Part 3

I have in my possession partial and complete analyses by Prof. E. T. Cox, of waters from nine other driven wells in the city. The analyses show that these wells furnish good potable water.

The occupants of large buildings are often supplied with water from tanks on the upper floors. If the tanks are not properly constructed and well inclosed, the water pumped into them may be contaminated at any time by impurities.

Given below are analyses of waters drawn from tanks in large blocks.

The quantities are in one litre.

=============================================================== | TOTAL | MATTER | | FREE |ALBUMINOID| Sample|SOLIDS. | ORGANIC | CHLOR- |AMMONIA.| AMMONIA. |REMARKS. | | & | INE. | | | | |VOLATILE.| | | | ------+--------+---------+--------+--------+----------+-------- |Gramme|Gramme |Gramme|Gramme| Gramme | 1. | 1.032 | .14 | .09 |.00004 | .00012 | Bad. 2. | .554 | .089 | .075 |.00015 | .00009 | Good. ===============================================================

One person who lived in the former block died of typhoid fever, and many others had sickness from the use of the water.

The question of drainage and water supply of cities, should take the precedence of every other question, for upon its proper solution depends thousands of lives. Those in authority should understand its importance, and feel the pressing necessity of more thorough sanitary work. Hygiene is not only a subject of scientific interest to the medical man, but its problems and discoveries ought to be of great practical importance to political economists and legislators, who usually occupy themselves with subjects which benefit the common people very little. It appears that the best engineering talent, and great amounts of money, have been employed, to furnish cities and towns with inexhaustible supplies of water without sufficient regard to quality.

To economically furnish water in ample quantity, is an object of great importance; but it is of more consequence that the water obtained is not contaminated by sewers, cess-pools, and surface drainage to such an extent that disease and death shall be scattered broadcast; among those who drink the water. There are those who claim that a small proportion of sewage in drinking water does not necessarily prove deleterious to health.

The English Rivers’ Pollution Commission published conclusions based on the examination of some two thousand samples of water claimed to be drinkable; condemning river water because it is liable to contamination from drainage of cultivated land, towns and manufactories. According to their decision “the admixture of even a small quantity of the infected discharges (of persons suffering from cholera or typhoid fever), with a large volume of drinking water, is sufficient for the propagation of those diseases among persons using such water.”

Dr. Folsom, in the report of the Massachusetts State Board of Health, states that “excessive dilution simply diminishes the chances of danger from any particular tumblerful.” To show how disease may be transmitted in dilute sewage and that disease germs are not exterminated by diffusion through a large body of running water, Dr. E. D. Mapother, of Dublin, reports forty cases of typhoid fever occurring in a hospital which received its supply from a river. The cause was traced to some barracks twenty-five miles higher up, from which typhoidal dejections had been emptied through drains into the river.

The following classification of drinkable waters which was made by the English commissioners, should be received by us as entirely trustworthy.

Wholesome—Spring water, deep well water, and upland surface water.

Suspicious—Stored rain water, and surface water from cultivated land.

Dangerous—River water to which sewage gets access, and shallow well water.

The fact that foul water will breed disease, should no longer be ignored. The citizens of Indianapolis have been drinking water from the city water works not above suspicion, and it is about time that the pollution of the water by filth should excite public attention.

Below I give analyses of samples of water drawn at different times and places from the faucets of the city water works.

The following report is from Prof. Thos. C. Van Nuys, of the State University.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., May 10, 1880.

The water you sent on Thursday was received on Friday evening. The following is the report of my chemical and microscopic examinations:

In one litre (1,000 cubic centimetres).

Nitric acid anhydride, N₂O₅. 10.72 milligrammes Ammonia, NH₃, 0.03 ” Carbonic acid anhydride, CO₂. 0.439 gramme. Calcium oxide, CaO, 0.148 ” Magnesium oxide, MgO, 0.04128 ” Chlorine, 0.09218 ” Degree of hardness (English) 25.7

The organic matter in 100 cubic centimetres of the water required 3.11 cubic centimetres of the 1-100 normal solution of potassium permanganate to oxidize it; therefore one litre of the water would require 31.1 cubic centimetres of the 1-100 normal solution KMnO₄ to oxidize the organic matter. In 31.1 c. c. of this solution there is 0.0098 gramme KMnO₄ or 0.0247 gramme oxygen liberated. I would remark here that there is no method of estimating the exact quantity of organic matter in water. The method of estimating the carbon and hydrogen by combustion analysis (Frankland and Armstrong’s) has been found defective,—also the methods based on the estimation of nitrogen and reduction of silver oxide. The method employed in this case (Schultze’s) is the most reliable, and yet not all the organic matter is oxidized, for some is volatized in boiling.

I found the following infusorial animalaculcæ: Stylonchia pustulata, actinurus neptunius, rotirfer vulgaris, monostylaquadridentata, navicular baltica.

I give here the magnified pictures.

I did not examine the first sample of water with the microscope. In the water of the second bottle I found but one kind of infusoria, viz., stylonchia pustulata, but they were numerous. In the water sent on Thursday I found the others named, but few in number. In both samples of water there was but a small quantity of mineral matter, a few crystals of CaCO₃. The water was somewhat cloudy and the suspended particles were evidently of vegetable origin. I have not adopted any standard in judging water for drinking purposes.

As yet none has been found having a scientific basis. But let us see how this water would be rated by some of the standards of men who have justly distinguished themselves by their labor in water analysis. The Grenzzahlen limitary numbers are of E. Reichardt, Kubel, and Tiemann and Fischer.

One litre (1,000 cubic centimetres).

=================================================================== | | KUBEL AND | | REICHARDT. | TIEMANN. | FISCHER. ---------------+--------------+--------------------+--------------- Nitric acid | | | anhyd. | 4 milligramm.| 5 to 15 milligramm.| 27 milligramm. Chlorine |28 ” |20 to 30 ” | 35 ” Lime (CaO.) | | |112 ” Magnesia (MgO.)| | | 40 ” Degrees of | | | hardness | | | (German) |18 ” |18 to 20 ” | 17 ” ===================================================================