City Council Clashes Over Polluted Water Reports
A health officer's report alleging city water contamination sparks a heated confrontation with a city commissioner.
Another twist was given to the recent bacteriological row in the city council when Dr. Wilson submitted his final report. He had taken over 20 tests of water, and Dr. Armstrong asked that the results be read. The report showed that water taken from the faucet in the city laboratory, after running for an hour, showed cultures of colon bacilli after 12 hours, indicating the city water is polluted by sewage. Commissioner McGregor was called on to explain and he was mad as a hornet. He said he had never heard of the reports and accused Wilson of keeping his laboratory so filthy that he would expect contamination. He declared a state university test showed Tacoma to have the best water in the state. The council took no action, but the fact remained that the report was bad.
“Commissioner McGregor was called on to explain and he was mad as a hornet.”
Public trust in municipal infrastructure remains a perennial issue. Today’s battles over water safety and transparency echo the 1909 skepticism toward city laboratory findings in Tacoma.
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