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Show FILTERING MERRIMAC WATER. It Has Been Found That Foliation In This Stream Increased the Death Kate. The city of Lawrence, Mass., is experimenting ex-perimenting with a "filter bed" with which it hopes to purify the water of the Merrimac river, the source of the water supply of that city. The sum of $60,000 already has been expended for the purpose. The experiment Is being made in pursuance of the discovery made two years ago by the state board of health of Massachusetts that certain cities which had suffered especially from typhoid fever were using water from polluted rivers. The board gave assurance that by the use of filter beds 98 per cent of the bacteria organisms, some of which are harmful, would be removed. The filtering was begun Sept. 20, since which time dally Investigation Bhows that this proportion of the bacteria bac-teria is removed from the water, and also that the water is bo purified that three-fourths of the remaining 2 per cent die before the water reaches the dwelling houses. The fact that the number of deaths from typhoid fever in that city during the months of October and November of last year was only one each month, while formerly the average av-erage for five years was five each month, seems to furnish conclusive evidence that there Is a virtue in the plan recommended rec-ommended by the Massachusetts board. Troy Press. |