HORNELL

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

I beg to submit the following report on an examination of the sanitary condition of the public water supply of Hornell made by Mr. C. M. Baker, assistant engineer, on September 10, 1917.

General information

Location. Steuben county on Erie R. R. and Canisteo river.
Population.- 14,325, practically all being served with the water.

Water Works in Charge of.— Board of Public Works.

Source of Supply.- Impounding reservoirs on Seeley creek, 51⁄2 miles northeast of the city.

Consumption. Roughly estimated at 1,500,000 gallons per day.

Distribution System.- Gravity.

Service Taps.- 3,500 none of which are metered.

Pressure.- 80 to 85 pounds per square inch.

Storage.― Reservoir No. 1, 40,000,000 gallons; No. 2, 110,000,000 gallons; No. 3, small intake reservoir.

Purification.-Liquid chlorine sterilization, pressure mechanical filters References to previous reports.— 1908, 29th Annual Report, Vol. 2, page 350. 1909, 30th Annual Report, Vol. 2, page 740. 1913, 34th Annual Report, page 548. 1916, Report under date of August 17th.

At the time of the last preceding investigation certain insanitary conditions existed on the watershed and the operation of the purification plant was also found to be somewhat unsatisfactory, as a result of which the following recommendations were then made:

1. That the city proceed at once to abate all sources of pollution which are violations of the rules and regulations protecting the sanitary quality of the supply.

2. That, regarding the operation of the purification plant:

(a) Arrangements be made whereby the valves at the reservoirs shall be so shifted as to draw water only from reservoir No. 2, in case of storm.

(b) That provision be made for continuous attendance during the night and day at the purification plant.

(c) That a Venturi meter or other method be provided for determining the rate of flow of water in order that the method of purification may be more effectively controlled.

(d) That scales be provided for determining the amount of chlorine actually applied and that the rate of chlorine application be varied with the water consumption as indicated by the meter to be provided as recommended above.

(e) That complete records be kept of the operation of the chlorine plant showing these scale readings, the date of connecting each of the chlorine cylinders, the amount of water treated and any remarks or information of interest in connection with the operation of the plant. Although no inspection was made of the watershed at the time of the recent investigation the superintendent stated that no improvements had been made and it is apparent, therefore, that nothing has been done regarding recommendation No. 1 given above. Certain steps have been taken, however, toward the carrying out of recommendation No. 2 regarding the operation of the purification plant, namely:

(a) The superintendent stated that they have attempted to carry out these suggestions by closing the valve from reservoir No. 1 and thus drawing only from reservoir No. 2 in case of a storm but that vibration of the pressure compensating valve caused such serious water hammer as to make unsafe the use of this method. As a result of this, water is now being drawn from reservoir No. 1 which was not in use at the time of the preceding investigation.

(b) Continuous attendance is now provided for the purification plant, the man regularly in charge living near the plant so that the attendant who is present at night may call him in case any emergency arises.

(c) Arrangements are now being made by the city to install a Venturi meter for measuring the amount of water used.

Nevertheless, other recommendations regarding the operation of the purification plant have not been carried out.

(a) No scales have been provided for weighing the amount of chlorine actually used and thus checking the operation of the apparatus.

(b) No records are kept regarding the operation of the chlorine plant. Considerable trouble has been experienced during the past summer in operating the filter so as to obtain a clear effluent. It is apparent that the period of detention in passing through the filters after the application of the alum is insufficient to secure complete coagulation as a result of which reaction occasionally takes place after the water has passed the purification plant. Means of eliminationg this difficulty are now being considered by the city officials. A consulting expert with whom they advised, suggested the use of hard alum in the place of that being used at present and the installation of some form of shunt system for applying this alum. Details were not available at the time of inspection and little definite information could be obtained regarding this proposed treatment. It is doubtful, however, whether any coagulant will completely react during the detention period provided by the filters. It is probable, therefore, that the most satisfactory solution of the problem would be to provide a coagulating basin of sufficient size to allow an adequate period of detention to permit satisfactory coagulation and sedimentation. This might be accomplished by constructing a coagulating tank nearby similar to the present clear water storage reservoir, extending the raw water main from the filter to this basin and providing a return pipe from it to the filter. Should this arrangement interfere with the operation of the plant in such a way as to prevent delivering a maximum amount of water to the city in case of emergency, suitable by-pass valves should be provided. The top of the coagulating tank would have to be a few feet higher in elevation than that of the clear water reservoir in order to provide sufficient head on the filters. By this arrangement the present coagulating system could be used and few internal changes would be necessary in the plant. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in connection with the operation of the chlorine plant due to clogging of the float of the chlorine meter and since no scales have been provided to check the apparatus, little definite information could be obtained regarding the amount of chlorine actually being applied. Cylinders were connected, however, on February 26 and April 9. During this period, therefore, one cylinder of chlorine lasted about 42 days which is equivalent to the application of 2.28 pounds per day and assuming the consumption of 1,500,000 gallons daily is equivalent to approximately .19 parts per million of chlorine by weight. This amount is inadequate to secure satisfactory sterilization of the water. Due to the trouble experienced with the present apparatus the city is now arranging to install a new chlorine plant.

Samples of water were collected at the time of this inspection and sent to the Division of Laboratories and Research for analysis, the results of which together with others made earlier in the year, are recorded in the appended table.

The results of these analyses indicate that effective purification was being secured at the time the samples were collected in February, but that unsatisfactory results were being obtained at the time the samples were collected in June. Analyses of samples collected at the time of this investigation show a raw water with a rather high bacterial count and with colon bacilli present in dilutions as small as 1/10 c.c., a filtered water somewhat lower in bacteria than the raw water but with colon bacilli in all of the 10 c.c. and in 1 of the 1 c.c. inoculations, and a final effluent as indicated by the sample collected from a tap in the city, with a bacterial count higher than in the filter effluent and with the B. coli type as prevalent as in the raw water.

Furthermore, the water collected from a tap in the city was quite turbid. The higher bacterial count and the prevalence of B. coli in the tap water than the filter effluent is probably due to residual pollution, since heavy rains had occurred a few days prior to the time of the inspection, causing a very heavy load on the filters. These unsatisfactory results as pointed out above, are probably due to the lack of proper coagulation and sedimentation and to the fact that insufficient chlorine is being applied to effect adequate sterilization. As a result of this investigation it may be concluded:

1. That the city of Hornell has only partially carried out the recommendations of the previous report.

2. That ineffective purification is being secured due to:

(a) Insufficient coagulation because of the lack of adequate sedimentation after the application of the coagulant.

(b) Inefficient operation of the liquid chlorine plant.

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

1. That as recommended in the previous report:

(a) "The city proceed at once to abate the sources of pollution which are violations of the rules and regulations protecting the sanitary quality of the supply."

(b) "An arrangement be made whereby the valves at the reservoir shall be so shifted as to draw water only from reservoir No. 2 in case of storm." Due to water hammer caused by the present connection, as discussed above, this will probably necessitate the installing of some other form of valve or of providing some other form of

connection.

(c) "That scales be provided for determining the amount of chlorine actually applied and that the rate of chlorine application be varied with the water consumption as indicated by the meter." In addition to more careful operation of the chlorine plant chlorine should be applied in an amount equivalent to not less than .25 parts per million, and at times of high turbidity a greater amount, possibly as much as .50 parts per million, should be applied.

(d) That records be kept of the operation of the chlorine plant showing the scale readings and date of connecting each of the chlorine cylinders, the amount of water treated and any remarks or information in connection with the operation of the plant."

2. That, in addition to the above a suitable coagulating or sedimentation basin should be provided and operated in connection with the purification plant.

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

Respectfully submitted,

ALBANY, N. Y., October 19, 1917

THEODORE HORTON,
Chief Engineer

KATONAH

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 Katonah, Westchester county. An investigation of this supply was made on December 27, 1916, by Mr. M. F. Sanborn, assistant engineer, who was assisted at the time of the inspection by Dr. W. J. Carpenter, health officer; Mr. H. W. Kellogg, secretary and treasurer of the water company, and Mr. Theodore DeLong Coffin, assistant engineer of the department of water supply, gas and electricity of New York city.

Katonah is an unincorporated village in the northern part of the town of Bedford and of Westchester county. It is on the Cross river, a tributary of the Croton river, and on the Harlem division of the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. It is about 35 miles north of New York city and 15 miles east of the Hudson river. The population at the time of the inspection was estimated at about 1,000.

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

The water supply is owned by the Katonah Water Company, of which Mr. Clarence Whitman is president and H. W. Kellogg is secretary and treasurer. The waterworks were designed by Mr. Edward Wegmann, civil engineer of White Plains, and were constructed by Mr. D. Barrett of Port Chester in 1898 under the direction of Mr. Wegmann.

The water supply is obtained from a dug well located in the eastern part of the village within about 30 feet of the Croton lake. Water from this well is pumped at a nearby pumping station direct to the mains and to the reservoir on the hillside in the western part of the village. There are 2% miles of water mains varying from 2 to 4 inches in diameter. The average pressure in the village is 40 pounds per square inch. There are about 12 hydrants in various parts of the village for fire protection. About 900 or 99 per cent of the total population are served by this water supply. The average daily water consumption was estimated to be 35,000 gallons.

The dug well is 91⁄2 feet in diameter and 28 feet deep and is covered with a frame roof. The well was dug through sand and gravel and the top of the well is a foot or two above the level of the surrounding ground. Water in the well usually stands a little higher than the water in the lake, although during pumping the water is lowered from 6 to 8 feet and is then considerably below the level of the lake water.

The pumping station located a short distance from the well is a frame building 252 feet by 221⁄2 feet in plan. The pumping equipment consists of a 71⁄2 x 12-inch pump gear driven by a 15 horsepower Fairbanks-Morse gasoline engine. There is also an 8 horsepower gasoline engine which drives a 7 x 10-inch direct action pump.

The reservoir is a large wooden tank about 23 feet in diameter and 16 feet high covered with a timber roof. It has a capacity of about 50,000 gallons, which is equivalent to about 12 days' supply. The reservoir or tank is said to be cleaned out twice a year and the water mains are also flushed twice a year.

It is apparent that the water from the well is obtained from both natural ground water and from infiltration of water from Croton lake. This well is located near the upper part of the lake and any pollution received by the lake water above this point might find its way into the water supply of Katonah. Accordingly, only the watershed above this point and the population thereon will be considered in this report. This watershed has an area of 521⁄2 square miles and a population upon it of about 2,200, representing a population of 42 per square mile. Rules and regulations have been enacted for the protection of the Croton water supply and the entire watershed is frequently patrolled by employees of the department of water supply, gas and electricity of New York city, and the sanitary conditions thereon are maintained in an excellent condition. The New York State Reformatory for Women, located at Bedford Hills, has a population of about 450, and sewage from this institution after