August 11, mi 



SCIENCE. 



^3 



SCIENCE: 



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PEOGRESS IN SANITARY SCIENCE IN MASSACHU- 

 SETTS. 



BY GEORGE W. FULLER, LAWRENCE, MASS. 



The State Board of Health of Massachusetts, in addition 

 to the ordinary duties devolving uj)on such a Board, have 

 made much progress during the j^ast six j^ears in the 

 study of many imjDortant problems in sanitary science. 



In 1886 the Legislature made 2>rovisions (Chap. 274 of 

 the Acts of 1886) that "the State Board of Health shall 

 have the general oversight and care of all inland waters. 

 Said Board shall, from time to time, as it may 

 deem expedient, cause examinations of the said waters to 

 be made for the purjDose of ascertaining whether the same 

 are adapted for use as sources of domestic water supplies 

 or are in a condition likely to impair the interests of the 

 jjublic or persons lawfully using the same, or imperil the 

 jjublic health. It shall recommend measures for preven- 

 tion of the pollution of such waters, and for removal 

 of substances and causes of everj' kind which may be lia- 

 ble to cause pollution thereof, in order to protect and de- 

 velop) the rights and jjroperty of the Commonwealth there- 

 in and to protect the public health. It shall have author- 

 ity to conduct experiments to determine the best prac- 

 ticable methods of purification of drainage or disposal of 

 refuse arising from manufacturing and other industrial 

 establishments. For the purposes aforesaid it may em- 

 ploy such expert assistance as may be necessary. 



"It shall from time to time consult with and advise the 

 authorities of cities and towns, or with corporations, firms 

 or individuals either already having or intending to intro- 

 duce systems of water supply or sewerage, as to the most 

 appropriate source of supply, the best practicable method 

 of assuring purity thereof or of disposing of theu- sewage, 

 having regard to the present and j^rospeetive needs and 

 interests of other cities, towns, corporations, firms or iudi- 

 vidu.als which may be affected thereby. All such author- 

 ities, corporations, firms and individuals are hereby 

 requu'ed to give notice to said Board of their intentions 

 in the premises, and to submit for its advice outlines of 

 theu- i^roi^osed plans or schemes in relation to water sup- 

 ply and disposal of drainage or refuse." 



The Legislature in 1888 made further provisions (Chap- 

 ter 375 of the Acts of 1888) that "all petitions to the Leg- 

 islature for authority to introduce a system of water sup- 



ply, drainage or sewerage, shall be accompanied by a copy 

 of the recommendation and advice of the said Board 

 thereon." 



In compliance with these provisions there was estab- 

 lished by the Board an engineering department, whose 

 main work may be divided into two classes : (1) The ex- 

 amination of proposed plans or schemes of water supply 

 or sewerage submitted by the various cities and towns; 

 (2) the examination of existing water supplies and inland 

 waters of the State with reference to their jjurity. 



With regard to the work of the first class it is to be 

 noted that from July, 1886, when the act relating to water 

 supply and sewerage first went into operation, ujj to Jan- 

 uary 1, 1893, there have been received 228 ajjplications 

 for advice. In the course of the investigations, instituted 

 to develojJ the facts required as a basis for sound advice 

 to the cities and towns, many valuable data have been 

 obtained. The capacity, when fully developed, of sources 

 of water supply drawn from ponds, lakes and streams, has 

 been studied individually and in relation to the future 

 needs of the great centres of population. Probable and 

 comparative costs of different systems have been made; 

 drainage areas have been surveyed, records of rainfall, 

 temperatures, rates of increase of jJOjJulation and of con- 

 sumption of water j)er capita have been kept and studied. 

 All of these data have not only been of aid in the past 

 but are also of great value for future reference. 



Beginning in June, 1887, monthly analyses have been 

 made of water from all the water sujij^li^s of the State, 

 and of the more imjDortant rivers and other inland waters. 

 At the outset every public water supply was visited by 

 the engineers of the Board; a description and history of 

 the different works were obtained; places for taking sam- 

 ples of water were chosen, and methods to be followed 

 were explained to local officials. Much information was 

 also gathered with regard to the physical characteristics 

 of the water supplies, — such as the density of jjopulation 

 on drainage areas, amount of polluting matter entering 

 the streams, volume of water flowing, and temiDeratures 

 of water. In addition to the chemical analyses which are 

 made in the laboratories of the Board in Boston, at the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examinations are 

 made of the grosser forms of microscdpic life, with the 

 view to establish the relation between the micro-organisms 

 and odors present in certain drinking waters. Bacterial 

 analyses are also made from time to time. 



Carefully prepared reports have been made of the re- 

 sults of these investigations. An idea of the nature of 

 the work done can perhaps be best learned by looking at 

 the following list of subjects, which are among those dis- 

 cussed in the annual and special reports : — 



A Summary of Water Supply Statistics. 



Classification of the Drinking TS^aters of the State. 



Examination of Spring Waters. 



Pollution and Self-Purification of Streams. 



Typhoid Fever in its Relation to Water Supplies. 



Suggestions as to the Selection of Sources of Water 

 Supply. 



Dissolved Oxygen in "Waters of Ponds and Reservoir's 

 at Diffjerent Dejiths. 



Effect of Aeration of Natural Waters. 



The Relation of Organisms and Odors in Natural 

 Waters. 



The Seasonal Distribution of Organisms. 



In 1887 the Board established an Experiment Station at 

 Lawrence. The object of this was to learn how to jjurify 

 sewage and water. The Station was designed and its 

 work planned by Mr. Hiram E. Mills, A. M., C. E., chaii-- 

 man of the Committtee of the Board on Water Supply and 

 Sewerage. 



Experimental filters were constructed of different mate- 



