It is on the Cohocton river. No sewers are provided in the village, the houses being served by privies, cesspools, etc.

The water supply is owned by the municipality and controlled by the board of trustees. It is derived from springs located 2 to 21⁄2 miles west of the village and also from wells located in the village. From the springs the water flows by gravity to a storage reservoir located on a hill about 1 mile west of the village, thence to the distribution system. The water is pumped from the wells directly into the distribution system. The supply was first put into service about 1892. Practically all of the inhabitants of the village are served with the water, there being in all some 250 service taps, none of which are metered. The distribution system consists of approximately 6 miles of mains ranging from 4 to 8 inches in diameter. The pressure is approximately 120 pounds per square inch. Due to the lack of meters or other method of measuring the water used, no definite information could be obtained regarding the consumption.

The reservoir is constructed by excavation and embankment, the sides being of rip-rap and the bottom constructed of clay puddle and concrete. It is about 60 feet square by 10 feet deep and has a capacity of approximately 200,000 gallons. It is uncovered but is enclosed by a fence and the embankments prevent any possibility of surface wash.

Power is furnished for pumping from the wells by a 35-horse power steam boiler. Water is raised from the wells by means of air lifts and is thence pumped directly into the distribution system.

There are 5 or 6 springs located from 2 to 21⁄2 miles west of the village. The two springs furthest west appear to be satisfactorily protected from surface wash. The other springs, however, located near small brooks, are protected only by loosely constructed stone walls. They are subject to surface wash at times of high water. The watershed tributary to the stream near which these springs are located is used for farming and agricultural purposes, and although no direct sources of pollution of human origin were observed at the time of the inspection, the stream is subject to considerable pollution from pasture land and cultivated fields.

The wells, three in number, are located within the village and are 31⁄2 inches in diameter. Two of these wells are drilled to a depth of 115 feet and the third to a depth of 125 feet. The strata consists principally of gravel to a depth of about 75 feet, then a clay or hard pan to a depth of about 100 feet, under which lies a water bearing gravel stratum from which the supply is obtained. The water rises to within 17 to 40 feet of the surface. There are three privies located within 100 feet of the wells, some 15 buildings 100 to 500 feet distant and 25 buildings 500 to 1,000 feet distant. While it is possible that the clay stratum will prevent pollution from these sources from finding its way into the supply, there is considerable danger of polluted water from near the surface finding its way along the lines of the pipe into the well.

Since containers had not arrived at the time of the inspection, samples of the water could not then be collected. Samples were later collected, however, by the health officer from the spring supply, but since the pump was not in operation none could be collected from the well supply. These samples were sent to the Division of Laboratories and Research for analyses, the results of which together with those of previous analyses are recorded in the appended table.

The results of these analyses show a water at times slightly colored and turbid, but a water ordinarily low in hardness, although in the samples collected February 14, 1912, high figures for hardness were obtained. It is quite probable that the source of this sample was the well supply which would probably account for the high hardness. The figures for nitrogen in the form of free and albuminoid ammonia and nitrites are low but those for nitrates and chlorine appear to be somewhat above normal. The bacterial counts are frequently high and colon bacilli have been found present in all except one of the 10 c.c. inoculations, occasionally in the 1 c.c. and in samples collected at the time of the inspection in dilutions as small as

1/10 c.c. These results, therefore, indicate the presence of considerable active and potentially dangerous contamination.

As a result of this investigation it may be concluded:

1. That the springs from which the regular water supply of Cohocton is derived, are subject to considerable pollution by surface wash from the stream near which they are located.

2. That there are a number of insanitary conditions in the vicinity of the wells which may cause pollution to this source of supply.

In view of the above, I beg to offer the following recommendations to be acted upon by the village authorities:

1. That the springs be more adequately developed and protected from pollution:

(a) By the construction of more suitable basins or curbs about them.

(b) By the enclosure of a suitable area with a substantially constructed fence about them and the construction of suitable drainage ditches within this area to divert surface wash from the vicinity. 2. That all privies and cesspools within 300 feet of the wells be provided with watertight containers and that the contents be properly disposed of at regular intervals.

Finally, I would recommend that copies of this report be sent to the various local officials and the sanitary supervisor of the district.

Respectfully submitted,

ALBANY, N. Y., December 17, 1917

THEODORE HORTON,
Chief Engineer

RESULTS OF WATER ANALYSES

CONSTABLEVILLE

LINSLY R. WILLIAMS, M.D., Acting State Commissioner of Health:

I beg to submit the following report on an investigation of the public water supply of Constableville, made by Mr. C. M. Baker, assistant engineer, on October 25, 1916.

Constableville is an incorporated village of about 400 inhabitants located on Sugar river in Lewis county, about 5 miles west of the village of Port Leyden and Lyons Falls, which are the nearest railroad stations on the Utica and Ogdensburg branch of the N. Y. C. railroad, about 45 miles north of Utica. It is the center of a prosperous dairying district. No sewer system is provided in the village, the houses being served by privies, cesspools, etc.

The water supply is owned by the municipality and is derived from a spring located about 21⁄2 miles northwest of the village and from an impounding reservoir on a small brook about 14 miles northwest of the village. The water flows by gravity from the sources of supply to the village. About 80 per cent of the population are served with the water, there being in all some 90 service taps, none of which are metered. Due to lack of meters or other method of measuring the water used, no definite information could be obtained regarding the consumption, but based on a daily per capita rate of 100 gallons the total consumption would be about 31,000 gallons per day. The static pressure in the village ranges from 110 to 122 pounds per square inch. There are in all about three miles of water mains ranging in size from 4 inches to 8 inches in diameter.

The spring from which a portion of the supply is obtained is located on the side of a hill at the foot of a small swale about 200 feet long by 50 feet wide. Above the swale is meadow land, but cattle were grazing upon it at the time of the inspection. A small dam has been constructed at this place to divert the water into the intake pipe. At the time of the inspection, however, there was a leak in the dam which allowed a large amount of water to escape so that only a small portion of it was entering the pipe. It was apparent that little or no attention had been given to this intake for some time prior to the inspection since the small basin formed by the dam was practically filled up with weeds, dirt and similar material. small area immediately about the reservoir is fenced. No drainage ditches are provided, however, to divert surface wash from above. The water from this spring flows by gravity to the reservoir, the inlet pipe discharging directly into the outlet pipe from the reservoir, so that spring water enters the reservoir only when the spring supply is greater than the consumption. Another spring located about one-fourth mile north of the spring now in use is owned by the village but has not yet been connected with the supply.

A

area

A dam across a ravine forms the impounding reservoir which has a capacity of about 1,000,000 gallons, an equivalent of nearly one month's consumption. Tributary to this reservoir is a watershed having an of about 4 square mile. The slopes are precipitous. About 25 per cent of the area is wooded, the remainder of the watershed being used almost exclusively for pasture land, cattle having free access to the streams. There are no inhabitants on the watershed, however, and it seems, therefore, that the only pollution of human origin which might reach the supply is accidental, incidental or wilful pollution from trespassers on the watershed.

Samples of the water were collected at the time of the inspection and sent to the Division of Laboratories and Research for analyses, the results of which are recorded in the appended table.

The

The results of these analyses show a water slightly turbid and colored at the time of the inspection, also a water moderate in hardness. figures for nitrogen in its various forms are low as is also the figure for chlorine. The bacterial counts although not excessive were somewhat high in the water collected from a tap in the village. Colon bacilli were found present in two of the three 10 c.c. inoculations in the sample collected from the spring, but were not found present in the sample collected from the village tap. The contamination indicated by the presence of colon bacilli in

the spring water is probably of animal origin due to the presence of live stock on the area directly above the spring.

It is impossible, however, to accurately judge the character of a water from a single analysis and it is probable that under other conditions, as following a storm, this supply would show greater pollution than at the time of the inspection.

As a result of this investigation it may be concluded:

1. That the spring which furnishes a portion of the water supply for Constableville is inadequately developed and not sufficiently protected from pollution.

2. That the reservoir is subject to pollution by surface drainage from pasture land and also at times from live stock wading in the stream above the reservoir.

In view of the above, I beg to offer the following recommendations to be acted upon by the village authorities:

1. That the spring now in use be more adequately developed by enclosing a sufficient area about it with a substantially constructed fence and by the construction of drainage ditches within this enclosure to divert all surface wash.

2. That, in order to eliminate as far as possible the necessity of using water from the storage reservoir which, as pointed out above, subject to pollution from pasture land, additional springs be developed and the reservoir be used only as an auxiliary supply, in case of fire or excessive draught on the system.

3. That, should it seem impracticable to carry out the above recommendation for the improvement of the sanitary quality of the supply, the village should carefully consider purification of the supply by slow sand filtration or other suitable method.

While it cannot be definitely stated that pollution of water by cattle causes disease, such pollution is objectionable from the aesthetic standpoint and may under certain conditions affect the health of susceptible individuals. In any event it seems advisable that the village authorities seriously consider the protection of the supply from this source of pollution. Respectfully submitted,

Results are expressed in parts per million.

+ Present.

Spring

Tap in well

10/25/16

10/25/16

2

1 v. 1 v.

5

67

13

54

.002

.034

Tr.

0.02

1.30

0.50

39.0

33.0

Abbreviations used to describe odors of water: 0, none; 1, very faint; 2, faint; 3, distinct; 4, decided; 5, strong; 6, very strong; a, aromatic; d, disagreeable; e. earthy; f, fishy; g, grassy; m, musty; v. vegetable.