Baltimore City in the 1800's suffered epidemic typhoid, cholera and dysentery. These diseases spread through vapors in the atmosphere produced by bacterial microorganisms found in food and water. This was known as the miasma theory of contamination. To address this problem, new houses in Baltimore were constructed on elevated land in the Montebello, Clifton and Belvedere regions which had their own water supply. In the late 1800’s slow sand filtration (SSF) method was routinely used in Europe. It involved the separation of particulate solids producing high quality water, free of pathogens. Decrease in cholera due to the use of purified water was immediately noticeable. In 1893, Allen Hazen, a chemist in Massachusetts, implemented the SSF method resulting in a substantial reduction in typhoid disease. Soon after, Baltimore began the construction of the Montebello Water Filtration Plant-I, that was completed on September 13, 1915; this was a significant achievement in both engineering and architectural design. Water filtration was accomplished using SSF first and rapid-sand filtration (RSF) later. The latter uses gravity or pressure and it is based on the capture of the particulate matter by sand grains through direct collision, van der Waals or London forces of attraction, surface charge attraction, or diffusion. Safe drinking water also requires chemical pre-treatment and final disinfection with chlorine. Filtration time is reduced from 1-6 months for SSF to 1-4 days when using RSF. To maintain the sustainability of safe drinking water, chemists continue adding effective processes to treat and purify water in treatment plants. The Montebello Water Filtration Plant-I is 100% operational today. It is one of three water filtration plants in Baltimore that provides clean water to 1.5 million people in Baltimore and surrounding counties. Water filtration is an example of how chemistry has made a crucial contribution to public health.

Montebello water filtration plant-I in Baltimore: Chemistry’s contribution to public health

255th National Meeting (2018)

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