MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
129 
WHOLESOME WATER. 
By wholesome water is meant water that when drunk by man is in 
every way conducive and in no way detrimental to the health of an in¬ 
dividual using it. To meet these requirements it should be free from 
disease producing germs, and of such chemical composition that no 
deleterious effects, to the health of an individual would result from its 
continuous use for a series of years. In addition to these requirements, 
water in order to be adjudged wholesome, should be clear, free from 
unpleasant odors and disagreeable taste and in no way contaminated 
with sewage or other substances which might, lead to prejudice or 
repugnance against its free use for domestic purposes. 
To claim that water for domestic use should be free from germs of 
all kinds, is beyond the ideal, since as we are assured by bacteriologists, 
certain bacteria and protozoa, are not only harmless to man, but benefic¬ 
ial, for the reason that they are the natural enemies or competitors of 
dangerous species. In nature as it appears, the only germ free water 
that can be obtained for municipal purposes, is such as is supplied by 
deep wells and by certain classes of springs. Other considerations 
bearing on the use of such waters will be noted below. 
Chemically pure water is of still greater rarity in nature than germ 
free water, and it is safe to say that every drop of water met with 
on the earth, contains mineral matter in solution. Chemically pure 
water, however, is no more to be desired for domestic use than germ-free 
water, as certain mineral substances in solution when not in too great 
abundance are not only desirable but requisite. Ordinary surface 
water, such as forms fresh-water streams and lakes, has a highly com¬ 
plex chemical composition, and in fact nearly all known elements could 
as it appears be detected in it. The volume of the invisible freight 
which streams carry, is surprising to persons who have not given it 
careful consideration. A considerable number of analyses of river 
water compiled by Sir John Murray, shows that the larger rivers of the 
earth contain on an average about 762,587 tons of dissolved mineral mat¬ 
ter to the cubic mile of water. An average based on analyses of a large 
number of the river waters of North America, gives for total solids in 
solution, 150.44 parts per million, and for calcium carbonate, the most 
abundant substance in solution in ordinary fresh water, 56.416 parts 
per million by weight. These figures may be taken as representing 
about the average chemical composition of the waters to which the 
people of this continent have become accustomed. In other words, an 
adjustant between human needs and the nature of the water supply 
has been reached, which furnishes a desirable standard for comparison. 
An ideal water for municipal purposes as may be justly claimed from 
the average conditions met with in America, should not contain more 
of total solids, or of calcium carbonate in solution, than is indicated 
by the figures just quoted. This standard of purity, however, is more 
rigid than has been adopted in Europe, where the streams in general 
are considerably less pure than in North America. At an International 
Sanitary Congress held in Brussels in 1852, and since reconsidered and 
readopted at several subsequent conferences of sanitary experts, it was 
declared that water containing more than thirty-five grains per (im¬ 
perial) gallon, or 500 parts per million by weight, is not wholesome; 
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