Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1920 — Bitter Waters and Sweet: Farm Water Systems [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Bitter Waters and Sweet: Farm Water Systems

(Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) a HERE Is Scriptural authority for the statement that bitter waters and sweet do not flow from the same fountain. The sa m e tru th appl les to wells on the farm. The family that uses a well or spring Subject to contamination is almost ____surely destined to taste the dregs of sorrow and suffering for having drunk its disease-laden output. Investigations made by the United States department of agriculture Indicate that only a small minority of farm-water supplies can be classed as unqualifiedly safe and desirable. Oh the average three out of four farm wells are located within 75 feet of a back door of the house* and in the direction of the barnyard. That convenience and first cost, not safety, ' have been the deciding factors in such cases is made evident by the nearness of barnyards, pig pens, pastures, fertilized fields, sink drains, privies, cesspools, and areas rendered insanitary by chickens, slops, and other filth. Too frequently the seepage from these and other sources, after joining the ground water, moves to wells and springs, impairing the water supply by impurity, and may be grossly poisonous. Sewage Disposal. Popular Indifference to the effective disposal of sewage has existed so long and so universally that only within comparatively recent years has it been realized that this waste product of human life is poisonous and must be kept from the food and drink of man. From the specific germs or poison that may be carried in sewage at any time there may result typhoid fever, tuberculosis, hookworm disease, cliblera, dystmfefy, diarrhea, or other ailments, and it is not improbable that certain obscure maladies may be traced eventually to the poisonous effects of drainage from human waste. The poison is invisible to the naked eye, and it may be carried by many agencies, by devious routes, and be unsuspectingly received into the human body. Typhoid fever is peculiarly a rural disease, and many instances clearly indicate serious neglect of responsibility with regard to sanitation by people who live in the country. Not to dispose of sewage \promptly invites nuisance, but not to dispose of sewage cleanly and completely invites disease. It Is not enough that human filth Is taken 50, 75, 100, or 150 feet away from a well or spring, or that It is taken merely to lower ground. Given loose or open subsoil, seamy ledge, or long-continued pollution of one plat of ground, the -zone of contamination Is likely to extend and readily may reach quite distant wells, especially at such times ns well waters are lowered by drought or heavy pumping. Whatever the system of sewage disposal, it should be entirely and widely separated from the water supply, and, if possible, the surface of the sewage in any leaky privy, vault or cesspool should be lower than the lowest water in any near-by well. The United States department of agriculture has prepared bulletin No. 712, from its 1916 Yearbook, entitled “Sewage Disposal on the Farm," which gives details regarding various types of outhouses, suggestions regarding plumbing, cesspools, septic tanks, and, related subjects. This pamphlet will be mailed free on request. Pure Water the Need. One of the first and obvious needs of American farms Is pure water supply. From the standpoint of the housewife, second only tn importance to purity, is the installation of a water system in the farm house that will save labor. Continued pumping will not improve water in a' well if the sources which feed it are permanently at fault. Wells cannot be located In all cases to be wholly free from pollution, but the greatest safeguards are clean ground, and as wide separations as possible from the probable channels of impure drainage. Water for domestic use should be clean, lustrous, odorless, colorless, wholesome, soft, neither " strongly acid nor alkaline, and its temperature for general farm purposes should be about 50 degrees. These characteristics, however, are never proof of purity, for a glass of water may possess them all and yet contain millions of diseaseproducing germs. ' Ground water Is the ideal supply for the farm. Any farmer who is about to have a deep well, and who is uncertain of the depth and quantity or quality of the water likely to be encountered, should describe fully the location and condition of his project to national or state geological authorities and ask for advice. The use of ths water, hazel, or peach stick for locating un-

derground water is without merit, although “forked-stick” artists from experience often are better able to judge the probabilities of ground water than the average person. Various Kinds of Wells. Wells are spoken of as shallow or deep, dug, bored, driven, or drilled, and in the case of tubular. wells, as nonflowing, flowing, or artesian. Persons interested in the various types of wells and their construction, advantages, disadvantages, etc., will find the subject treated in Farmers’ Bulletin No. 941. Wherever possible, thq farmhouse should be fitted with some sort of running-water system, simple or elaborate, according to the Investment the owner is able to make. For such systems water may be raised by natural flow, hydraulic rams, pumps, air lifts, or air-displacement pumps. Hydraulic rams are the most economical waterlifting devices. Since rams of various sizes and makes perform differently, it usually is necessary to accept the mechanical details determined by the manufacturer. The minimum, never more than the average, flow of the spring should determine the size of the ram. Otherwise, the one selected may be too large for the dry-weather flow. Smhll flows may be determined by noting the time required to fill a vessel of known capacity. Larger flows may be determined by weir measurements. When the water supply is far from the ram site, it is usual to pipe the flow to an open lank or reservoir located so as to secure the desired length and fall of diive pipe. Sometimes the flow’ of a spring is too small to actuate a ram that is sufficient for domestic requirements. In such . instances and where a nearby brook can be dammed to obtain the necessary power head, the recoil of the ram may be employed to admit the spring water, which Is pumped by a fall of the brook water to the piper drive. , Motion of water produces friction, which Increases with the length and roughness of the pipe and the rapidity of the water’s movement. Hence, wherever much water is to be delivered through a long pipe the power or head necessary to overcome friction should be determined. The bulletin mentioned before (Farmers’ Bulletin No. 941) contains a table which shows the friction head; that is, the number of feet to be added to the vertical height for each 100 feet of Iron pipe (not new) to overcome friction when discharging given quantities of water. Selection of Pump. In the selection of a pump one should determine the kind of well to be used, its Inside diameter, depth to the bottom, the depth cased, depth to the water level, both when the pump Is at rest and in operation, and the maximum yields The maximum quantity of water required per day should be calculated also. One should also determine the distance from the well to tne proposed location of the pump and the vertical height between these points; likewise the distance from the pump to the reservoir or tank and the vertical height between these points. The kind of power to be employed should be settled upon also —hand power, windmill, gasoline or oil engines, or electric motors—and the method of transmitting the power. Farm pumps usually are of the suction, lift, force, deep-well type or some combination of these. Suction.and lift pumps do pot. raise water above the pump nor discharge it under press- _ ure. Suction pumps require the cylinder to be above the water level of the supply. If a perfect vacuum could be created within the cylinder water could be raised vertically by suction 33.9 feet at. sea level. However, the actual suction lift is usually not more than two-thirds of the < theoretical lift Methods of making tight joints are described in the bulletin referred to. Horizontal suction plpea may extend long die- • tances, providing the friction loss plus the vertical height from the water level to pump valve Arms not exceed the limiting suction lift Where

a pump cannot be placed so that the limiting suction lift will not be exceeded, it is necessary to lower the pump cylinder into the well, raising 'the water from the cylinder to the spout by the direct lift of the piston. Water can be pushed more easily than it can be pulled, hence, rather than resort to extreme suction lifts it is preferable to lower the cylinder to within 15 feet or less of the supply, or still better to submerge it. Where water is discharged against pressure a force pump is necessary. A practical Installation for the kitchen sink is a'combined suction and force pump w-hich will be found a great labor saver for the housewife. • Deep-Well Pumps. Deep-well pumps are heavier end stronger than those described above. They may be of the lift or force type and the standard or working head is always directly over the well. The cylinder should be near (within 15 .feet) or else below water level which pumping and drought may create. Submergence is the preferable arrangement In all installations the size of the pumping cylinder must be determined from the size, depth, and yielding power of the well, the quantity of water required, and the available power. Deep wells and hand or windwill outfits take small cylinders. 0 Pumping by means of compressed air is very oli but the systems used prior to 1909 required the air supply to be turned on or shut off according to whether or not the water was needed. Based on a patent granted in that year, a twocylinder air-displacement pump submerged in the water supply and controlled by the opening and closing of the faucet, was devised. The essentia! parts of installation, besides such a pump, are an air compressor, storage tank, engine or motor —with air and water pipes, and minor attachments. The pump operates only when water »s used, starting whenever a faucet is opened and continuing until all faucets are closed. The chief advantage of air-displacement pumps ts that water may be taken from ordinary depth or lateral distance, or from several sources, with one power outfit and delivered direct from the well to the faucet. The power plant may he located wherever convenient and as many pumps may be used as there are sources of water. Both hard and soft water may be delivered by using two pumps and the necessary piping systems. Air-displacement-pumps are not adapted at present to lifts muon over 125 feet or to wells !oss than three Inches in diameter, nor can they be used where more water is required than the well can supply within a specified period. Air pipes and air-displacement pumps must be tight and remain tight in service, and working parts must be kept in good order.

Horsepower Needed. Water may be raised J hy hand, windmill, hydraulic rams, steam, hot air, gas, internal-com-bustion engines, or electric motors. Hand power Is unsuited to large supplies or high lifts. Windmills are probably the most familiar type of mechanical power used, and often are arranged to start and stop automatically. Gasoline and oil engines are well adapted to farm pumping, and may be equipped to stop at any desired pressure In a supply tank. The use of electricity for pumping is increasing. The method Is clean, quiet, and convenient, and starting or stopping a distant pump by throwing a switch may be practical wherever transmission lines are sufficiently near. _ The theoretical horsepower needed to raise water is found by multiplying the gallons pumped in one minute by the total lift, in feet, including friction in both suction and discharge pipes, and then dividing the product by 4,000. The horsepower, as computed, should be multiplied by from two to four to overcome losses In pumping and still allow for a reserve of power. Ordinarily one to two horsepower engines are sufficient for farm pumps, but It is always safest to determine this point by computation. An advantage to be derived from the well-in-stalled farm water system often overlooked Is the benefit it affords in the way of fire prevention. With relatively small expenditure, fixtures can be added to a pipe system, which give ready access to the water supply for fighting flames. In almost every case a fire can be easily put out if discovered at its early stage, providing there Is fire-fighting apparatus near by, and all hands, even the children, are taught and drilled to use such apparatus coolly and skillfully.