Decisive Action Taken on Water Question-This Day In Norwood History-August 18, 1905

A special town meeting was held last evening in Village Hall to act on matters pertaining to the town water. The attendance was very small being due probably to the large number who are out of town on vacations and also to the fact that there was a band concert on the same evening.

At 8 o’clock the meeting was opened by the reading of the warrant by Town Clerk Kiley, James A. Halloran, Esq. was chosen moderator. Art 2 was then taken up.

Article 2 To hear and act upon the report of the Committee appointed to consider Article 15 of the Town Meeting Warrant of June 30, 1905, namely; To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or borrow money to renew the lead service pipes in accordance with the State Board of Health’s recommendation or to take any other action in the matter.

F. O. Winslow, chairman of the committee read his report which was very long and covered the subject of water supply in Norwood thoroughly. He told of how, when the water supply system was first inaugurated in Norwood, iron pipes were used almost entirely. These soon caused complaint on the part of consumers on account of rust, and lead pipes were substituted. Many of these pipes are still in use, while some have been renewed and some replaced by tin-lined lead and galvanized iron pipes. He mentioned the case of the town of Fairhaven, where lead pipes had been abandoned on account of the number of cases of lead poisoning. He also mentioned other places which had received orders from the State Board of Health to do away with lead pipes. The water itself, in these places was good, but contain ingredients which, although harmless in themselves, acted on the lead pipes, forming soluble poisonous salts, and it was here the trouble lay.

he case is the same in Norwood. The water contains an excessive amount of harmless carbonic acid, the same thing soda water is charged with. This acid, however, acts on the lead pipes and it is the result of this action that is causing the trouble. He stated that Norwood water contained 11-33 of a grain of poisonous lead in solution and 1-33 of a grain is enough to effect the condition of the public health. The State Board of Health has notified the water commissioners that the water now used cannot be used from lead pipes. A change must be made, a different kind of pipe must be used or else water which has no bad effect on lead pipes must be procured from another source. There is, however, no water known in the vicinity of Norwood, that can be safely used through lead pipes Therefore the piping must be changed.

There are three kinds of pipe that have been considered by the committee. namely, galvanized iron, tin-lined lead, and cement-lined iron pipes. The former has proven unsatisfactory in many cases from the fact that the coating of zinc on the inside is very thin and in a short time scabs off leaving the bare iron to rust. The zinc is also acted on by acids and poison found in the water, but this poison is not so injurious to health as lead poison. Tin-lined lead pipe has proven very satisfactory in all cases, as the tin lining is quite thick and besides tin is not acted on to any degree by acids. This pipe is recommended by the State Board of Health. Cement-lined pipe is by far the cheaper as it can be made by the town. It is simply iron pipe lined with Portland cement. In some cases where it has been used the cement has crumbled and got into faucets and valves thus causing trouble, but this was brought about through the use of poor cement.

Mr. Winslow offered three recommendations of the committee; they were:

(1) That the town take steps to find, if possible, a new source of water supply which will have no effect on the pipes.

(2) That 1 in lined pipes be installed wherever the consumers request it, and

(3) That the matter of cement-lined service pipe be looked into and if this pipe is found to be satisfactory in every respect, that it be installed. The report was unanimously accepted.

Mr. Oldham asked if the town would be liable if any victim of lead poisoning chose to sue the town for damages. Mr. Winslow in answer to this question said that it probably would, but that the suit would, without doubt, end with the installation of tin lined or some other safe kind of pipe in the house where the lead poisoning had occurred.

Mr. Winslow then made three motions under Article 2, all of which were accepted. They were as follows :

First Motion: That the Town of Norwood authorize and instruct the Water Commission to replace the lead service pipes now laid between water mains and the street lines with tin-lined lead pipes or with cement-lined iron pipes and that such replacement proceed as rapidly as the public interests and requirements of the water takers shall warrant, and that the town appropriate and borrow on notes the sum of $3000 in amounts of $1000 each, payable from the water commissioners’ treasury as follows $1000 m 1906, $1000 in 1907, $1000 in 1908.

Second Motion: That the Board of Commissioners be instructed to examine into the manufacture and quality of cement-lined iron pipes, which have been adopted so generally throughout the Commonwealth, and if found satisfactory, means shall be provided whereby pipe of this character of the best quality which may be made, be obtained for the use of the town and any who may prefer it to the tin lined pipe.

Third Motion: That the Board of Water Commissioners make arrangements at once, whereby the water-takers who may choose to replace their water service with tin-lined pipe shall be able to buy from the town for cash, the necessary pipe at net cost paid by the town plus all expenses for service and transportation; this arrangement to continue until the annual meeting in March. Also that arrangements be made by said commissioners for the collection and sale for the benefit of each owner of the old lead pipe, which may be taken out by the substitution of the new pipe. Article 3 then came up.

Article 3: To see if the Town will authorize and instruct the Water Commissioners to co-operate with the state Board of Health to investigate and make tests for an additional water supply, and raise and appropriate or borrow money for the same, or take any other action.

There was no discussion under this article and the following motion was made by Mr. Winslow and carried by a unanimous vote.