The Industrial Utility of Public Water Supplies in the United States, 1932
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. Mendenhall, Director Water-Supply Paper 658 THE INDUSTRIAL UTILITY OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1932 W. D. COLLINS, AND E. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1934 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. ------ Price 15 cents CONTENTS Introduction__________________________________________________ 1 Analyses of water from public supplies________ __ _________________ 3 Sources of analyses_____________________________________________ 3 Applicability of analyses_______-_______________________------__-_ 3 Expression of results_______________________ __________________ 5 Constituents given in table of analyses__________________________ 5 Total dissolved solids___-_________________________________ 5 Silica-.---___________________________ ____________________ 5 Iron (iron and aluminum oxides)______________________________ 6 Calcium and magnesium____________________________-__--____ 7 Sodium and potassium_____________________________________ 7 Bicarbonate.______________________________________________ 7 Sulphate____________________________-___ .__ 8 Chloride. _____________________________________ 8 Nitrate._________________________________________ ____ 9 Constituents and characteristics not given in table of analyses ______ 9 Color___________________________________________ 9 Hydrogen ion concentration (pH)____________________ _______ 9 Suspended matter (turbidity)_________________-_____________ 10 Manganese____________________________________ _ ________ 1O Free acid_____________________________________________ 10 Fluoride_________________________________________________ 11 Zinc________________________________________ 11 Residual chemicals from treatment__-________-__- _ ______ 11 Hardness______________________________________________________ 11 Distribution of hard water__________________________-___ ___ ____ 12 Sources of public supplies___________-__-_________________________ 19 Natural surface water_________________________________ _____ 2O Treated surface water______ _________________________ ________ 21 Ground water.____________ ___________________________________ 21 Treatment of water for public supplies_______________ _______ _ 21 Filtration (rapid sand filtration)_____________________ ______ 22 Sedimentation. _______________________________ _______ 23. Coagulation.____________________________________ _____ _ 23 Mixing and settling basins and filters-______________ _____ _ 24 Chlorination__________________________________________ 24 Adjustment of pH_________________________________________ 25 Manganese removal_____-_____-____________- __ ___ 25 Prevention of tastes and odors____-_-_______-_-____________ 26 Filtration without coagulation (slow sand filtration)_________________ 27 Natural purification.__________________________________________ 27 Municipal softening.________________________________________ 28 Iron removal.____________________________________________ SO IV CONTENTS Page Industrial treatment of water from public supplies______--_----__-_--___ 31 Boiler feed water_____-_______-_________-_----___--_----____ 31 Scale, corrosion, embrittlement, and foaming___________________ 31 Softening_________________________________ 32 Internal treatment._________________-__----______-_--____ 32 Water for industrial processes________________-__-.______----__._ 34 Domestic treatment of water from public supplies.______________________ 35 Domestic softening____________________________________________ 35 Prevention of corrosion______________-____-___-_____-__-___---__- 36 Analyses of public supplies_____________----__-__-----_--_--------_-_- 37 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 1. Weighted average hardness, by States, of water furnished in 1932 by public supply systems in over 600 cities in the United States..____________________________--_-. 12 FIGURE 1. Number of persons using water of certain degrees of hardness from large public supply systems in over 600 cities in the United States..._____-_________________ ... 19 THE INDUSTRIAL UTILITY OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1932 By W. D. COLLINS, W. L. LAMAB, and E. W. LOHE INTRODUCTION Information relating to the chemical characteristics of water supplies is essential to the location of most industrial plants. It is also an aid in the distribution of many commodities. In certain areas there is no demand for water-softening equipment; in many places there is little need for materials and appliances to combat corrosion of pipes. Selection of steam-boiler-plant equipment or water-softening equipment will be influenced by the chemical char acter of the water to be used or treated. Some of the needs for in formation about the chemical character of water are best served by general or average data covering considerable areas or large groups of consumers. For other needs such general information is of little value, and it is necessary to learn the composition of particular supplies. A large amount of information as to the chemical character of water from individual sources and indications of the character of the water likely to be obtained in certain areas may be found in water- supply papers of the United States Geological Survey and in other publications. These publications are listed in two reports * which indicate the kind and number of analyses that have been published for the different States. A report 2 published in 1923 gave analyses showing the composition of the public water supplies of the larger cities in all the States. Data were given for 307 places with 37 percent of the total population of the United States. The present report follows the general plan of the previous report but gives data for 670 places with 46 percent of the total population of the United States. The report includes every water-supply system serving an area that had in 1930 a population 1 Collins, W. D., and Howard, C. S., Index of analyses of natural waters in the United States: U.S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 560-C, 1925; Index of analyses of natural waters in the United States, 1926 to 1931: U.S.Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 659-C, 1932. 8 Collins, W. D., The industrial utility of public water supplies in the United States: U.S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 496,1923. 2 INDUSTRIAL UTILITY OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES, 1932 of 20,000 or more. Several cities with less than 20,000 inhabitants are also included in order that the different States may be more ade quately and uniformly represented. At least five cities in every State are included. The essential part of this report is the table of analyses on pages 38-135 (table 5). Next, perhaps, in value is the general discussion of hardness, including the very generalized map showing hardness (pi. 1). Even the detailed data in the main table must be generalized to a certain extent, because the water supply of a place may be derived from a source that varies in composition from time to time, or from several sources that differ in composition and furnish varying proportions of the total supply. An attempt is made to give in the descriptive matter relating to each supply statements and additional data that indicate how well the analyses represent the composition of the water at all times and that also give a better basis than the mineral analyses alone for an opinion as to the probable corrosiveness of the waters. The rest of the text of the report is devoted mainly to explanation of terms used in the table and brief discussions of features of water supply and utilization that will aid in the use of the informa tion in the table. Although the table of analyses relates to public water supplies as delivered to consumers, it can be made to yield much additional in formation. For many of the places the data indicate the probable chemical character of a private supply that might be developed for a manufacturing plant located in or near the city. For nearly all the supplies which are softened the table shows also the composition of the untreated water. The table of analyses and descriptions was prepared chiefly by W. L. Lamar. Most of the analyses made for this report and most of the calculations for the minor tables were made by E. W. Lohr. The body of the text was prepared by W. D. Collins. For most of the places mentioned in the table of analyses the descriptions were furnished by water-works officials, and the material given in the table was checked by them after it was prepared for publication. Most of the figures showing the range in composition of variable supplies and some of the complete analyses were furnished by individual water departments. Nearly all the samples analyzed by the United States Geological Survey were collected and sent to Washington by the water departments. Many State departments of health furnished descriptions, analyses, and other assistance, as indi cated in the notes preceding the descriptions of the supplies of the States. Descriptions and analyses were furnished by officials of com panies that control the operation of several plants in one or more States. INDUSTRIAL UTILITY OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES, 1932 ANALYSES OF WATER FROM PUBLIC SUPPLIES SOURCE OF ANALYSES More than half the analyses in this report were made during its preparation either by the United States Geological Survey or by other laboratories, as listed in table 1. For the individual analyses the names of the analysts and the laboratories where the work was done are given with the analyses in table