to show the remarkable 
capability moving water possesses of self-purification; but the fact is 
strongly established by researches in England made upon the streams 
which are polluted by wash from the large manufacturing towns and 
cities. The streams in England are small, there not being one of so 
great a volume as the Merrimac, which we regard here as a small 
river. The pollution of English streams is carried to an enormous 
extent, the water of many, at the outfall of the sewers of large 
towns, being actually offensive; as it passes down the river it blackens 
from formation of sulphide of iron; further on the black color de- 
creases, disappears, and the river at last exhibits no signs of odor, 
color, or turbidity. Again, soon after the sewage has been turned into 
the river the sewage fungus appears; the banks are black. A short 
distance further the fungus vanishes, vegetation is luxuriant, fish 
abound, the river clears, and no trace or blacf deposit can be seen. 
Thus the river Soar at Leicester is black with sewage. At Lough- 
borough, thirteen miles distant, the water is perfectly clear and fish 
are abundant. The Irwell at Manchester is polluted with every form 
of filth; in nine miles the offensive character of the stream has en- 
tirely disappeared; and so in many cases. 
“At no time and under no circumstances have the waters of the 
Merrimac became so impure, even at the point where they flow through 
cities, as to destroy life. Fishes in considerable numbers are found in 
the river at all seasons, and in the spring, shad, salmon and alewives 
abound.1 
“ Great alarm was felt in Chicago a year ago because of the bad con- 
dition of the water obtained from the lake. The enormous amount 
of filth carried by the river into the lake had seriously contaminated 
the water as far out as the crib from whence the water used by the 
city was obtained. Examinations of lake water at various points 
were made to ascertain the area of pollution. The following is the 
report made by the chemist of the Health Department: 
“A full report of the analysis of samples of water recently taken 
from the lake was made by Professor Paton, the chemist of the Health 15 
Department on yesterday. It has been already stated in the Times 
that the professor found indications of decomposing animal matter in 
the water, but it was not then known from what points the several 
specimens were obtained. The complete report as now submitted is 
important as showing very satisfactorily where water may be obtained 
from the lake with the least liability to contamination by the city 
sewage. 
u It shows that during the late period of high water in the river the 
lake was certainly contaminated at and about the crib. This con- 
tamination was greatest, at the time the samples were obtained, a 
quarter of a mile southwest by south of the crib; next, in the well of 
the crib, and the contamination seemed to grow less as the distance 
east or north of the crib became greater. It does not follow that the 
contamination was wholly from sewage—for some reason no samples 
seem to have been taken from the lake between the crib and the 
mouth of the river—but it would be difficult to convince those who 
drank of the water that it came from any other source. Samples 
were taken at varying distances from the shore as far north as High- 
land Park, twenty-two miles from the city. In these only small traces 
of free ammonia and little albuminoid ammonia wTere found. The 
water seemed to grow purer the further north the samples were taken, 
after passing the outlet of the Fullerton Avenue conduit. 
“The following table gives some of the results. Samples were 
taken both from the surface and at or near the bottom of the lake at 
the point indicated. The figures relate to the samples taken from the 
bottom. The analysis of the surface water varied slightly. The 
impurity of the water is indicated by the amount of ammonia it con- 
tains: 
WHERE TAKEN. 
PARTS PE3 
S eg 
STS 
a> 2 
21 a 
fa 
t MILLION. 
3 S3 
g*s 
.5 o 
a a 
<i 
One-fourth mile southeast of crib 
.36 
.42 
32 
22 
One-fourth mile east of crib 
.16 
.10 
One mile east of crib 
.10 
.03 
Two miles east of crib 
.06 
.07 
One-half mile east of conduit 
.07 
.18 
Two miles oil' Evanston Pier 
Trace. 
.08 
Two miles off Grosse Point 
.06 
.11 
One mile off Highland Park 
.02 
.11 
Two miles off Highland Park 
Trace. 
.06 16 
I also quote from the reports and papers of the American Public 
Health Association to show the effects of dilution and oxidation in the 
purification of even greatly polluted water: 
THE SPONTANEOUS PURIFICATION OF RIVER WATER 
While the animal matters which find their way into wells from cess-pools and 
privies are capable of producing the fatal results to which 1 have called your atten- 
tion, it is now well settled that such matters are speedily oxidized, and destroyed, 
and thus rendered harmless, when they flow into running streams, by the oxygen 
held in solution in the water. Dr. Alfred Taylor stated before the Parliamentary 
Commission that “organic matter in water is only offensive while in process of 
decay; when this operation is completed it ceases to be offensive. 
Sewage which would poison an ordinary well becomes harmless in the running 
stream, and while the well is always open to suspicion, the riyer, though it drain 
populous districts, will, nevertheless, supply wholesome water. Having recently 
had occasion to study this question in connection with the project for supplying the 
city of Albany from the Hudson River, I have collected some facts and opinions 
which I will present to you as embodying the views of the most recent. 
Dr. Frankland, in an article for the Quarterly Journal of Science, says: 
The population in the basin of the Thames, above where water is taken, is 
1,000,000, the drainage of some 600,000 of whom is poured into the river; the sew- 
age is so thoroughly oxidized that no trace of it can be detected in an unoxitlized 
state. The average flow of the river at the point where the companies take their 
supply is 800,000,000 gallons daily. The sewage contained would be rf oSan* 
The Royal Commission reports as follows: 
But though for these reasons we believe that the organic contamination of the 
Thames is much less than is commonly imagined, still it would be sufficient to do 
great mischief were it not for a most beneficial provision of nature for effecting 
spontaneously the purification of the streams. Some of the noxious matter is 
removed by fish and other animal life, and a further quantity is absorbed by the 
growth of aquatic vegetation; but, in addition to these obstructions, important 
changes are effected by chemical action. The organic compounds, dissolved in 
water, appear to be of very unstable constitution and to be very easily decomposed, 
the great agent in this decomposition being oxygen, and the process being consid- 
erably hastened by the motion of the water. Now, as such waters always contain 
much air dissolved in them, the decomposing agent is ready at hand to exert its 
influence the moment the matter is received into the water; in addition to which 
the motion causes a further action by the exposure to the atmosphere, and when 
(as in the Thames) the water falls frequently over weirs, passes through locks, etc., 
causing further agitation and aereation, the process must go on more speedily, and 
more effectually. The effect of the action of oxygen on these organic matters, when 
complete, is to break them up, to destroy all their peculiar organic constitution, 
and to rearrange their elements into permanent inorganic forms, innocuous, and 
free from any deleterious quality. This purifying process is not a mere theoretical 
speculation. We have abundant practical evidence of its real action in the Thames 
and other rivers. The following is the testimony of Sir Benjamin Brodie, Professor 
of Chemistry in the University of Oxford: 
Oxidation is constantly going on in the soil and in the river; and, therefore, 
there must be some point at which the perfect destruction or oxidation of its animal 
matter must take place. What I think is much more important still, is another 
point; namely, the great dilution of the material; and I should rely upon the dilu- 
tion quite as, much, and more, than upon the destruction of the injurious matter. 
Supposing the sewerage of a large town, as Oxford, pouring into the river, there 
are numerous feeders and tributary streams to the river, which effectively dilute 
the sewerage. The sewerage is gradually getting less and less, and, therefore, its 
noxious character diminishes and ultimately disappears. 
Testimony of Dr. Parkes, Professor of Military Hygiene of the 
Army Military School at Netley: 
Q. Have you observed, in a case where sewerage has been discharged into a 
river, that after running three or four miles the effect of the sewerage has been 
destroyed ? 
A. Yes, we have; that in the case of the Southampton water supply. Some 
sewerage passes into the Itchen River, but it is quite destroyed by the time the 
water is distributed in Southampton; at least there is no detectable quantity. 
Q. What is the distance? 
A. The distance is six or eight miles. I could not undertake to state the dis- 
tance in which water would purify itself in that way, but there is no doubt that it 
does purify itself, although in what distance, or in what time, or under what pre- 
cise circumstances, I could not say. 
Testimony of Mr. Leach, Engineer to the Thames Conservancy 
Board: 
Q. How soon, in your observation, is the effect of sewerage destroyed by its 
flow and admixture with the water? 
A. At Windsor, it is discharged into a most unfavorable point in the river, 
where there is little or no stream at ordinary times. The matter which is passed 
out of the drain, floats about in Ihe river there to a very great and very disgusting 
extent. Two miles, or even a mile below, I could find no traces whatever of the 
sewerage. 
Testimony of Mr. Hawksley, Vice-President of the Institute of 
Civil Engineers: 
Q. You remember, do you not, the original condition of the river at Leicester, 
after receiving all the sewerage of the town into it? 
A. Yes, perfectly well; at Leicester the water was as black as this ink. Ido 
not mean to say that it was absolutely so thick, but looking at it in a mass, it was 
as black as ink; nothing would live in it, and the smell was abominable; but by 
the time it got to Loughborough, twelve miles below, it was entirely restored to its 
pristine condition; you could stand on the bridge, there, and seethe fish swimming 18 
among the beautiful reedy and other plants growing in the water, just as in the 
purest streams; you could see every pebble at the bottom; that is an instance of the 
effect of oxidation. 
Testimony of Dr. Letheby, Medical Officer of Health in the Corpo- 
ration of London: 
Q. Taking the case of the cholera disease, and the discharges from the human 
body being mixed up with the sewerage, do you consider that any germs of that 
disease would be carried down in water? 
A. At the present moment, we do not know what the germs of disease are; 
if the germs of the disease be decomposing matter, then I do not think that they 
exist in the water; but if the germs of the disease be living matter, then it is pos- 
sible that they may exist in the water; but as nobody, as far as I am informed, can 
tell us what the germs of cholera are, it would be premature for me, or anybody, to 
theorize as to the probability, or the possibility of their existing in the water. 
FILTRATION OF RIVER WATER 
The waters of Western rivers contain after heavy rains so much 
earthy and vegetable matter in suspension, that they are unfit for do- 
mestic use unless filtered. Different methods are in use to accomplish 
this purpose. The method practiced by the water company at Des 
Moines is, to sink iron cylinders, open at the bottom, in the channel 
of the river, and into the sand and gravel ten feet or more, the water 
being filtered by passing up into the cylinder through the stratum of 
sand and gravel at the bottom of the river. This method proved suc- 
cessful while the demand for water was limited, but at present fails to 
furnish clear water to the city, by reason of the want of capacity of 
the filtering chambers. Immediate steps will be taken to sink addi- 
tional cylinders, when it is believed that a sufficient supply of clear 
water will be furnished to meet all demands. 
Another method is, by passing the water over filtering chambers, 
the chambers being constructed of stone laid in cement, ten feet in 
depth, of length and breadth to furnish an ample supply of water. On 
these chambers is constructed the filtering bed. 
In building this up, provision is first made for the ready collection 
of the water, by constructing upon the floor of the basin from which 
the water is to be filtered, into the chambers below, channel ways of 
stone or brick, laid dry; then follows a layer of broken stone, of three 
or four inches in diameter. This is succeeded by gravel, screened so as 
to be of uniform size (a layer of coarse being followed by one or more 
of smaller size); upon the gravel are placed layers of sand of different 
degrees of fineness. The filtering bed at Poughkeepsie, New York, has 19 
a total thickness of six feet. The water flows over this bed to the 
depth of three or four feet. 
The objection to this method is the necessity of frequent cleansing 
of the filter-beds. The more turbid the river the oftener must this 
be done. In the worst stages of some rivers, this has to be done as 
often as once a week. Another objection is the liability of the water 
in the basin to freeze to a great depth in severe winters. 
Still another method of purifying water is storing it in large reser- 
voirs, when the stream is clear, and drawing from this supply when 
the river is turbid. 
LEAD POISONING. 
Another and dangerous source of contamination of water, and es- 
pecially of river water, arises from the use of lead pipe to conduct the 
water from the street mains to yards and houses. The oxygen in the 
water acts upon the lead, forming compounds which are injurious 
to health when taken into the system. Soft water is contami- 
nated much more rapidly than hard, for the reason that the mineral 
constituents of the hard water soon form an impervious coating on 
the inner surface of the pipe. The water of Iowa rivers holds in solu- 
tion considerable quantities of mineral matter, and lead pipes become 
speedily encrusted with them, especially with the sulphate of lime. 
Care, however, should be taken to allow the water to run long enough 
to discharge the water standing in the service pipe, before drawing for 
domestic use. 
PURIFICATION OF WELL WATER. 
When the water of wells is once polluted by the contents of cess-pools, 
or privies, it is difficult, or, I may say, impossible to purify it. Oxida- 
tion can do but little on account of the small amount of air held in 
suspension, and the limited exposure to the external atmosphere. 
Purification by dilution is evidently impossible. The only methods of 
purification are, by boiling, or filtering through animal charcoal, and 
it is doubtful if the latter mode is perfectly safe. 
When a well is found to be polluted except from surface drainage, 
it should be filled up and a new one dug sufficiently distant from 
sources of contamination to insure pure water. 20 
TESTS OF THE QUALITY OF SOIL WATER. 
The Secretary of the State Board of Health of Michigan reports 
the following: 
The question of the fitness or unfitness of soil water for domestic use can be 
absolutely determined only by a careful chemical analysis. But many persons who 
would not wish to incur the trouble and expense of a chemical analysis will yet 
desire some popular means of testing the water they use. Ihe following methods 
of testing such water are presented, not as the most complete possible, but such 
as anyone can supply without the skill and appliances of the practical chemist. 
If such tests cast suspicion upon the quality of the water, and especially the water 
appears to cause sickness in any one using it, the water should be changed, or else 
a careful analysis should be made by some competent chemist. 
Color—Fill a bottle made of colorless glass with the water; look through the 
water at some black object; the water should appear perfectly colorless and free 
from suspended matter. A muddy or turbid appearance indicates the presence of 
soluble, organic matter, or of solid matter in suspension. It should be clear as 
crystal.” 
Odor—Empty out some of the water, leaving the bottle half full; cork up the 
bottle and place it for a few hours in a warm place; shake up the water, remove 
the cork and critically smell the air contained in the bottle. If it has any smell, 
and especially if the odor is in the least repulsive, the water should be rejected for 
domestic use. By heating the water to boiling an odor is evolved sometimes that 
otherwise does not appear. 
Taste—Water fresh from the well is usually tasteless, even though it may con- 
tain a large amount of putrescible organie matter. Water for domestic use should 
be perfectly tasteless and remain so, even after it has been warmed, since warming 
often develops a taste in water which is tasteless when cold. If the water, at any 
time, has a repulsive or even disagreeable taste it should be rejected. 
Heisch's test for sewage contamination.—The delicacy of the sense of smell and 
of taste vary greatly in different individuals; one person may fail to detect the 
foul contamination of a given water, which would be very evident to a person of a 
finer organization. But if the cause of a bad smell, or taste, exists in the water, 
the injurious effects on health will remain the same whether recognized or not. 
Moreover, some waters of very dangerous quality will fail to give any indication by 
smell or taste. For these reasons I attach especial importance to Heisch’s test for 
sewage contamination or the presence of putrescible organic matter. The test is 
so simple that anyone can use it. Fill a clean pint bottle three-fourths full of the 
water to be tested, and dissolve in the water half a teaspoonful of the purest sugar 
—loaf or granulated sugar will answer—cork the bottle and place it in a warm 
place for two days. If in twenty-four to forty-eight hours the water becomes 
cloudy or muddy it is unfit for domestic use. If it remains perfectly clear it is 
probably safe to use. 21 
OUTBREAKS OF ZYMOTIC DISEASES CAUSED BY USE OF POLLUTED WATER. 
From the reports of the Massachusetts Board of Health of 1871 
and 1876: 
A somewhat extensive though mild epidemic of intestinal and gastric disease 
occurring in a hotel at Rye Beach, New Hampshire, was traced to the use of 
impure ice. The ice was taken from a pond in which was found a mass of decom- 
posing material composed of marsh mud and sawdust. The water near this 
emitted an intolerable effluvium when stirred, and analysis showed a dangerous 
quantity of organic matter. On ceasing to use the ice the epidemic disappeared. 
In December, 1865, typhoid fever appeared in Pittsfield, in a family of about 
forty persons, a boarding school for boys. The head of the school, and four boys, 
died. Eight or ten other cases recovered. The surrounding community was 
healthy. In this family, the water used was from a well under the wash-room. 
The drain from the wash-room was obstructed, and the foul water found its way 
under the floor, and into the shallow well. The well was closed, the family sup- 
plied with water from another source, and the fever subsided. 
In illustration of the effects of drinking water made foul by decomposing organic 
matter, the following instructive facts are related by our correspondent at Sutton: 
A large house in this village is supplied with water from a well in the front 
yard, three rods from the house. Connected with the house is a barn, without 
cellar, some three rods from the well. In December, 1868, a trench, three or four 
feet deep, was dug from the well to a point near the middle of the barn, where a 
pump was set, and a pipe connecting it with the well was laid in the trench; after 
which the earth, which was in large, frozen chunks, was filled back into the trench. 
In the house was kept a boarding-school for boys, of whom there were ten or twelve. 
Three little girls were also there, aged twelve, eight, and three years, belonging to 
the family of the owner of the house; there were, therefore, fourteen or fifteen chil- 
dren who drank from the well. The oldest boy was seventeen or eighteen years 
old, while the others were of ages from ten to thirteen. Everything went well un- 
til after the thaws in February and March, 1869, when the water had a decided 
taste and smell of stable-manure. March 26th one of the boys, thirteen years old, 
was seized with typhoid fever; another, twelve years old, on the 31st of March; an- 
other, eleven years old, April 2d; another, ten years old, April 4th, and another, 
twelve years old, April 9th. April 20th, one of the little girls, eight years old, was 
seized. Each of these six children (all of whom finally recovered) drank water with 
their meals, from the well in the yard. Some of the older boys drank coffee in the 
morning, and tea at night. The manner in which these children were attacked, and 
the fact that this house had been free from typhoid fever for many years, and the 
water heretofore known to be very pure and wholesome, leads me to the conclu- 
sion that the use of the water thus impregnated was the cause of the disease occur- 
ing where, and just at the time it did. My theory is, that while the ground, 
manure, etc., were frozen, the water was all right; but when it thawed, and the 
previously frozen filth leached through the soft and loose earth along the track of 
the pipe into the well, the effect of the poison was felt most perceptibly by those 22 
who used the polluted water most freely, while those who used it less freely escaped 
entirely. 
Our correspondent from Worcester says: 
When I first came to Worcester there was a row of privies in Maple Street 
which drained into the wells near by, and typhoid fever raged until the use of the 
water was discontinued. 
Statements taken from the report of the Secretary of Michigan 
State Board of Health:— 
Unfortunately, we need not go to France to learn what is the influence of 
graveyard water on the public health. In February, 1875, I received a letter from 
Dr. Chapman, of Grand Rapids, calling my attention to the serious sickness which, 
had prevailed in families living on a certain alley in that city. From this letter 1 
gather the following facts: There is a graveyard in Grand Rapids called the Fulton 
Street Cemetery. The soil in this cemetery to the depth of ten to fifteen feet is 
gravelly and sandy, and beneath this porous soil is a tenacious clay which dips to 
the east, toward the alley, on which arc ten houses. The people living in these 
houses derive their water from wells, which penetrate two or three feet into this 
clay. In seven of these ten houses, severe sickness of a typhoid or typho-mularial 
type prevailed, the sickness lasting from fifteen to thirty-five days. In the family 
which has lived the longest on the alley, of six persons, five had the fever, three of 
them in a very severe form. Some of the wells were not more than twenty feet 
from graves. The impervious clay here served as a water-shed to convey the filtra- 
tion of the graves directly into the wells, and these poor people were drinking a 
cold infusion of death ! 
POLLUTION OF WATER FROM GRAVEYARDS 
ANALYSIS OF IOWA WATER. 
I sent circulars some months since to superintendents of water- 
works in the State containing the following list of questions. Nearly 
all replied: 
Des Moines, June 10, 1880. 
Dear Str—The State Board of Health desire information regarding the water 
supply of cities in this State. Will you answer the following interrogatories rela- 
tive to your city ? 
1. What is the source of water supply? 
2. Is the water filtered before entering pipes? 
3. Are there any sources of contamination above the main pipes, as sewage, 
drainage from woolen-mills, slaughter-houses, etc.? If so, of what nature? 
4. Has any analysis of the water been made? If so, give it. 
Any other statements regarding your water supply, its purity, etc., will be thank- 
fully received. 
Very respectfully, 
W. H. Dicrinson. 
Committee on Water Supply. 23 
I also requested the health officers of cities which have water-works- 
to send samples of river and well water to Professor Pope, of the State 
Agricultural College, for analysis, together with such facts relating to 
possible or probable contamination of the water as he could obtain, 
such as characters of soil, depth of well, location of Cess-pools, privy 
vaults, etc., and pollution of rivers from excrementitious and other 
matter, character of bed, banks, etc. 
The results of the analyses and the statements of health officers 
and superintendents of water-works, are herewith Submitted: ANALYSES OF IOWA WATER.* 
RIVER WATER. 
LOCALITIES. 
Free ammonia. 
Albuminoid ammonia. 
Chlorine. 
Suspended matter. 
Solid residue on evapo- 
ration. 
jLoss on ignition. 
Total inorganic, or min- 
eral matter. 
{Hardnessin gr’s per U. 
| S. gal. of 58.328 gr’s. 
1. Mississippi, Burl’n.. 
O.00Q80 
0.01800 
0.1691 
8.9241 
21.5396 
2.4:181 
19.1015 
6.22 
2. Mississippi, M’c’tine 
0.00230 
0.01280 
0.1166 
0.8457 
8.2825 
2.5081 
5.7744 
5.81 
3. Mississippi, Dav’p’t. 
0.00510 
0.01760 
0.0786 
1.7731 
13.7070 
1.8314 
11.8756 
7.47 
4. Mississippi, Clinton. 
0.00155 
0.02331 
0.2740 
6.4160 
15.6780 
2.5420 
13.1350 
5.81 
5. Iowa, Marshalltown 
0.00130 
.0.00990 
0.0729 
2.6830 
16.9151 
1.9831 
14.9320 
11.62 
0 00340 
0 01100 
0 1048 
7. Cedar, Cedar Rapids 
O.OOOOO 
0.01200 
0.0991 
3.6863 
14.1153 
1.9014 
12.2139 
9.13 
8. D. Moines, Ott’mwa 
0.00230 
0.02-330 
0.1604 
22.2462 
33.9468 
3.7329 
30.2139 
4.56 
9. Raccoon, Des Moines 
0.001-50 
0.00750 
0.1137 
0.2041 
9.1574 
0.6766 
8.4808 
8.30 
10. Missouri, C Bluffs.. 
No 
report 
rece’ed 
snALLOW WELL WATER. 
All wells not sunk below rock formation, or impermeable bed of clay, are deemed 
shallow wells. 
115.0743 
60.9527 
52.2320 
43.98 
12. Anamosa (E. Booth) 
3.8903 
32.3137 
25.6643 
21.58 
1 2043 
15.6319 
12.1613 
8.30 
5 0220 
55.2366 
49.3454 
20.41 
9.4374 
6K8523 
56.0533 
31.85 
4.0946 
34.2385 
30.0389 
17.01 
17 flli'nfrm 
0.01920 
0.04720 
1,09§0 
26.9470 
26.56 
18. Burlington 
5.1037 
50.4537 
43.7450 
46.89 
0 ooi2o 
0 00-260 
3.5405 
49.6711 
43.8393 
39.84 
20. Des Moines 
0.00310 
(6.00870 
4.4486 
75.9663 
69.9003 
58.10 
21. Davenport 
0.00150 
0.00730 
2.8880 
43.8393 
40.9229126.56 
22. Muscatine 
10.1009 
54.0700 
46.4874l40.18 
DEEP WELL WATER. 
0.1883 
113.0071 
0.8171 
12.1900 
17.01 
0 2182 
114.8386 
1.0149 
13.8938 
19.09 
0.00170 
1 
0.2041 
114.4886 
0.9448 
13.54:18 
19.09 
8.9970 
41.2378 
32.8036 
34.03 
27. Des Moines 
0.0023010.00230 
1.9239 
148.6398 
143.0927 
39.84 
28. Des Moines 
0.0069010.00350 
4.8062 
142.4794 
31.-54 
ICE 
WATER. 
29 Mississippi River... 
0.01550i0.01130 
trace 
1.3765 
0.9449 
0.4316 
0. 
30. Des Moines River.. 
0.01240|0.00310 
trace 
0.6998 
0.2333 
0.4666 
0. 
31. Des Moines River.. 
0.01390 0 00190 
trace 
0.7582 
0.2916 
0.4666 
0. 
♦Analyses made by Prof. T. E. Pope, of Iowa State Agricultural College. The results are ex- 
pressed in grains per TJ. S. gallon of 58.328 grains. 25 
WHERE SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED. 
RIVER WATER. 
WATER-WORKS, BURLINGTON. 
1. Source of supply, Mississippi River; distributed by Holly sys- 
tem; water filtered before entering the pipes; no source of contamina- 
tion above main supply. Sample collected June 24. 
2. Distance from source to point where sample was collected 1,100 
feet. Two streams, having several slaughter-houses on their banks, 
enter the river above the water-works conduit pipes; also several sew- 
ers. An iron conduit pipe projects 700 feet into the river, fourteen 
feet below low water mark, through which the water is pumped into 
the reservoir which supplies the street mains. Sample collected June 24. 
WATER-WORKS, MUSCATINE. 
WATER-WORKS, DAVENPORT. 
3. Sample collected August 13, from hydrant supplied by water- 
works. The water is taken from Rock Island Rapids, about one-half 
mile above the termination, where the current is very, strong, by 
means of conduit, which runs some distance out into the river. No 
filtration. 
WATER-WORKS, CLINTON. 
4. Sample taken from hydrant at Lee’s drug store, corner Fifth 
Avenue and Second Street, September 6, 1881. Water is pumped 
from Mississippi River. The conduit extends far into deep, quick cur- 
rent, and before reaching the pumps passes through two feet of sand 
and gravel. No contamination above the works except ordinary sur- 
face drainage. The city sewers are all below the pumping works. 
WATER-WORKS, MARSHALLTOWN 
5. Supplied from Iowa River; water pumped into reservoir, which 
supplies street mains. Sample collected from hydrant, June 18. Water 
is filtered. No sewerage or other animal polluting matter known to 
gain access to the river above the water-works conduit pipe. 26 
WATER-WORKS, ANAMOSA. 
6. Water pumped into reservoir. Sample taken from hydrant 
June 22. 
7. Water pumped into street mains direct through conduit pipes 
which enter the river above the city. Water not affected by anything 
except ordinary surface drainage. Street mains also supplied in part 
from a well. When water is drawn from the well, it is filtered. Sam- 
ples taken from a hydrant, July 6, but whether it is from the river 
or well is not reported. The analysis indicates it is from the river. 
WATER-WORKS, CEDAR RAPIDS. 
WATER-WORKS, OTTUMWA. 
8. Water is pumped into a reservoir, which supplies the street 
mains. Samples taken from hydrant on Main Street June 29. Sev- 
eral packing and slaughter-houses, from which the offal enters the 
river, about a half a mile above the pumping works. 
WATER-WORKS, DES MOINES. 
9. Supply taken from a filtering tank fourteen feet below the bed 
of Raccoon River, and pumped directly into the street mains by the 
Holly system. Sample taken from hydrants one-half mile from the 
river July 16. No contamination of water above the source of sup- 
ply by sewage, manufactures or slaughter-houses. 
10. No report. 
11. Well fourteen feet deep; soil, loam; subsoil clay, yellow, fri- 
able, and porous; water-bearing strata is gravel and sand. Sample 
taken June 24. 
12. E. Booth’s. Depth, thirty-five feet; walled with stone. 
13. J. C. Deitz. Same as No. 12. 
14. Located in the Second Ward. Depth, sixteen feet; diameter 
three and one-half feet; cribbed with pine lumber, and walled with 
stone inside of cribbing, black loam six feet; yellow sand eight feet; 
coarse gravel and sand water-bearing strata two feet; several privy 
vaults eight feet deep, fifty to sixty feet distant; water raised with an 
iron pump. Sample collected July 6. 
15. Located in First Ward, half mile distant from foregoing No. 
14, and 400 feet from the river; livery stable directly in the rear; 
SHALLOW WELL WATER 27 
nearest privy fifty to sixty feet. Soil and depth the same as No. 14, 
except the loam which is only a few inches in depth; more water 
drawn than from any well in the city. Samples collected July 6. 
16. Depth twenty-five feet; water raised with a bucket; location 
on fourth street from the river, at the foot of the bluff; soil drift; no 
contamination by sewerage, drainage, or surface water. This well is 
one of the oldest in the city, and a fair sample of the natural water of 
the city. 
17. Clinton. Sample taken from school-house well between Sixth 
and Seventh Avenue, Fourth Street, September 6, 1881. 
18. No description received. 
19. Driven well on bottom-land, corner of West Sixth and Market 
streets. Soil, drift, depth twenty-two feet; an old cellar filled with 
rubbish twenty feet distant; privy without vault, fifteen feet distant; 
back of residence fifteen feet distant, where all slops from kitchen are 
thrown. Sample secured July 19. 
20. Location corner of East Third and Elm streets; two blocks 
from the Des Moines river; open; drift soil; depth of well twenty 
feet; depth of water five feet; several back doors of residences six and 
nine feet distant, where kitchen slops are thrown; two privies without 
vaults forty and fifty feet distant. Sample collected July 19 by lower- 
ing glass bottle to the bottom of the well. 
21. Open; depth of well twenty feet; diameter four feet; soil, 
black loam, yellow and black clay and gravel, the latter being on a 
level with the river bed. The water in this well rises and falls with 
the river; privies fifteen and twenty-five feet distant. Sample col- 
lected August 13. 
22. Depth of well twenty-five feet; diameter four feet; distance 
from drains and cess-pools, sixty feet; soil, clay; subsoil, sand; water- 
bearing strata, sand and gravel. Sample collected June 24. 
DEEP WELL WATER. 
ARTESIAN. 
23. Depth, 1,600 feet; diameter, six inches; water rises to within 
thirty feet of the surface. Sample collected July T. 
WATER-WORKS AT DUBUQUE. 
24. The supply comes from a tunnel or adit about one mile in 
length, penetrating the bluffs and running a due west course, varying 
in depth from the surface from one hundred to two hundred feet, and 28 
sixty to eighty feet below the mineral bearing strata. Much of the 
distance is through solid rock, with frequent openings and fissures, 
through which the water is constantly forcing its way and the supply 
increasing. The tunnel is located about two and a half miles out of 
the city. A large reservoir about four hundred feet below the mouth 
of the tunnel, of the most substantial character, fully enclosed with 
heavy walls, shutting out all surface water, gives a storage capacity of 
about three million gallons, including the tunnel. The connection is 
made from a twelve-inch water main leading from the mouth of the 
tunnel to the city, running parallel with the reservoir and entering at 
the bottom, thus giving it the effect of a boiling spring. Sample col- 
lected July 7, from the tunnel or level. 
25. Sample taken from a hydrant July 7, two miles distant from 
the reservoir. 
26. Depth, thirty-five feet, of which six feet are limestone and 
slate formation. 
27. Location, 838 West Fifth Street (F. Geneser); open, tight curb, 
roofed; brick wall; depth of well, forty-five feet; depth of water, 
twenty-one feet; soil, alluvial, one and one-half feet; yellow joint clay, 
twenty-one feet; gravel, one and one-half feet; blue and yellow clay, 
fifteen feet; sandstone, two and one-half feet; yellow clay, three and 
one-half feet; street, one hundred feet east, four feet above the 
mouth of the well; stable and three privy vaults, sixty, forty and 
thirty feet distant westward; privy vaults, ten feet deep, and bricked 
loose without drains; descent from the well to privy vaults and stable 
three to five feet; no slops thrown on the lot. Sample collected July 
19, by lowering a bottle to the bottom of the well. 
28. Location on Center Street between Fourth and Fifth; open; 
depth, thirty-five feet; depth of water, one hundred feet; soil, joint clay; 
no surface drainage can get entrance; privy vaults, twenty, forty-five, 
fifty and sixty feet distant. Water raised by wooden bucket. Sample 
collected July 19, by lowering a glass bottle to the bottom of the 
well. 29 
ICE WATER. 
AT DAVENPORT. 
29. From ice taken at Davenport near the river channel in the 
lower part of the city, and below the city sewers. 
AT DES MOINES. 
30. From ice taken July 19, from a delivery wagon of Des Moines 
Ice Company (Grefe); melted by sun heat in a clean, new, earthen 
jar, and transferred to glass bottle. The ice was taken from Des 
Moines River above the dam. 
31. From ice taken from the delivery wagon of Capital City Ice 
Company, at Des Moines the same date, and prepared in the same 
manner as No. 30. The ice was taken from Des Moines River below 
the dam. 
REMARKS. 
For the information of the general public, it may be said in ex- 
planation of the foregoing table, that the presence of albuminoid am- 
monia and chlorine in drinking water is regarded with suspicion. 
Albuminoid ammonia comes from pollution by sewage or excremen- 
titious and vegetable matter. Chlorine is a constituent of common 
salt, hence, at a distance from sea-water, its presence in drinking 
water indicates contamination by drainage from privies and stables or 
urninary sources. According to Frankland, the celebrated English 
chemist, water containing .55 parts, or grains, or less of chlorine per 
United States gallon of 58.328 grains, may be regarded as pure and 
healthful, while water containing 2.7 parts, or grains, or over, should 
be rejected for drinking purposes. 
While this may be true as a general rule, it will not apply strictly 
to Iowa, where the earth is rich in chlorides and sodium, so that a 
sample of water entirely free from possible contamination by surface 
drainage may contain chlorine, and yet not be objectionable for drink- 
ing purposes. So, also, as to albuminoid ammonia. What would 
apply to rivers would not apply to deep and shallow wells. Some 
rivers are entirely unpolluted by sewerage or manufacturing estab- 
lishments. It is well known that peat abounds extensively in Iowa. 
Rivers receiving the drainage therefrom would show the presence of 
albuminoid ammonia in their water, yet it would not be objectionable 
for drinking purposes. It is very important, in making an analysis 30 
of water, to know the geology and topography of the district supply- 
ing the water. In this the collectors of samples sent for analysis 
have been unfortunately neglectful in obeying instructions given. 
The suitability of potable or drinking water for use must be decided 
chiefly from the proportion of organic matter or elements it contains. 
In deep well or spring waters, however, little importance is attached 
to this, for the reason that in such waters the organic elements may 
be derived from vegetable and not animal sources. Water from deep 
wells and springs usually shows the smallest amount of organic matter, 
the thick strata through which the water has passed having destroyed 
by oxidation most of the organic matter. 
Upland surface waters in uncultivated districts are least liable to 
contamination from animal excreta, the organic matter contained in 
them being almost entirely vegetable, and usually peat. 
Shallow well Avater is always largely dependent on the surroundings 
of the well. Such wells are, with few exceptions, polluted by animal 
matter. The water-bearing strata may be powerful enough to destroy 
and oxidize much of the polluting matter, but when overtasked, the 
purification is slight, and the water necessarily becomes, and often is, 
as unfit for use as that from a common sewer. Of the shallow wells 
shown in the above, No. 13 comes nearest the standard of purity. All 
others are objectionable in chlorine, especially Nos. 11,15, and 22. 
Of the different varieties of waters, the best for dietetic purposes 
are spring and deep well waters. Sample No. 26 would appear to be 
an exception. Although classed in the deep wells, the analysis indi- 
cates an extensive pollution by excrementitious matter, probably 
through fissures in the limestone rock. 
Dr. Charles Smart, in his report to the Medical Director of the 
United States army, May, 1876, on spring, well and river waters, of 
the Department of the Platte, says the water examined at eighteen 
military posts contained free ammonia 0 to .98 parts per 1,000,000; 
albuminoid ammonia .10 to .98 parts per million. Lodge Pole Creek, 
of albuminoid ammonia, .19; Black’s Fork, of albuminoid ammonia, 
.20; Douglas’s Brook, of albuminoid ammonia, .28. Snow just fallen 
at Fort Bridger yielded .30 parts per United States gallon of water, 
had .50 parts per million of albuminoid ammonia, equal to .029 grains 
or parts per United States gallon of 58.328 grains. The albuminoid 
and free ammonia in the water of these far western streams, whose 
sources are clefted rocks, comes from dead vegetable matter along 
their banks, yet these streams are deemed to be the purest water 31 
known. English authorities would condemn them as dangerous. 
Dr. Smart concludes that where the free and albuminoid ammonia is 
of vegetable origin, as in most of western waters, .30 parts per million, 
or .029 grains per United States gallon is allowable. 
The inference to be drawn from the investigation of Dr. Smart is, 
that no definite standard can be made by which to fix potable water 
for dietetic use, so as to say that a water may contain so much, if it 
contains more it is bad; for where a certain amount of the same sub- 
stance in one case indicates a fearful contamination, in another it 
would be harmless, or indicate only the normal constituents of the 
water. As has been stated, the geology and topographical surround- 
ings in each case must be considered in deciding the suitability of any 
water. As a general rule it may be said river waters are the most 
objectionable from their liability to pollution by the refuse sewerage of 
towns. They are the natural carrier of all waste matter which in 
solution can be carried along by the current. No river water should 
be used for dietetic purposes without thorough and complete filtration. 
ICE WATER. 
Water from ice is generally considered pure and healthful. The 
notion that ice purifies itself by freezing is fallacious, and cannot be 
supported by scientific observation. Organic matter suspended in 
water would certainly be drunk by any person using the ice in the 
ordinary method. Ice should never be taken from water which is 
unfit for drinking purposes. Of the samples given in the foregoing 
table, No. 29 is objectionable. The other two are remarkably pure. 
The difference in favor of No. 31, may be accounted for by the fact 
that the water above the dam is still, having very little current, and 
therefore holds in suspension more organic matter than the water be- 
low the dam, where is a strong current, which together with the rapid 
plunging of the water over the dam would tend to oxidize or remove 
the impurities of organic matter in the water. 
It should be borne in mind that all the foregoing samples of river 
water were collected when streams were swollen by floods and the waters 
turbid. 
Des Moines, Iowa, November 5, 1881. 
POPULAR IDEAS.