WATER FILTKATION. XXXV. 



by actual practice. The author had an opportunity of 

 inspecting a large installation at Little Falls for the supply 

 of the City of New Jersey. These works were designed by 

 J. Waldo Smith, m. Am. soc c.e., and carried out under the 

 direction of George W. Puller, m. Am. soc. c.e. 



The water is drawn from the Passaic River, the sanitary 

 character of which is considered satisfactory. The water 

 in the river, when it reaches the filtration station, is not 

 muddy under ordinary conditions, although after heavy 

 freshets it carries from 25 to 100 parts per million of 

 suspended matter. At times the water is noticeably coloured 

 due to dissolved vegetable matter coming from several 

 large swamps on the upper portion of the drainage area. 

 Frequently the water contains quite large amounts of 

 amorphous matter, consisting principally of finely divided 

 organic material. Much of this seems to come from the 

 bottom of the stream, as the water flows for a few miles 

 through the Great Piece Meadows just above the intake, 

 where the river has very little slope, and where deposited 

 sediment is stirred up by carp and other fish. This finely 

 divided amorphous matter, together with the colour which 

 appears in the water, gives it at times what might be 

 called a " dirty appearance, and causes it to be less desir- 

 able for domestic use than the analyses indicate." At the 

 time of my visit the water in the river was decidedly dirty, 

 and the above description aptly describes it. The Chief 

 Engineer of East Jersey Water Company, J. Waldo Smith, 

 m. Am. soc. c.e., recommended that filtration works of the 

 American or mechanical type be adopted on the grounds 

 of economy, as conditions of level suited this system ; 

 whereas, if slow filtration had to be adopted, a more exten- 

 sive area of land would have to be acquired, and additional 

 pumping plant to raise the river water to the available 

 site. 



