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

1 ingmilPUBLISAED BYTAE N^A CAROLINA STATE B^ARD-^AEALTAI BVoL 66 FEBRUARY, 1951 No. 2J.W. R. NORTON, M.D., M.P.H., State Health Officer JOHN H. HAMILTON, M.D., EditorAQUA PURABy William H. RichardsonRaleigh, North CarolinaThe progressive action by which thecitizens of Raleigh recently voted fundsfor the erection of a sewage disposalplant and the improvement of the publicwater supply, has focused attentionupon water in its various uses and itsassociation with Public Health.Water is one of the most important,and sometimes neglected, substancesused in helping to sustain life. Whenyou woke up this morning, you brushedyour teeth, washed your face and hands,and, perhaps, drank copiously of refreshingcold water from your faucet.The purposes for which water is usedare very numerous. First, we consumeit as something necessary to our healthfulexistence. We use it for generatingelectricity for power and light, for bearcommerce,and for various otherpurposes. We not only use water tocleanse the body, but the ChristianChurch uses it, sympolically, to cleansethe soul. Water plays a prominent partin certain purification rites in other[re-1 ligions.No greater calamity can befall a cityor community than a water shortage orfamine. We are giving much attentionnow to the preservation, or reconstruction,of our drinking water supplies, in«case of atomic attack. We are also devisingways and means of protectingthe population against mass slaughter,through germ warfare upon our watersupplies. There is pending in the presentLegislature a bill designed to correctstream pollution.So much by way of introduction.When you drink a glass of water, doyou think about the processes throughwhich it has passed on its way fromthe source, out yonder somewhere, toyour stomach? Have you ever visitedyour local water shed, or inspected theprocesses through which the water ispurified in order that you may be protectedagainst water-borne diseases.And have you ever considered the yearsof scientific training required of thewaterworks operator, and the importantresponsibility you have placed upon himto make sure you are getting a safewater supply? Just what does happenbetween source arid stomach?The State Board of Health maintainsa division called the Sanitary EngineeringDivision, which is vitally interestedin your water supply, and throughwhich services are performed aboutwhich you may know little or nothing.For the answer to the question, "Whathappens to drinking water, from sourceto stomach?" let us consult one of thosein the Division above referred to who isconcerned with that form of public servicewhich guarantees you a pure watersupply and consequent protection againstdisease.Two Primary SourcesThere are two primary sources fromwhich our public water supplies must