Chlorination of Pipe Lines under Construction

Abstract

We, who have been engaged in construction for several years, can, no doubt, recall the days, when about all the special care that was taken of pipe lines under construction, was to inspect pipe and fittings for defects, swab them out, that no rocks, sticks or other debris, might be left therein and place them in the ditch. But time has moved on, and as large towns and great cities are being built up, people have of necessity found that they must leave the family well and town pump for a more adequate and wholesome water supply. To produce a perfectly safe water supply, it is not only imperative that the utmost care be taken at its source of supply and all the way through the different stages of treatment, such as sedimentation, filtration and chlorination, but also to see to it that nothing of a contaminating nature reaches that supply until it is delivered to the consumer. To this end it has been found that great care must be taken in making new additions to the pipe or distribution system. Let us assume that a car or train load of pipe begins to receive its supply of dust, cinders and whatever else it may pick up, in course of shipment from the foundry to point of delivery. Add to that the fact that most pipe, after railroad delivery, is hauled directly to the job on which it is to be used and there distributed along the side of the street to await the arrival of the construction gang, whose work it is to place it. This may be a matter of days or it may sometimes be weeks. During this period the pipe has not only received its supply of shipping dust, but also an accumulation of street dust and sediment produced by water flowing through it in time of rain storms and other sources. All sorts of debris are thrown in by playful children. All these things combine to produce a condition that is sometimes very unsanitary. To overcome all this, as far as possible, the company for whom I work, has for sometime required its construction foreman to see that the pipe is not only well swabbed and made thoroughly free of any