CHAPTER XXXIII 

 FARM WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL 



318. Importance of Sanitation on the Farm. It is 



high time that every farmer give serious thought to the sani- 

 tation problems of farm life. Water is thought to be cheap 

 and thus little value is put upon it ; this is the chief cause of 

 neglect. Many shallow farm wells are contaminated due to 

 poor protection at the top, poor surface drainage, seepage 

 and general neglect. Cistern water is often made unfit to 

 drink by impurities washing in from the roof due to lack of a 

 good filter, or to one improperly cared for. It is sometimes 

 impure because the cistern is not properly built and seepage 

 water gets in. 



The first consideration for health on the farm should be a 

 pure and wholesome water supply of capacity to take care of 

 all the needs of the place. A deep well is about the safest 

 source of water supply. Shallow wells and cisterns, however, 

 can be made safe by proper protection at the top, careful sur- 

 face drainage, and by preventing the entrance of seepage 

 water. For cisterns, the water should be collected only after 

 the roof has been thoroly washed off. A well-built filter, 

 cleaned out and refilled with filtering material at regular in- 

 tervals, will go a long way toward purifying such water. 



319. Simplest Water System. The simplest system of 

 water supply is an ordinary suction, or force, pump attached 

 to a sink in the kitchen. The pipe leads from the pump thru 

 the floor and into the well or cistern. The source of water for 

 a system of this kind must be near the house and not very 



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