The Water Supply of Minneapolis — Committee. 89 



The committee iaterpreted their commission as including an 

 investigation of the quality of the water of the river at present 

 supplied, the quality of the water shortly to be supplied through 

 tlie change in the location of the in-take, and the quality of the 

 water from any other point or points from which the taking of 

 water for the city supply seemed advisable or practicable. Ques- 

 tions connected with these, such as the location of sources of con- 

 tamination of the water and the nature and amount of such con- 

 tamination were also understood as lying within the province of 

 your Committee. 



The investigation of the quality of the water includes two 

 branches: a chemical examination or analysis, and a biological ex- 

 amination. We will state the results of these separately. For 

 purposes of a cheuiical examination, on the 12th of February a 

 sample of water was obtained from the point at which the new in- 

 take is located, a ''crib" on the line of the boom lying along the 

 ''mill-pond," nearly opposite the bridge by which First street 

 south crosses the railway. On the same day a sample was ob- 

 tained from a point about a mile and a half farther up the river, 

 opposite Twenty-fourth avenue north-west and in the middle of 

 the river, where an open space in the ice permitted the taking of 

 the water. These samples were taken to the Chemical Laboratory 

 of the University and analyzed, by the tests commonly applied 

 in an analysis of water for sanitary purposes. The results of the 

 analysis of these two samples of water are given in the following 

 table. 



Results of Sanitary Analysis of the water of the Mississippi 

 at two points in Minneapolis: 



1. The test for ammonia (Wanklyn's process): — 



a. Water above City opposite 24th Ave. N. W., showed free 

 ammonia j^J^^ parts per million, albuminoid ammonia ^ parts 

 per million. 



AVater at new in-take pipe showed free ammonia j^^ parts per 

 million, albuminoid ammonia ^^^ parts. (The difference is 



slight, but to the advantage of the water above City.) 



2. The test for C///om/e:— 



a. Water above City contained 1,Jq parts per million. 

 h. Water at new in-take contained l^^^ parts per million. (To 

 the advantage of the water above.) 



3. The test for nitrates and nitrites: — 



h. 



