CUBA

HERMANN M. BIGGS, M. D., State Commissioner of Health:

I beg to submit the following report upon an investigation of the public water supply of the village of Cuba, made by Mr. E. S. Chase, assistant engineer, on April 4, 1917.

Cuba is an incorporated village with a population of 1,556, located in the western part of Allegany county, about 13 miles northwest of the city of Olean. Two railroads pass through the village, the Erie and the Pennsylvania. The village is largely residential and is a trading center for the surrounding agricultural country. There is no public sewer system in the village, the houses being served by privies and cesspools.

The well

The water supply is derived by gravity from three sets of springs supplemented at times by pumping from driven wells. The waterworks were designed and constructed by King and Keith in 1890 and 1891. supply was added about 1899. The waterworks are owned and operated by the village under the direction of the board of trustees of which Mr. P. J. Keenan is president and Mr. C. A. Trinkle is superintendent.

Practically the entire population of the village is served by the supply and although no definite data could be obtained regarding the water consumption it may be estimated at approximately 150,000 gallons per day. There are about 35 miles of water mains ranging in size from 4 inches to 8 inches in diameter. Of the 450 service taps some 24 only are metered. The average pressure in the village is about 85 pounds per square inch.

One group of three springs is located about 2 miles southwest of the village. Two of these springs, the Shafer and Cole spring No. 1, are developed by masonry catch basins covered by wooden roofs. The third spring, the Cole Ravine spring, consists of a masonry trough about 200 feet long with a wooden cover. This trough collects the ground water flow coming from the side of a rocky ravine. A second spring, the Wright spring, is located about 2 miles southwest of the village on a side hill. This spring issues from the side of the hill and flows through about 100 feet of rubble drain into a small masonry collecting basin. The third group of springs, the Bartel and Thompson springs, is located in a valley about 2 miles south of the village. The Thompson spring is developed by a small masonry catch basin covered by a wooden roof. Two other springs, the Bartel springs, are developed by masonry basins with slab covers flush with the surface of the ground.

The auxiliary well supply is located a short distance from the latter group of springs near the stream draining the valley. At this point three wells have been driven 90, 150 and 230 feet respectively and pass through gravel with an 8-inch iron casing for about 41 feet. Below this point the wells penetrate shale. The water is raised by air lift from the 230-foot well only. It is said, however, that drawing from this well affects the water level in the other two wells. The unused wells are loosely capped. The pumping equipment consists of a 12 by 10 Ingersoll Rand air compressor belted to a 40 horse power oil gas engine. The air lift equipment raises the water to a small elevated tank from which a suction line runs to a 61⁄2-inch by 8-inch Gould triplex pump operated by a 15-horse power Oil City gas engine. This pumping equipment is operated for 6 or 8 months a year. At the time of the inspection this well supply had not been in service for 2 weeks.

The reservoir is located on the side hill just southwest of the village and consists of an open basin 100 by 150 feet in plan, and 12 feet deep, excavated in the side hill and lined with stone and concrete.

There seems to be little opportunity for serious contamination of the spring supplies. The spring southeast of the village, however, is open to surface wash although the area in its vicinity is owned by the village and surrounded by a fence. Two of the springs south of the village are also open to surface wash, due to the fact that they are less satisfactorily

developed than the others. The covers of certain of the springs were not locked. With the exception of a privy at the pumping station there appears to be no sources of contamination in the vicinity of the driven wells.

At the time of the inspection samples of the water were collected and the results of these analyses together with others made in the past by the Division of Laboratories and Research will be found in the appended table. In view of the fact that these analyses represent samples from the various sources, it is difficult to secure from them information of any particular value on account of the varying proportions of the water from the various sources present at different times. Usually the bacterial counts have been high and organisms of the B. coli type comparatively prevalent although the analyses of samples collected since 1912 indicate a marked improvement in the sanitary quality of the supply. It is probable that improvements in the methods of protecting the springs from surface wash have been made from time to time. From the inspection of the sources of the supply, it seems probable that the contamination indicated has been due to surface wash or infiltration of surface drainage into the springs.

In view of the above facts the following conclusions may be drawn:

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1. That the springs from which the public water supply of Cuba is · derived should furnish water of a satisfactory sanitary quality provided steps are taken to more fully protect the springs from surface wash. 2. That the wells used at times of inadequate flow from the springs are also favorably situated to furnish a supply of satisfactory sanitary quality, although the privy at the pumping station is located too near the wells.

3. That, according to statements by the local authorities, the present sources of supply are reaching their limit of yield and that an additional supply may have to be secured. from some other source in the near future.

In view of the above facts the following recommendations may be made:

1. That the various springs be protected from surface wash by adequate drainage ditches and the area immediately surrounding them be fenced to exclude animals. Furthermore, the structures covering the tops of the various basins should be kept securely locked in order to prevent access thereto by trespassers in the vicinity.

2. That the Wright spring, southeast of the village, be developed, in a manner similar to the first group of springs, by a masonry basin in order that surface drainage may not have access thereto.

3. That the Bartel springs, south of the village, be protected from surface wash by raising the side walls adequately above the surface of the ground and by covering with proper roofs.

4. That the privy near the driven wells be removed from the immediate vicinity and placed at least 500 feet down stream.

5. That the unused wells be tightly capped to prevent contamination of the ground water through them.

6. That the village authorities investigate the possibility of economic development of additional springs in order to augment the present supply, and if necessary, secure the services of a competent engineer to advise them as to the best and most economical method to adopt. In conclusion I would further recommend that copies of this report be transmitted to the local authorities and to the sanitary supervisor of the district.

Respectfully submitted,

THEODORE HORTON,
Chief Engineer

ALBANY, N. Y., May 5, 1917

RESULTS OF WATER ANALYSES

4

DELANSON

HERMANN M. BIGGS, M.D., State Commissioner of Health:

I beg to submit the following report on the public water supply of the village of Delanson, Schenectady county. An investigation of this supply was made on November 20, 1916, by Mr. M. F. Sanborn, assistant engineer, who was assisted at the time of the inspection by Dr. R. A. McDowell, health officer, and Mr. E. Harris, superintendent.

Delanson is an unincorporated village located in the town of Duanesburg and in the southwestern part of Schenectady county, about 15 miles southwest of the city of Schenectady. It is on the Normanskill and on the Delaware and Hudson railroad. It is largely a railroad community being located at the junction of the lines coming from Schenectady and Albany to Binghamton and the west. The population at the time of the inspection was estimated to be about 400.

There are no private or public sewers in the village. Excretal and other wastes are disposed of in cesspools and privies.

The water supply is owned by the Duanesburg Water Company of which Mr. R. Warren of Cooperstown is vice-president and Mr. E. Harris is superintendent. The waterworks were designed by Mr. F. Roundy and Mr. C. E. Miller, civil engineers, and were constructed by day labor in 1892.

The water supply is obtained from 2 brooks tributary to the Normanskill, the intakes being about 1% and 4 miles north of the village. About 4 miles north of the village a shallow impounding reservoir has been formed upon one of the brooks by the construction of a dike or dam across the brook. Water from this reservoir passes down through a pipe line and discharges into the brook about 1 mile below the reservoir. The water is again taken from the brook at a point about 2 miles below the reservoir and conveyed through a pipe line to another reservoir located upon the second brook about 11⁄2 miles north of the village. This latter reservoir is formed by the construction of a dam across the southern brook and from this reservoir the water is conveyed through a pipe line to the village.

There are about 51⁄2 miles of water mains about 4 inches in diameter. The average pressure in the village is 60 pounds per square inch. There are about 92 houses in the village of which 39 are served by this water supply. About 42 per cent of the population, 168 people, are served by the supply and the average daily consumption was estimated to be about 17,000 gallons. No fire protection is provided by this supply.

The upper reservoir is very shallow and contains many tree stumps and the bed of the reservoir is probably an old swamp. This reservoir is said to contain about 50,000,000 gallons of water. A road passing along the south side of this reservoir forms a dike and a small spillway under the road permits the surplus water from the reservoir to overflow and pass down the brook. The reservoir on the southern brook is in much better condition, is quite deep and there is only a small amount of swamp at the upper end. This reservoir is said to contain about 30,000,000 gallons of water. The northern brook above the intake has a watershed including the reservoir, of about 2% square miles while the southern brook at the lower reservoir has a watershed of about .2 square mile.

There are about 11 houses on the northern watershed and one on the southern watershed. This gives a total population of about 40 which corresponds to 16 per square mile. The houses are all well back from the watercourses and it is doubtful if direct pollution is received from the houses on the watersheds. The water is turbid at times of rapid runoff due to heavy rains. During the dry seasons of 1913, 1914 and 1916, the use of water had to be curtailed somewhat on account of the small amount available.

At the time of the inspection samples of the village water were obtained and the results of the analyses of these samples together with others made by the Division of Laboratories and Research in previous years will be found in the appended table.

From the results of these analyses it will be seen that the water is somewhat colored, occasionally turbid and moderately soft. The free ammonia is high at times and this together with the high albuminoid ammonia and oxygen consumed is undoubtedly due to the vegetable matter from the swamps upon the watersheds. With the exception of the analysis of August 31, 1915, the total bacterial counts have been moderate. The analysis of this date, however, shows an excessive number of bacteria and organisms of the B. coli type present in 1 c.c. inoculations indicating that the water was receiving considerable active contamination. The sample taken November 20, 1916, shows the presence of B. coli organisms in 10 c.c. inoculations. The high turbidity of the sample taken at the upper part of the village on this date was undoubtedly due to the fact that repairs had been made in the pipe line on the day previous to the investigation.

As a result of this investigation and of the analyses the following conclusions may be drawn:

1. That the water supply of Delanson is apparently of a fairly satisfactory, sanitary quality for a surface supply although subject to accidental, incidental or wilful contamination by animals or persons passing over the watersheds.

2. That the water is highly colored due to the vegetation and organic matter and is occasionally turbid due to surface wash at times of rainfall.

In view of the above conclusions I would make the following recommendations:

1. That the water company take every precaution to maintain the watersheds tributary to its supply in a satisfactory sanitary condition and in case any difficulty be experienced in carrying out this recommendation application should be made to this Department for the enactment of rules and regulations for the protection of the supply from contamination as provided for by the Public Health Law.

2. That signs be posted around the reservoir and along the streams tributary to the supply warning against pollution of the waters therein. 3. That, in view of the possibility of accidental, incidental or wilful contamination by the residents upon the watershed or by transient visitors thereto, the water company consider the installation of a modern purification plant for further safe-guarding the sanitary quality of the supply.

In conclusion I would recommend that copies of this report be transmitted to the local authorities and to the sanitary supervisor of the district. Respectfully submitted,

THEODORE HORTON,
Chief Engineer

ALBANY, N. Y., March 20, 1917