Official communications were made during the year under general and special acts relating to sewerage and sewage disposal, as follows:

WATER SUPPLY.

The following is the substance of the action of the Board during the year in reply to applications for advice relative to water supply:

To the Board of Water Commissioners of the Town of Agawam, HENRY E. BODURTHA, Chairman.

GENTLEMEN: The State Board of Health has considered your application for its approval under the provisions of chapter 353 of the Acts of the year 1905 of the purchase of water for the supply of the town of Agawam from the town of West Springfield. It appears that the necessary works for distributing water in the village of Agawam have already been constructed and that water from the West Springfield system is now supplied to approximately 400 of the inhabitants of the village of Mittineague in Agawam, adjacent to the town of West Springfield.

Under the existing conditions there appears to the Board no more appropriate source from which the town of Agawam can obtain a supply of water for domestic purposes than the works of the West Springfield water supply system. The Board approves the purchase of water for the supply of Agawam from the town of West Springfield under the provisions of chapter 353 of the Acts of the year 1905.

AMESBURY.

To the Board of Water Commissioners of the Town of Amesbury.

Nov. 4, 1909.

GENTLEMEN: In response to your request for an examination of the water of the Dow Farm Spring, so called, and advice as to the propriety of taking water from this spring or the ground about it as an additional supply for the town of Amesbury, the Board has caused the spring and its surroundings to be examined and samples of its water to be analyzed.

The results of the examinations indicate that water of good quality for domestic purposes can probably be obtained from the ground in this locality. The watershed from which water drains toward this spring is evidently very limited in area, and the quantity of water that can be obtained from the spring or the ground in its neighborhood is likely to be so small as to make it inadvisable, in the opinion of the Board, to construct works for taking water from this source as an additional supply for the town.

The experience of the past two years has shown that the quantity

of water which your present sources are capable of yielding is no greater than is necessary for the present requirements of the town, and an additional supply should be provided without delay.

Numerous analyses of the water of your present sources, covering a period of several years, show that the quality of the water supplied by the basins and wells near Main Street, from which a large portion of your present supply is obtained, has deteriorated greatly within the past few years and is now affected by the presence of so great a quantity of iron as to make it objectionable for domestic purposes. The wells are also exposed to danger of pollution from the large population in their neighborhood.

The Board recommends that you make a thorough investigation of all of the sources available for the use of the town with a view to the selection of a source which will furnish a sufficient quantity of water to make it practicable to provide for the increasing requirements of the town and at the same time discontinue the further use of the basins and wells near Main Street. These investigations should be begun as soon as possible, and the Board recommends that they be made under the direction of an engineer of experience in matters relating to water supply. The Board will assist you in the further investigations by making the necessary analyses of water and will give you further advice when you have the results of further investigations to present.

AMHERST.

To the Amherst Water Company, Amherst, Mass.

SEPT. 2, 1909.

GENTLEMEN:-The State Board of Health received from you on July 20, 1909, the following application for its approval of the location of a proposed dam and reservoir for increasing the water supply of the town. of Amherst:

By chapter 509 of the Acts of 1909 the Amherst Water Company is authorized to build a new dam and reservoir, subject to the approval of the State Board of Health.

Plans have been prepared for creating a small reservoir for storage purposes only by the construction of a dam across Amethyst Brook about half a mile above the present intake reservoir. The maximum depth of water in the reservoir will be 30 feet, the area flooded 4.7 acres and the storage capacity 18 million gallons. The area to be flooded is to be cleared of all stumps, roots, loam and other material containing large amounts of organic matter.

Your advice with reference to and approval of the location and construction of the dam as proposed is requested under the provisions of the act above referred to.

The Board has caused the location of the proposed dam and reservoir to be examined by its engineer and has considered the plans and information presented.

It is evident that the quantity of water which is now being drawn from the present sources for the supply of the town is greater than the capacity of those sources in a very dry year, and that in order to prevent danger of a very serious shortage of water in dry seasons, it is important to increase the capacity of the works. The construction of the proposed new reservoir will increase considerably the supply of water available for the town and appears to the Board to be the most appropriate method of increasing the water supply at the present time. The location of the dam and reservoir is a suitable one for the purpose, and if the ground is cleared of vegetable matter and objectionable soil, the quality of the water should be satisfactory. The Board approves the location of the dam and reservoir under the provisions of chapter 509 of the Acts of the year 1909.

In order to construct the proposed new dam and reservoir it will be necessary to introduce a considerable number of laborers and others into the watershed above the point at which the water is now diverted for the supply of the town, and the Board recommends that you provide efficient inspection and take such other measures as will prevent danger of pollution of the water supply.

The increase in the quantity of water available for the supply of Amherst that will be obtained by the construction of the proposed. reservoir, while considerable, will probably not be sufficient for the supply of the town for a very long time in the future if a large quantity of water is lost by leakage from the supply pipes or is wasted by consumers. There are indications that the quantity of water now supplied to the town is considerably larger than is necessary and it is very important, in the opinion of the Board, that the quantity of water used shall be definitely ascertained. The Board recommends that in connection with the construction of the new reservoir a Venturi meter or other means be provided by which the quantity of water supplied to the town can be accurately measured and that records thereof be carefully. kept. If it should be found that the quantity of water used is excessive, further investigations should be made to determine whether the loss is caused by leakage from the pipes or waste by consumers and further measures then taken to prevent such loss or waste.