MODERN METHODS OF WATER PURIFICATION, 34I 



colour from peat and moorland, it was not turbid, and had 

 no visible suspended matter; and as regards its purity, well, 

 looking through lists of bacteria per c.c. in the raw water and 

 filtered water in the water ofifice records, which were very kindly 

 shown me, I found that the unfiltered water in Harrogate is 

 usually as pure bacterially as ours is after it is filtered even 

 now, and much more so than ours used to be before we 

 adopted chemical precipitation. The water supply of Harro- 

 gate is described as of exceptional purity, coming from moor 

 country " far removed from all possible sources of contamina- 

 tion." This is a factor of the first importance in making com- 

 parisons, when bacterial efficiency means to us. not a per- 

 centage reduction of innocent germs, but a removal of dan- 

 gerous organisms. It is not colour we want to get rid of. but 

 germs. 



Hastings is another place where the Candy filters are in- 

 stalled, and here Mr. Palmer, the Town Engineer, gave time 

 and trouble to let me see and learn what I could from his 

 waterworks and experience. The waterworks in Hastings are 

 not all in one place, part being on the West Hill and part at 

 Brede : the former have oxidium Candy's, the latter polarite 

 Candy's. Here I saw a water, which was absolutely impossible 

 to use as it was pumped from its source to the West Hill works, 

 turned into a bright, sparkling, well aerated, pure water — a 

 really marvellous change. It was no wonder to me that ]\Ir. 

 Palmer expresses himself as highly satisfied with the results. 

 The unfiltered water as it reached the waterworks from the 

 source was a brick-red and turbid, iron-rust soup. Samples 

 which had been standing were shown me, and from the analyst's 

 report it appears that from a gallon is deposited 100 grains of 

 hydrated oxide of iron, and there remains after this deposit 

 enough iron dissolved to make the water unfit for domestic 

 and drinking purposes, or very objectionable. A glass of the 

 unfiltered water looked, smelt and tasted like an intentional 

 mixture of iron rust and water. When the water emerged 

 from the Candy filter it was entirely transformed, no objec- 

 tionable taste nor appearance was left, but a limpid, sparkling 

 fluid fit for anyone to drink. The filtration by oxidation prac- 

 tically removed all the iron in suspension and solution. Air. 

 Palmer's words are " entirely successful." 



But how does the raw water compare with our river water 

 tacterially ? It is of greater organic pm-ity razv than ours is 

 filtered by a long way. So in Harrogate we had peaty brown 

 water and in Hastings iron-rust red water changed into beauti- 

 ful waters; but neither of them have mud and neither of them 

 have bacterial pollution like ours. The same might be said 

 about the Newport water supply, which was not a dangerously- 

 polluted water as we understand it here, but a discoloured 

 water, containing water animaculae visible to the naked eye, 

 but the official in charge informed me that in case of shortage 

 through fire or other unusual demand on the water supply 

 above their filtering power, they just passed the water through 

 tnifiltered by a by-pass, and that complaints came of dirty 

 water, but it was not a water where typhoid accompanied un- 



