which has attracted considerable attention the present season, and been
the source of many false newspaper reports, is most remarkable in the
history of water pollution. Briefly, the history connected therewith is
as follows:
A wealthy Philadelphian by the name of Lewis, who has spent his summers
at this noted beach for the last twelve years, bought last spring a lot
of land, and built a very expensive and elegant summer residence. The
location was upon an elevation some forty or fifty feet higher than the
sea, and but a short distance from the water. This elevation is made up
mostly of seamy ledges, with but a few feet of soil covering the same.
From a sanitary point of view, no better site could possibly be selected.
Instead of building a sewer to the ocean for drainage purposes, he
constructed a cess-pool forty feet distant from the house, into which
all the sewage from the house ran. In building this cess-pool it
was necessary to excavate three feet of the ledge to get a good and
sufficient depth. Sixty feet from this cess-pool, and apparently upon
the same level, was dug the well which was to supply this residence with
water. After reaching the ledge, it was necessary to go ten feet into
the rock to get sufficient water, which was obtained in abundance, and
was excellent in quality. The well and cess-pool were both constructed
at the same time, and in _two weeks after, the well was polluted by
this cess-pool_. The family, not realizing the source of pollution or
its danger, continued to use the water for a short time afterwards, or
until it became so tainted that it was repulsive to the senses of taste
and smell. The result was the death of Mr. Lewis, and a lady visitor who
lived in the vicinity and frequently drank of this water, and a severe
illness of a daughter of Mr. Lewis, his servant, and a guest of the
family. These seemed to be cases of blood poisoning, the severer ones
resembling in their last stage typhoid fever.
This instance of well pollution illustrates the fact that a rock
formation, though generally believed to be the best safeguard against
the contamination of a well, may be the most dangerous. The seams which
existed in this ledge no doubt served as direct channels to convey the
filth to this well.
The following instance of well pollution seems to illustrate in what
unsuspected ways water may become contaminated:
A short time since, Dr. C. A. Wood, of Greenville, sent me several
specimens of water for examination. The contamination of some of them was
of such a character that I asked him for a history of the samples. I
will here state that the specimens marked “No. 2” and “No. 3” were both
badly polluted, and with different substances, so that, in testing, the
chemical reactions were quite different. In his reply to my letter of
inquiry he says,—
“The water I sent you last week marked No. 2 was dipped directly from the
well, as shown in diagram, while the water marked No. 3 was pumped from
the pump. The family have been sick more or less ever since they occupied
the house. _None of them have been well_, but it is exceedingly difficult
to give a name to their complaints, except a general out of fix, with a
dull, tired feeling, headaches, sore throats, furred tongues, &c., but no
downright sickness so as to prostrate them.”
It will be readily seen by the crude diagram that the cess-pool filth
which had accumulated around the lead pipe leading to the well, by reason
of a breakage in the sink-drain, had corroded the water-pipe till it was
full of small holes, which allowed this filth to be drawn in and mixed
with the water every time any was drawn from the well. Such a condition
is not likely to be of very frequent occurrence, but it demonstrates
the fact that the source of water pollution may be sometimes subtle and
unexpected.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM NO. 3.]
In the foregoing paper it has been my aim only to present some points
that will lead to a more careful consideration of this all-important
subject, rather than to discuss the topic from a purely scientific
standpoint. To awaken a deeper interest in the prevention of disease is
necessary both in the profession and among the people, and I sincerely
hope the medical men of our state will become the instructors and the
guardians of the public to the extent that unnecessary sickness may be
largely averted, and nature’s gifts received in nature’s purity.