The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

108 THE HEALTH BULLETIN.vents waste water from returniug tothe well, and all surface water isdrained away from the well by theslope of the ground. This is an excellentform of well, and if privies, hogpens,etc., are kept away from it andon lower ground, it should give excellentwater.IMPROVING BAD WELLS.To make a good well out of a bad oneis a very hard and uncertain job. It isusually cheaper to locate a new well andbegin all over. Sometimes, by makingthe walls water-tight, grading the surfaceof the ground away from the well,placing a tight cover over the well,using a pump, draining the wastewater away, and removing all sourcesof pollution, the water may be improved; but the results cannot be guaranteed.PROTECTING SPRINGS.The same general principles apply tosprings that apply to wells, except that,as a rule, springs are already located.and we have to leave them where theyare and protect them as best we can.An excellent way to protect a springis to surround it with a cement bowlor basin and cover it with some closefittinglid. This will exclude frogs andbugs, and also leaves and other debrisfrequently blown into oiien springs.If possible, the water from the springshould be piped down tothe house direct.If this cannot be done, an ironpipe or terra-cotta pipe should dischargethe overflow from the spring sotnat it can be caught in pails, etc. Inthis way promiscuous dipping of cupsand pails into the spring bowl itselfcan be avoided.To protect a spring from surfacedrainage, it is an excellent plan to cuta small ditch around the spring on itsupper side at a distance of some 20 or30 feet, and drain the surface washaway from the spring. Live stockshould not be iillowed to pasture for adistance of at least 100 feet above thespring, and privies should be kept entirelyoff the catchment area of smallsprings. In the case of large springs,possible sources of pollution should,a general rule, not be allowed within500 feet above the spring. Groundabove a spring or around a well, ifused for farming, should not be fertilizedwith barnyard manure, etc.. iffor no other than esthetic reasons.No definite rule can be laid down asto a safe distance from a source ofpollution to a well or spring. In sandyand clayey soils there is less dangerthan where rocks, more or less crackeland seamy, exist a few feet under thesurface. The safest rule is to keepall sources of pollution as far awayas possible, the farther the better, andunder no circumstances permit them toexist within one hundred feet of evena carefully protected well such asshown in the illustration.A GOOD FORM FOR A DUG WELL.Protected from Surface Pollution by aGood Cover, Well Laid Wall, and aTrough Which Drains the Waste WaterAway. Note Also the Concrete Aroundthe Top. and the Direction of SurfaceDrainage.as