316 



Water and its Imparities, with 



Proceeding up to the inlet of Rensselaer lake there was 

 less of the peculiar vegetable growth which I have 

 described, and when one of the creeks that feed the lake 

 was reached, it had almost entirely disappeared. 



Such was substantially the state of the water as revealed 

 to us on our excursion to the lake in August 1865, at 

 which time the city supply was in its worst condition. 



With occasional variations it has been so for successive 

 summers, during a large part of the time since the water 

 from this source was used, and at times the other lakes 

 have in some degree been affected in like manner. So the 

 next and following seasons may, for a period unpleasantly 

 long, continue the same : and when once free of it there 

 can no period be set for exemption from its return. Every 

 city which is supplied from a source where the amount of 

 water is limited has passed through the same experience 

 that we are now undergoing, and an examination of the 

 reports concerning the water of different places surprises 

 us by the amount of attention that is given to this serious 

 and practical difficulty 7 . None are exempt. Loudon is not 

 too large to be affected by it, and her immense resources 

 have at times seemed powerless for remedy. So with New 

 York — so with Philadelphia — Boston: — and the little 

 village of Cohoes, with the whole Mohawk dashing down 

 its rapids and falls almost through the village itself, takes 

 that same water out from its crystal current in the rocky 

 channel and, imitating the conditions which make the 

 limited supply of other places impure, delivers it into the 

 houses of the place as bad as it is in the largest city which 

 is supplied from a scanty source. In seeking the remedy 

 for such a serious evil we naturally search for the causes 

 which -produce it ; these are to be found in the properties 

 of natural waters already alluded to, and two methods for 

 the correction of the difficulty are suggested. One is to 

 prevent the formation and growth of organic products in 

 water which is intended for cities — the other method 



