Conservation by sanitation ; air and water supply, disposal of waste, including a laboratory guide for sanitary engineers.

  • Richards, Ellen H. (Ellen Henrietta), 1842-1911.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Conservation by sanitation ; air and water supply, disposal of waste, including a laboratory guide for sanitary engineers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

    50/360 (page 28)
    part of the nineteenth century, though their underground sources were then unknown. The Spaniards were responsible for the destruction of these great works in Peru and Mexico. In Mexico some excuse for this vandalism may be found in the tradition that some of the water-carrying pipes were built of pure gold, but the destruc- tion of the great stone aqueduct can never be forgiven. B. THE MODERN WATERWORKS The twentieth century begins a new era in waterworks, of which three examples are given of three types. Excellent de- scriptions of these completed works are available, and the student will find other examples in current literature. Albany has a slow sand-filtered river water, nature's method, amplified and speeded up. Boston collects several smaller streams from clean soil stores in clean reservoirs, exposes to nature's disinfectant, sunlight, and prevents contamination as far as possible. Cincinnati, the type of modern engineering work on a large-scale treatment of unfit water by the most scientific means, gives an impressive lesson on the use of me- chanical appliances for daily needs. Standards past and present will be described in a later chapter. Here it suffices to bear in mind the chemical, biological, and engi- neering difficulties to be overcome in providing a modern city with its modern needs and modern standards with a sufficient supply of a safe and satisfactory water. The quantity demanded is the most serious handicap. For instance, in the careful preliminary survey of the possible sources of future supply of the Boston Metropolitan area, Special Report, 1895, the plan outlined was to furnish at the accepted estimates for increase of population a per capita supply sufficient for one hundred years. Within ten years the works were called on for about the fifty- year limit. It is evident that in all cities the great waste of water must be checked unless the larger places face the disasters