WATER SUPPLIES IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: IP 



By George W. Heise 



{From the Laboratory of General, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, 

 Bureaxi of Science, Manila, P. I.) 



CONTENTS 



Present Status of the Work on Field Work — Continvied. 



Philippine Water Supplies. Springs. 



Laboratory Work during i914. Water supplies of Mindoro. 



Field Work. Water supplies of Cebu. 



Deep wells. Water supplies of Panay. 



Surface wells. Water Supplies of Manila. 



Rivers and flowing streams. 



PRESENT STATUS OF THE WORK ON PHILIPPINE WATER SUPPLIES 



In spite of great progress made since the American occupation 

 in the matter of providing the people of the Philippines with 

 pure drinking water, the present state of affairs is still far from 

 satisfactory. Whole provinces continue to be dependent on 

 surface waters of doubtful purity, and even in many localities 

 where safe water is obtainable, a large number of people, through 

 ignorance or indifference, utilize more conveniently located and 

 less wholesome sources. In addition, there are certain areas in 

 which both surface and ground waters are not potable, where 

 the people are forced to depend almost entirely on rain water 

 for drinking purposes. As the rain water is often carelessly 

 collected and improperly stored, it is hardly to be considered a 

 safe water supply. 



However, a marked movement at the present time for better 

 conditions is evident both in the development of new sources 

 of good water and in the gradual elimination of dangerous water 

 supplies. The Insular Government has greatly stimulated the 

 drilling of deep wells by continuing to assume the entire cost 

 of unsuccessful public wells and two thirds of the cost of all 

 successful installations, and has made large sums of money 

 available for water-supply projects. Such progress has been 

 made that it is estimated - that deep-well water is now available 

 to over one sixth of the entire population of the Islands. 



' Received for publication April 15, 1915. 



= Vickers, Quar. Bull. P. I. Bur. Pub. Works (1914), 2, 28. 



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