558 
Purification  of  Water  Supplies. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I   December,  1904. 
resident  chemist  and  bacteriologist,  consultations  were  held  with 
water  engineers  of  note  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  finally- 
decided  to  increase  the  water  supply  flowing  into  the  reservoir  and 
more  thoroughly  clean  the  bottom  of  all  organic  matter  which  might 
contain  vegetable  organisms.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  made  in 
this  line,  the  water  was  so  infected  with  algae  as  to  be  absolutely 
nauseating  in  odor  and  taste,  and  it  became  so  offensive  that  the  odor 
was  continually  present  in  the  city  on  account  of  the  water  being 
used  in  sprinkling  carts.  On  July  7th  of  this  year  copper  sulphate 
was  added  to  this  reservoir  in  the  proportion  of  1  part  to  8,500,000 
parts  of  water.  During  the  first  twenty-four  hours  the  water  in  the 
reservoir  gave  off  a  most  pronounced  and  disagreeable  odor,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  second  and  third  days  changes  were  noticed  in  the 
color  and  taste  of  the  water,  particularly  in  the  lower  depths.  By 
the  end  of  the  fifth  day  the  water  assumed  a  natural  color  and  only 
a  slight  odor  and  taste  was  noticeable  on  the  surface.  On  Sunday, 
July  24th,  the  water  in  the  reservoir  being  absolutely  pure,  for  the 
first  time  in  ten  years,  during  the  summer  months,  was  turned  into 
the  city  mains,  and  since  this  date  has  been  in  constant  use. 
Without  giving  the  details  of  other  experiments,  perhaps  it  would 
be  sufficient  to  read  a  few  of  the  reports  from  water  engineers  and 
superintendents  who  have  used  the  copper  sulphate  method  in  this 
country. 
From  C.  T.  Hawley,  Secretary  of  the  Cambridge  (N.  Y.)  Water 
Works  Company :  "  The  use  of  copper  sulphate  has  certainly  been 
most  successful  in  our  case.  Not  only  has  the  Water  Company 
been  saved  the  considerable  cost  of  the  repeated  cleaning  of  the 
reservoir,  but  the  residents  of  our  village  have  been  saved  the 
annoyance  of  having  at  times  to  use  a  most  unsatisfactory  water 
supply." 
Proctor  &  Gamble  Company,  Ivorydale,  O. :  "  We  are  much 
pleased  with  the  result,  and  thank  you  for  your  kind  and  prompt 
advice." 
Anton  Hardt,  Wollsboro,  Pa.  :  "  Soon  after  the  application  of 
sulphate  of  copper  the  algae  disappeared  and  with  them  the  dis- 
agreeable odor,  and  the  water  has  been  palatable  ever  since.  I  wish 
to  express  this  company's  gratitude  to  your  department  for  prompt 
and  efficient  action  in  this  case  and  have  to  say  the  application  of 
this  method  will  be  of  great  service  to  water  systems." 
