32 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. VI., No. 127. 



CITY WELLS. 



At a conference of state and municipal 

 boards of health held at Washington last De- 

 cember, ten propositions were unanimously 

 agreed to. The first of these is, ' that all sur- 

 face-wells should be closed at the earliest pos- 

 sible moment.' This has special reference to 

 the surface- wells in cities. Why do these wells 

 deserve such sweeping condemnation? We 

 have only to consider the conditions surround- 

 ing them, to have a reason suggested. In 

 cities in which there are no sewers, it is well 

 known that the discharges from the inhabit- 

 ants are conveyed to cesspools, where they are 

 allowed to remain indefinitely. Sometimes the 

 contents of these cesspools are imperfectly re- 

 moved : sometimes they are not disturbed, a 

 new cesspool being dug in the neighborhood 

 of one which has become filled. They are 

 rarely built carefull}^ but are usually merely 

 holes in the ground, lined with sufficient stone- 

 work to prevent the earth from falling in. In 

 some cities they are dug in exactly the same 

 way as the wells which are intended to supply 

 drinking-water. The digging is in each case 

 continued until water is reached. Communica- 

 tion is thus established with subterranean cur- 

 rents, and the refuse matter which finds its way 

 into the cesspools is at least partly carried 

 away. This saves some trouble ; but what be- 

 comes of the refuse matter? Under very ex- 

 ceptional circumstances, it may find its way to 

 some large body of water which is not used for 

 drinking-purposes, and thus do no harm. If, 

 however, there are wells in the neighborhood, 

 the chances are in favor of the contents of the 

 cesspools and of the wells becoming mixed. 

 The larger the number of cesspools and of 

 wells, the greater the danger of such a result. 

 In a cit}^ not provided with sewers, therefore, 

 the conditions are such as to lead almost cer- 

 tainly to contamination of the water of sur- 

 face-wells with the contents of the cesspools. 

 Besides this, there is the danger of contamina- 

 tion from surface-drainage, which cannot be 

 avoided. The water which falls upon the 

 ground, whether the ground be paved or not, 

 sinks to a considerable extent below the sur- 

 face, carrjang with it such impurities as may 

 be present. Such surface-water in cities, it 

 is safe to say, is alwaj's contaminated. Some 

 of it is sure to find its way into the wells. 



This latter source of contamination is com- 

 mon to all cities, whether the3^are provided with 

 sewers or not. While, however, the cit}^ which 

 is provided with sewers is not subjected to 

 exactly the same kind of danger as that first 



referred to above, the cases do not present as 

 much diff'erence as might at first be supposed. 

 The sewers are generally leakj^, and the soil in 

 their vicinity becomes saturated with sewage. 

 Thus they may contribute to the contamination 

 of the well-waters. Of course, the danger of 

 such contamination is not so great as when 

 there are no sewers, but still it is quite suffi- 

 cient to justif}^ the condemnation of the sur- 

 face-wells. 



The waters of city wells have frequently been 

 studied by chemists and biologists, and the re- 

 sults invariably show that contamination is the 

 rule. In Brooklyn, N.Y., there were, in 1882, 

 three hundred and sixteen wells. Chemical ex- 

 amination showed, "that, of this whole number, 

 but seventeen furnished water fit for human con- 

 sumption." Similar results have been reached 

 in an examination of the water of the wells of 

 Baltimore, where a few years ago there were 

 between one and two hundred in use. The 

 contamination of some of the waters examined 

 was such as to show that very close connection 

 must exist between the wells and cesspools. 

 The testimony of all who have given special 

 attention to the subject of the water of city 

 wells is unanswerable. Not only does a con- 

 sideration of the surrounding circumstances 

 lead us to suspect that the water must be con- 

 taminated, but the most careful examinations, 

 by those most capable of making the examina- 

 tions, have shown that actually, and almost in- 

 variably, the water is badly contaminated. 



It is an unfortunate fact, that, though the 

 waters of city wells are generally impure, their 

 external properties do not alwaj^s reveal the 

 impurity. Sometimes they do ; and then it re- 

 quires but a very slight hint as to the cause of 

 the properties, to stop the further use of the 

 water. Thus, for example, some years ago 

 there was a spring in Baltimore, which, owing 

 to its peculiar taste and odor, was regarded as 

 a mineral spring. It was therefore fenced in, 

 and covered, and generally treated like others 

 of the class known as ' mineral springs.' It 

 was afterwards found that very close connec- 

 tion existed between it and a neighboring cess- 

 pool ; and the cause of the taste and odor which 

 had given the water its reputation was thus re- 

 vealed. It need not be added that the water 

 ceased to be popular. More frequently these 

 well-waters are clear, and without taste and 

 odor, and, coming from greater depths than the 

 service-water, they are generall}^ cooler. Fre- 

 quently, too, they are used for years, and many 

 who use them continue in good health. There 

 are, of course, in every community, many who 

 are able to resist bad influences. They furnish 



