The Advantages of the Storage of Water*

The Advantages of the Storage of Water*

“Pure” water, as judged by the changing standards of time, has been sought for drinking purposes throughout the ages, and yet for the scientist no such substance as pure H2o exists in nature. The original source of all our water, the falling rain, carries with it in small amounts dust, bacteria and gases from the air. The moment it touches the earth and runs over its surface larger amounts of organic and mineral substances are acquired. In time this water may become unfit for human consumption, particularly if it receives the wastes of inhabited areas. Opposed to these influences are certain natural processes which exert a purifying tendency. Percolation through the soil serves the purpose of a water filter and gives us a limited amount of ground water, often of ideal qualities. The flowing stream affords a chance for the oxidation of certain impurities and the settling out of others. The retention of water in ponds and lakes allows gravity to exert a greater influence than in streams toward removing kediment and other matters in suspension. Here also the great factor of time operates, in ways to be described later, toward improving the physical and hygienic properties. I have chosen to call your attention to the purification which results from this last named process, the retention or storage of water in lakes, ponds and reservoirs. The great benefits derived from such treatment are often lost sight of today when artificial methods of purifying water are so much talked of and so widely used.

Advantages of Storage.