CHAPTER V
QUANTITY OF WATER REQUIRED FOR DOMESTIC USE
Until the last few years it has been a sad commentary on the intelligence of the average farmer that but few attempts have been made to supply the farmhouse with running water, adequate to the needs of domestic use. The men of the farm long ago realized that carrying water for stock in pails was both laborious and time-consuming, and very few barnyards have not had running water leading into a trough to supply the needs of cattle. In many cases this supply has been extended into the barn, and in some cases into individual stalls, so that the farmer has long since eliminated the necessity of hauling water for his stock. Perhaps, because the farmer did not himself carry the water, but rather his wife, he has until recently not concerned himself with any extension of the water-supply into the house, and so long as the well in the yard did not run dry, he felt that his duty had been done. To be sure, bringing water from the well to the house in mid-winter involves much exposure and sometimes real suffering; occasionally the farmer has been moved on this account to have the well located in the woodshed or on the back stoop, avoiding the long outdoor trip, but increasing the dangers of pollution to the water. It would be interesting to make a census of the farm water-supplies in any county for the purpose of estimating the intelligence of the farm-owners, since one cannot but feel that such a primitive water-supply argues, in most cases, an undeveloped or one-sided intelligence on the part of the property owner.
Modern tendencies.
Happily, such primitive methods of bringing water to the house are being superseded by satisfactory installations, and one by one, each farmhouse is being provided with running water in the kitchen sink and with a bath-room containing all the modern conveniences. One cannot deny that this costs money, both because of the pipe line necessary to bring the water to the house and because of the plumbing fixtures required in the house. Again, a water-supply in the house involves a well-heated house, since pipes not kept warm will, in the winter, inevitably freeze, ruining the pipe line and perhaps the ceilings and walls of the house itself. But if the owner of a house has any money to expend in improvements, surely no better way of adding to the comfort and health of his family can be found. An abundant supply of water increases the self-respect of the whole family and has been known even to change the temper of an entire household. For another reason, also, it is a good investment, inasmuch as the quality of the water supplied from a spring on a hillside is, generally speaking, better than that of a well surrounded by barnyards and privies.
It has been said that the civilization of a community is measured by the amount of soap that it consumes, and it is almost the same thing to say that the refinement of a household is measured by the amount of water it uses. The poorer a family, the greater struggle it is to keep up the appearance of cleanliness, and no surer sign of rapid progress on a downhill road can be found than neglect of those practices which tend toward personal neatness. As the life of the farmer, then, becomes easier, as his condition becomes more prosperous, and as his family make more requirements, so, inevitably, is there in the farmhouse a greater demand for water in the kitchen, in the laundry, and in the bath-room.
Quantity of water needed per person.
Just how much water is needed in any house is not easy to predict, unless, at the same time, it is known, not merely the present habits of the family, but also their capacity to respond to the refining influence of unlimited water.
It has been shown by measuring the amount of water used in families of different social standing in cities of New England that the amount of water varies directly with the habits and social usages of the family. For example, in Newton, Massachusetts, where there are a large number of small houses with the water-supply limited to a single faucet, it was found that the water used amounted to seven gallons per day for each person in the house, while in houses supplied with all modern conveniences, the consumption of water was at the rate of twenty-seven gallons per day for each person. In Fall River, the conditions were much the same except that the poorer houses generally had one bath-tub and one water-closet, the amount of water used being eight and a half gallons per head per day, while the most expensive house in the city used twenty-six gallons per head per day. In Boston, the poorest class apartment houses used water at the rate of seventeen gallons per head per day, the moderate class apartment houses at the rate of thirty-two gallons, first-class apartment houses at the rate of forty-six gallons, and the highest class apartment houses at the rate of fifty-nine gallons per head per day. The difference in these rates is easily understood by considering the habits of the individuals who make up the different classes referred to. In the poorer class of houses, the workers of the family are gone all day, and are too tired when home to spend much time in bathing. The children of such households are washed only occasionally, and the external use of water is generally regarded as an unnecessary trouble. In those families, on the other hand, where the necessity for daily toil is not so pressing, where bathing is more frequent, and where ablutions during the day are more often repeated, the amount of water used is much larger.
Another factor that affects the measured amount of water used in a family is the number of plumbing fixtures. At first sight, it would not seem possible that because there were two wash-basins in a house, an individual should use more water than if there were only one basin. Nor would it seem possible that an individual would take more baths with three bath-rooms available than if only one existed, and yet the number of fixtures does influence the individual who washes his hands frequently. With a wash-basin on the same floor, for instance, he washes often, whereas if it were always necessary to go upstairs for the purpose, his hands would go unwashed. Also, the more fixtures there are, the greater is the amount of leakage, since every faucet will, in the course of time, begin to leak unless the packing is continually replaced. The amount of leakage is, therefore, in direct proportion to the number of fixtures.