Treatment by Coagulation and Sedimentation Without Filtration

Abstract

Among the responsibilities of the water works man, there is, on the one hand, the obligation to the customers to furnish them safe water at a minimum cost and, on the other hand, the obligation to the Company to so regulate the cost of giving the service, that the rates may be held to a minimum, thereby making it possible for the poorest customer to purchase and pay for all the water he needs for all of his domestic uses without straining the family budget.In the pursuance of these principles, in the Mother Lode mining districts in central California, known as the Mark Twain and Bret Harte country, the domestic water supplied to the several towns is being clarified by sedimentation and in some instances by coagulation, then sterilized by chlorination without filtration.When the pioneer gold miners first started operations, they constructed ditches, flumes and siphons to convey the water from the natural streams to their mining claims for the purpose of separating the gold from the sand and rocks. Later when settlements took form, the ditches were tapped to supply the domestic needs. The water was piped to the cabins in the raw state. It was fairly clear in summer but throughout the rainy season the turbidity was high. Pollution, however, was negligible because the population was sparse. As time passed, the objectionable quality of the water was accepted with little or no criticism because the thought prevailed that the condition was inevitable. The people did not complain but joked about the mud in the water. The traveling salesmen never