PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIES § 



compounds which might have a medicinal "cure-all" value. Frequently 

 persons send us samples of water which they believe to contain some 

 unusual chemical constituent with remarkable curative properties for prac- 

 tically all known human ailments. Our answer is that there is no such 

 water and such analyses can not be made. 



All analyses of this type, as well as analyses to determine what type 

 of piping or hot water tank to install, should be referred to a commercial 

 laboratory. The laboratory at the Massachusetts State College deals 

 only in health applications of any tests made. 



Results of 1,016 Analyses 



A very brief survey of 1,016 analyses made in the Service Laboratory 

 during the past ten years is presented in the final section. The very fact 

 that these samples were sent in to us for analysis suggests that in the 

 majority of cases some doubt existed in the minds of the owners as to 

 the purity of their supplies. Therefore a rather high percentage of con- 

 taminated supplies is to be expected. The reader must not interpret the 

 final figures given in tables 1 and 2 to imply that this is a general picture 

 of the condition of the rural private water supplies in the State of Massa- 

 chusetts. These figures mean' just what they represent: that 44 percent 

 of all the supplies suspected of being contaminated, and scut to the laboratory 

 to he tested, were contaminated. 



Table 1.— Total number and type of each sltpply tested, and the 

 number and percentage of each showing contamination. 



Total 

 Type of Number Number Number not Percent 



Supply Tested Contaminated Contaminated Contaminated 



Spring 193 77 116 39 



Dug Well 452 250 202 54 



Driven Well 332 119 213 35 



Totals 977 446 531 45 



Table 1 presents the total number of samples tested from each type 

 of supply together with the number and percentage of each that showed 

 contamination. These results show, as might be expected, that the high- 

 est percentage of contaminated supplies occurred in the group classified 

 as dug wells. Being for the most part rather shallow (the average depth 

 of those tested was only 15 feet), dug wells are the most difficult type of 

 supply to protect from contamination. The majority of those tested were 

 of rather ancient vintage; that is, from 30 to 150 years old. At the time 

 of their construction a general knowledge of water sanitation was lacking. 

 Field stone was used as a curbing, and the cover, if any, was of loosely 

 laid planks. Further, for convenience the well was located in or near 

 the house. So also were the toilet facilities. The result is obvious. The 

 loosely laid field stone curbing and plank cover allowed surface-water 

 contamination, while the nearness to the sewage disposal system resulted 



