THE VALUE OF PURE WATER* 



George C. Whipple. 

 PREFACE. 



In order to estimate the relative value of waters which differ 

 materially in quality, it is necessary to have some common denomi- 

 nator. Nothing better for this purpose has been suggested than 

 the dollar, which in this paper is made the basis of computation. By 

 ascertaining what different characteristics of water cost the con- 

 sumers, and by finding out how much consumers are willing to 

 pay to avoid using waters which possess certain characteristics, an 

 attempt has been made to secure a reasonable basis of comparison. 

 The results of this initial study are here presented. They must 

 not be taken too seriously at present, as some of the involved as- 

 sumptions have not been established beyond doubt; and with the 

 accumulation of certain data, necessary but not as yet obtainable, 

 the results must be somewhat modified. Yet the general conclu- 

 sions ought not to be far astray, and, from a study of the best data 

 available, the writer believes that they err on the side of conserva- 

 tism rather than on the opposite side. The suggested method of 

 calculating the value of pure water seems to be one capable of being 

 refined to a degree where its results will be of great practical value. 

 The lines along which the accumulation of data is necessary in order 

 to render the method reliable will be evident from a perusal of the 

 text. 



PURE AND WHOLESOME WATER. 



To define the meaning of the expression "pure and wholesome 

 water," which is so often found in water-supply contracts, would 

 seem to be an easy matter, after all the study that has been given 

 to the subject in recent years; but, although everyone knows in a 

 general way what is implied by this expresssion, yet when it comes 

 to framing a definition in positive scientific terms, the problem is not 

 as easy as it seems. This is not because the chemist and the biolo- 

 gist do not know what pure water is, but because water has so many 



♦Received for publication February 17, 1906. 



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