Water pollution—Wells

by Irving A. Watson

which has attracted considerable attention the present season, and been the source of many false newspaper reports, is most remarkable in the history of water pollution. Briefly, the history connected therewith is as follows:

A wealthy Philadelphian by the name of Lewis, who has spent his summers at this noted beach for the last twelve years, bought last spring a lot of land, and built a very expensive and elegant summer residence. The location was upon an elevation some forty or fifty feet higher than the sea, and but a short distance from the water. This elevation is made up mostly of seamy ledges, with but a few feet of soil covering the same. From a sanitary point of view, no better site could possibly be selected.

Instead of building a sewer to the ocean for drainage purposes, he constructed a cess-pool forty feet distant from the house, into which all the sewage from the house ran. In building this cess-pool it was necessary to excavate three feet of the ledge to get a good and sufficient depth. Sixty feet from this cess-pool, and apparently upon the same level, was dug the well which was to supply this residence with water. After reaching the ledge, it was necessary to go ten feet into the rock to get sufficient water, which was obtained in abundance, and was excellent in quality. The well and cess-pool were both constructed at the same time, and in two weeks after, the well was polluted by this cess-pool. The family, not realizing the source of pollution or its danger, continued to use the water for a short time afterwards, or until it became so tainted that it was repulsive to the senses of taste and smell. The result was the death of Mr. Lewis, and a lady visitor who lived in the vicinity and frequently drank of this water, and a severe illness of a daughter of Mr. Lewis, his servant, and a guest of the family. These seemed to be cases of blood poisoning, the severer ones resembling in their last stage typhoid fever.

This instance of well pollution illustrates the fact that a rock formation, though generally believed to be the best safeguard against the contamination of a well, may be the most dangerous. The seams which existed in this ledge no doubt served as direct channels to convey the filth to this well.

The following instance of well pollution seems to illustrate in what unsuspected ways water may become contaminated:

A short time since, Dr. C. A. Wood, of Greenville, sent me several specimens of water for examination. The contamination of some of them was of such a character that I asked him for a history of the samples. I will here state that the specimens marked “No. 2” and “No. 3” were both badly polluted, and with different substances, so that, in testing, the chemical reactions were quite different. In his reply to my letter of inquiry he says,—

“The water I sent you last week marked No. 2 was dipped directly from the well, as shown in diagram, while the water marked No. 3 was pumped from the pump. The family have been sick more or less ever since they occupied the house. None of them have been well, but it is exceedingly difficult to give a name to their complaints, except a general out of fix, with a dull, tired feeling, headaches, sore throats, furred tongues, &c., but no downright sickness so as to prostrate them.”

It will be readily seen by the crude diagram that the cess-pool filth which had accumulated around the lead pipe leading to the well, by reason of a breakage in the sink-drain, had corroded the water-pipe till it was full of small holes, which allowed this filth to be drawn in and mixed with the water every time any was drawn from the well. Such a condition is not likely to be of very frequent occurrence, but it demonstrates the fact that the source of water pollution may be sometimes subtle and unexpected.