COLLECTION OF SAMPLES 275 
STATE WATER SURVEY 
Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois 
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLLECTING SAMPLES OF WATER FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS 
1. From a Well. Water should be pumped out freely for a few minutes 
before it is collected. The bottle is then to be placed in such a position that the 
water from the spout may fall directly into it, and rinsed out with the water 
three times, pouring out the water completely each time. It is then again to be 
placed under the spout, filled to overflowing, and a small quantity poured out, 
so that an air space of about an inch shall be left under the stopper. The stopper 
must be rinsed off with flowing water, and inserted into the bottle while still 
wet, and secured by tying over it a clean piece of cotton cloth. The ends of 
string must be sealed on top of the stopper. Under no circumstances must the 
inside of the neck of the bottle or the stem of the stopper be touched by the hand or 
wiped with a cloth. 
2. From a Tap. Allow the water to flow freely from the tap for a few 
minutes and then proceed precisely as directed above. 
3. From a Stream, Pond or Reservoir. The bottle and stopper should be 
rinsed with the water, if this can be done without stirring up the sediment on 
the bottom. The bottle with the stopper in place should then be entirely sub- 
merged in the water and the stopper taken out at a distance of 12 in. or more 
below the surface. When the bottle is full, the stopper is replaced, below the 
surface if possible, and finally secured as above. It is important that the sam- 
ple should be obtained free from the sediment at the bottom of a stream and from 
the scum on the surface. If a stream should not be deep enough to admit of 
taking a sample in this way, the water must be dipped with an absolutely clean 
vessel and poured into the bottle after it has been rinsed. 
The sample of water should be collected immediately before shipping by express, 
so that the shortest possible time shall intervene between the collection of sample 
and tts examination. Shipment on Monday or Tuesday insures prompt delivery 
and completion of the analysis before the end of the week. 
The accompanying “Certificate” must be filled out carefully and enclosed 1n the 
envelope shipping tag. 
The sample for chemical analysis must be accompanied by a sample for bac- 
terial examination, unless otherwise directed, 
Data Concerning the Sample. This is about as important to the 
analyst when giving an opinion with regard to the sanitary quality of the 
water as the data secured in the analysis. Some individuals have tried 
to “ fool” an analyst by furnishing fictitious data for a sample of water 
and have caused much trouble when a perfectly harmless water was 
condemned. The following certificates which are used by the Illinois 
State Water Survey will give an idea with regard to what data should 
accompany a sample of water for analysis. 
