DOCUMENT No. 37. 
BOARD OF 
ASSISTANT ALDERMEN. 
OCTOBER 10th, 1842. 
Report of the Special Committee (consisting of Messrs. 
Westervelt, Brown and Mead) on the Memorial of Messrs. 
Tatham Brothers, relative to Composition and other 
Conduit Pipes. Presented by Mr. Brown. Laid on the 
table, and ordered to be printed. 
Edward Williams, Clerk. 
The Select Committee, to whom was referred the memorial 
of Messrs. Tatham & Brothers, upon the subject of pipes 
for the introduction of the Croton water into private 
houses, &c., beg leave to 
REPORTi 
The memorial of Messrs. Tatham & Brothers, referred to 
your Committee, invites " a full examination of the whole 
subject of the supposed injurious qualities of pipes ; and that Doc. No. 37.] 
166 
the testimony of practical men, having personal knowledge 
and experience in the use both of tinned and lead pipes, may 
be taken, to the end that the truth may be laid before the 
public." In accordance with this request, the Committee 
have carefully examined the whole subject committed to 
their charge, and have had before them the testimony, not 
only of " practical men," but of the most distinguished scien- 
tific men of our city, and of other cities of the Union, in 
relation to the influence exerted by the different species of 
conduit pipes upon the water distributed by them, and, there- 
fore, through the water upon the health of its consumers. 
They have been induced to pursue this course by conside- 
rations of the immense importance, not only of a full, but a 
healthful supply of water to the people of this City. If the 
water of the Croton Aqueduct should be used by our citizens 
in an impure or poisonous state, and disease and death should 
be the consequences to any of their number, it would be a 
serious question to determine, whether it would not have 
been more conducive to the public good that the great work, 
of which we so justly boast as an enduring monument of 
New-York enterprise, and which has cost in its construction 
so many millions of the public money, had never been at- 
tempted. 
If the Croton water is not to become a chief source, not 
only of comfort but of health to our people ; not only a guar- 
dian against the ravages of fire, but also against the more 
appalling and fatal ravages of disease and death, the immense 
amount of labour which has been employed in the construc- 
tion of the Aqueduct and its attendant works, the time which 
its completion has consumed, and the large amount of public 
funds which have been expended on its account, have been, 
in comparison with the great objects of the undertaking, in a 
measure thrown away. 167 
[Doc. No. 37. 
The importance of the subject, as before stated, has in- 
duced the Committee to give it a thorough examination. In 
so doing, they have sought only the truth. They have been 
governed by no prejudice. They have endeavoured to as- 
certain, by all the means within their reach, the best mode of 
distributing the water to our citizens, particularly as regarded 
the public health ; to arrive at a proper conclusion in regard 
to which, they proposed to themselves the following questions, 
the answers to which will be found in the following portions 
of this report. 
1st. Have service pipes, composed entirely of lead, any 
deleterious effect upon the water passing through them, and 
are those effects prejudicial to the health of the persons using 
the water ? 
2d. Have the pipes composed partly of lead and tin al- 
loyed, called composition pipes, any effect similar to those 
attributed to pipes consisting entirely of lead ? 
3d. Have the tinned leaden pipes, similar to those invented 
by Mr. Thomas Ewbank, and introduced into use by him, 
any of the effects attributed to purely leaden pipes ? 
4th. Of the different kinds of pipes named, which can be 
used by our citizens with the greatest safety, as regards the 
health of themselves and families ? 
The first question proposed by the Committee opens at 
once a vast field of inquiry. The chemical properties of 
different metals, and particularly of lead, are intimately con- 
nected with its decision. Those properties the Committee 
do not of their own knowledge profess to explain. They 
have therefore had recourse to undisputed authorities-the Doc. No. 37.] 
168 
writings and opinions of the most eminent chemists of modern 
times and the most celebrated authors of antiquity, whose 
opinions upon the subject modern research has been able to 
rescue from the darkness of ages. Ancient writers, although 
unable to account philosophically for the fact, assert it as 
undeniable, that the use of leaden pipes for the supply of 
water, leaden vessels for culinary purposes or for drinking, so 
impregnate their contents with leaden particles as to render 
them injurious to health, and therefore unfit for the " use of 
mankind." This was the doctrine of the wisest two thousand 
years ago, and by a reference to the few authorities your 
Committee will cite, it will appear that such is the doctrine, 
not only of " scientific" chemists at the present time, but of 
those " practical men" who have been taught the truth, not 
by books, or in the schools of learning, but by the great 
teacher, experience. 
In the investigation of this branch of the subject, the Com- 
mittee will first cite a few authorities as to the deleterious 
effects of lead, when introduced into the human system, and 
then proceed to show, that the passing of the Croton water 
through leaden pipes will be the means, in a greater or less 
degree, of introducing it into the systems of those who use 
it after its passage through such pipes. 
The first authority to which your Committee refer is that 
of Doct. Robert Christison, of Edinburgh, whose work on the 
subject of poisons is considered a standard authority. Speak- 
ing of lead, in his treatise on poisons, as connected with 
medical jurisprudence, &c., he says: " This metal is used in 
so many forms, and in so many of the arts, and its effects 
when gradually introduced into the body are so slow and 
insidious, that instances of its deleterious operation are fre- 
quently met with." {Christison on Poisons, p. 454.) The 
same author, page 458, uses the following language, referring 169 
[Doc. No. 37. 
to the names of Vitruvius and Galen ; and, it will be observed, 
in this portion of the work he speaks particularly of the 
action of water upon lead, the subject which is substantially 
before the Committee. The extracts from Doct. Christison 
are as follows: " The action of water on lead has been 
made the subject of observation by the curious for many ages. 
The Roman architect Vitruvius, who, it is believed, flourished 
in the time of Caesar and Augustus, forbids the use of this 
metal for conducting water, because ceruse" he says, "is 
formed on it, which is hurtful to the human bodv." Galen also 
condemns the use of lead pipes, because he was aware that 
water transmitted through them contracted a muddiness from 
lead, and that those who drank such water were subject to 
dysentery. 
"If we trace the sciences of architecture, chemistry and 
medicine, downwards from those periods, nothing more will 
be found than a repetition of the statements of Vitruvius and 
Galen, with but few particular facts in support of them, till 
we arrive at the close of the last, and the beginning of the 
present century. 
" The first person who examined the subject minutely was 
Doctor Lambe, of Warwick; who inferred from his re- 
searches, that most if not all the spring waters possess 
the power of corroding and dissolving lead to such an ex- 
tent, as to be rendered unfit for the use of man, and that this 
solvent power is imparted to them by some of their saline 
ingredients. The inquiry was afterwards undertaken more 
scientifically, by Guyton Morveau, who, in opposition to Doc- 
tor Lambe, arrived at the conclusion that distilled water, the 
purest of all waters, acts rapidly on lead, by converting it 
into a hydrated oxyde, and that some natural waters, which 
hardly attack lead at all, are prevented doing so by the salts 
they hold in the solution." Doc. No. 37.] 
170 
It is unnecessary, in the opinion of your Committee, to cite 
other authorities to prove the deleterious effects of lead 
upon health, when introduced into the human body. Every 
man in the community admits that position, as they would a 
settled and undisputed axiom. The inquiry then remains, 
how far the conducting of water through leaden pipes tends 
to impregnate the water with leaden particles, and how far 
such impregnation is injurious to the health of those who 
use it. 
The authority of Vitruvius and Galen, as quoted by Doc- 
tor Christison, tends to prove the deleterious effects of pass- 
ing water through leaden pipes. Dr. Lambe inferred, " that 
most if not all spring waters possess the power of corrod- 
ing lead to such an extent as to be rendered unfit for the use 
of man." Guyton Morveau, in opposition to Doctor Lambe, 
arrived at the conclusion, that " distilled water, the purest of 
all waters, acts rapidly on lead, by converting it into a hy- 
drated oxyde, and that some natural waters, which hardly 
attack lead at all, are prevented doing so by the salts they 
hold in solution." Dr. Christison states, that " in twelve 
ounces of distilled water, contained in a shallow glass basin, 
loosely covered to exclude the dust, twelve brightly polished 
lead rods, weighing 340 grains, will lose two grains and a 
half in eight days, and the lead will then show evident marks 
of corrosion." Dr. Christison also relates the following his- 
torical fact, in illustration of the effects of water upon lead, 
when mentioning the spread of the lead colic at Amsterdam : 
" Till that period lead colic was very rarely met with in the 
Dutch capital. But soon after the citizens began to substi- 
tute lead for tiles on the roofs of their dwelling-houses, the 
disease broke out with violence and committed great ravages. 
Tronchin, very properly, ascribed its increase to lead entering 
the body insidiously along with the water, which, for culina- 
ry purposes, was chiefly collected from the roofs during 171 
[Doc. No. 37. 
the rains."-(p. 467.) And the same author refers to a 
Dutch writer " for an account of a similar incident, which 
happened at Haarlem." Dr. Thomson, of Glasgow, says, 
when he lived in Edinburgh, that he could always detect in 
the water which supplies Tunbridge, a minute trace of lead 
suspended in the water, which at that time was brought six 
miles in leaden pipes. The main pipes being now made of 
iron, Dr. Christison states, that " this impregnation no longer 
exists."-(p. 469.) The same author also relates the follow- 
ing instances. " A family in Worcester, consisting of the 
parents and twenty-one children, were constantly liable to 
stomach and bowel complaints; and eight of the children 
and both parents died in consequence. Their house being 
sold after their death, the purchaser found it necessary to re- 
pair the pump ; because the cylinder and cistern were riddled 
with holes, and as if it was a seive. The plumber who re- 
newed it, informed Dr. Wall that he had repaired it several 
times before, and in particular had done so, not four years be- 
fore the former occupant died."-(p. 469.) 
The last cited case proves most conclusively the delete- 
rious consequences of using water impregnated with lead, 
and the liability of water to become so affected. 
Another instance is cited by the same author. " A plumb- 
er undertook to supply the town of Tunbridge with water 
for domestic purposes, and, in 1814, laid a course of leaden 
pipes for a quarter of a mile. In the subsequent year many 
cases of lead colic occurred among the inhabitants, who were 
supplied by those pipes ; and one lady particularly, who was 
a great water drinker, lost the use of her limbs for some 
months. The inhabitants naturally became alarmed ; iron 
pipes were substituted, and no case of colic appeared after- 
wards. Mr. Brande analyzed the water, which had passed 
through the pipes, and detected lead in it, while at the same Doc. No. 87.] 
172 
time none could be detected at the source"-(p. 470.) The 
Tunbridge water is celebrated for its purity, and according 
to Dr. Christison, " water like that now in question, can hard- 
ly fail to act powerfully on lead in favourable circumstances," 
and " hence, if this water Were kept for a moderate length 
of time in a leaden cistern, it would contract a strong im- 
pregnation of lead, and it might even become impregnated 
to an unsafe degree, when simply transmitted through new 
leaden pipes."-(p. 470.) Dr. Lambe, cited by Dr. Chris- 
tison, mentions an instance of holes and furrows .produced 
in a cistern (of lead) in Warwick, " the second that had been 
used in the course of ten years." Sir G. Baker, also cited, 
relates that at a nobleman's mansion in Sussex, the servants 
were affected with colic, and the water being examined, 
which was brought to the house through leaden pipes, was 
found to contain lead. 
There are not only numerous European authorities to sus- 
tain the position, that it is unsafe to conduct water for culi- 
nary and domestic purposes through leaden pipes, but Ame- 
rican authorities of the highest character can be produced, 
whose writings support the same opinions. Among the first 
of these your Committee would name our fellow citizen, Dr. 
Chilton. This gentleman has made the science of Chemistry 
the study of his life. Dr. Ellet, another distinguished pro- 
fessor, Dr. Dana, of Lowell, and a host of others, the most 
eminent in their professions, concur in the opinion that there 
is danger in the use of leaden pipes for the conveyance of 
water to our houses. The opinions of Drs. Chilton and El- 
let, and others, are before the Common Council and the pub- 
lic in various forms, and your Committee will therefore call 
the attention of the Board principally to the published opi- 
nions of Dr. Dana. 173 
[Doc. No. 37. 
This gentleman was recently requested by the Common 
Council of Lowell, (Massachusetts,) to " furnish them with 
the result of his experiments upon the effects of leaden pipes 
on the water in the wells of that cityand also, " to com- 
municate such facts, with his opinions relative to the effects 
of water impregnated with lead upon the health and consti- 
tution," &c. In accordance with this request, Dr. Dana, on 
the 9th of August last, submitted to the Common Council of 
Lowell, a report, to the following extracts from which the 
attention of the Board is requested. 
After stating that lead scraped bright and exposed to air 
or water tarnishes, Dr. Dana observes : " This tarnish is 
the rust or oxyde of lead. This rust, dross, or oxy de of 
lead, is dissolved by pure water, by alkalies," &c. " Pure 
water alone will dissolve the rust of lead ; one pint dissolves 
a grain of lead. Hence the purer the water, the greater the 
amount dissolved."-(p. 1.) xlt page 13 of the report, he ob- 
serves : " The fact so well known to our citizens, that leaden 
pipes are corroded and destroyed by well-water, would long 
ago have told them the effects of using such waters, were it 
not that the disorders produced by it, are of such slow and in- 
sidious character, that they have been attributed to other 
sources, till chemical analysis has pointed out a cause of dis- 
ease more to be relied on than doubtful speculation." xlgain 
he says,-" That lead in continued small doses is a cause of 
disease and death, is the accumulated testimony of two thousand 
years, yet the metal is used where it is most dangerous : 
men are aroused to a sense of its danger, only when the fre- 
quency of the disease, attended often by a fatal termination, 
has spoken in tones which chill the hearts of the bereaved, 
and alarm the living sufferers by well-grounded fears, that 
the seeds of deathly disease may be germinating in their 
constitutions."-(p. 13.) On pages 13 and 14, Dr. Dana men- 
tions the following diseases as generally attributed to lead : Doc. No. 37.] 
174 
painters' colic, paralysis, constipation, purging and vomiting, 
with others, and adds,-" there is reason to believe that a 
vast many cases of rheumatic and spasmodic, and nervous 
disease, a general breaking up, as it were, of the foundations 
of the great deep of life, have occurred, which can be attri- 
buted only to the effects of small daily doses of lead" He also 
mentions in illustration of the effects of lead upon the human 
body, "out of nine persons, four died ; the others were saved 
by removing the cause. It produced death in from twenty- 
four hours after the attack, to four months. In none of these 
cases were the slightest marks of disease visible on dissection." 
In concluding his report, Dr. Dana uses the following em- 
phatic language, in reference to conduit pipes for the convey- 
ance of water. 
" I should therefore recommend, 
1st. Wood, where it can be used. 
2d. Cast iron or wrought iron tubes. 
3d. Copper, protected either by pure tin, or still better, 
perhaps, with pure zinc." 
" The use of all other metals and alloys of these, in the 
present state of our knowledge and experience on these sub- 
jects, ought forthwith to be abandoned."-(p. 21.) 
It will be perceived, from the closing part of Dr. Dana's 
report above cited, he, in almost positive terms, excludes lead- 
en pipes from the class of those which should be used for the 
conveyance of water, and expressly recommends that tin or 
zinc should be used for the purpose of protecting even cop- 
per pipes. How far tin may be safely used for protecting 
leaden pipes, will be considered in a subsequent part of this 
report. 175 
[Doc. No. 37. 
From an examination of the treatise by Dr. Christison, and 
the report of Dr. Dana, hereinbefore referred to, and the au- 
thorities recited by the former, together with the well-known 
opinions of Drs. Chilton, Ellet, and other distinguished che- 
mists and physicians, but little doubt can remain in the mind 
of any person in relation to the tendency of water in contact 
with lead, to become impregnated with it in some degree. 
If the doctrine of Christison and Dana be correct, " the purer 
the water the greater the amount " of lead " dissolved " by 
it, (and there is no reason, in the opinion of your Committee, 
to doubt it,) then in proportion to the purity of the Croton 
water, is the danger to health, of introducing it into our houses 
by leaden pipes. Chemical analysis, conducted by Dr. Chil- 
ton and others, has demonstrated that the water of the Croton 
possesses a high degree of purity. This fact is admitted by 
all, and would it not therefore be extremely dangerous to the 
health of our citizens, in th,e face of the plain principle as es- 
tablished in chemical sciences, and above referred to, to en- 
counter the risk of rendering the boasted water of the Croton, 
(the great source of health to our City,) less sure than na- 
ture has formed it, by bringing it into contact with so poi- 
sonous a metal as lead ? It is immaterial, in the opinion of 
your Committee, to what extent the water may be affected 
by this contact; ifitcanbe affected at all, is it not better to 
avoid the danger, however slight it may be, and adopt a sys- 
tem, if any can be found, which will protect us from any dan- 
ger ? There can be but one answer to the inquiry; and 
that must, with every prudent man, be in the affirmative. 
The Committee do not rely, in support of the position 
which they have taken, entirely upon the writings and 
opinions of the distinguished gentlemen to whom they have 
referred. They have in their support the experience of 
many cities in the Union. Not only Lowell has suffered 
from the use of leaden pipes, but Mobile, Augusta, in Georgia, Doc. No. 37.] 
176 
Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, Trenton, in New-Jersey, and 
Syracuse, in this State, have at different times discovered 
the importance of abandoning their use. Cases in other 
places, and even in this City, and that, too, with the Croton 
water, have occurred, proving the correctness of the doc- 
trine of the writers who have been cited. The facts 
ascertained from these sources will form the next subject of 
inquiry, and to its discussion your Committee will now 
proceed. 
The cases in which the people of various cities and indi- 
viduals have discovered the deleterious effects of passing 
water through leaden pipes, are not only mentioned in the 
European authorities cited, but similar instances can be 
found in our own country. 
It is true, that in the City of Philadelphia leaden service 
pipes are in general use, for the purpose of introducing the 
Schuylkill water into private houses; and Mr. Graff, the 
highly respectable Superintendent of their water-works, 
says that iron pipes are in some cases used by the citizens, 
"perhaps from the cause of their enlarged bdiameter giving 
an increased supply of water, more than from the objections 
to lead pipes." This opinion of Mr. Graff is not founded 
upon any chemical analysis, and is of the Schuylkill water, 
nor are your Committee able to state what the chemical 
properties of that water are. It is, however, supposed to be 
as pure, if not purer, than the water conveyed to other cities 
in a similar manner. If it be as pure as it is represented, in 
its natural state, certain phenomena in regard to the health 
of the City of Philadelphia are presented, which must excite 
surprise in the mind of every observer. Although that city 
possesses a bountiful supply of river water, its annual bills 
of mortality will show a larger number of deaths from con- 
sumption, dysentery, and other diseases attributable to lead, 177 
[Doc. No. 37. 
than the bills of mortality in this City, in proportion to its 
population. Dr. Dana does not include consumption in the 
class of diseases whose cause is attributable to the influence 
of lead upon the system ; but it is evident to every observer, 
that painters, plumbers and others, whose daily business 
subjects them to such influence, are peculiarly afflicted with 
pulmonary diseases. May not the large amount of deaths 
by consumption in Philadelphia be owing in some measure 
to the use of water impregnated with lead from the pipes 
through which it is drawn ? This suggestion is made, not 
with perfect confidence in its correctness, but with a strong 
belief that there is some reason to suppose that such is the 
case. 
The frequency of death by consumption in Philadelphia 
cannot be attributed to the climate of that city. It is an 
admitted fact, that those portions of our country which are 
immediately situated upon the seaboard are more subject to 
pulmonary diseases than those in the interior. If the relative 
geographical positions of New-York and Philadelphia be 
compared, it will be observed that this City is much more 
exposed to the influence of north-east storms, and changes in 
the weather attending those storms, than our sister city. 
This fact may be demonstrated in some measure by the 
influence of the climate and atmosphere in the tw'o cities 
upon their public buildings. In New-York, marble in a 
few years becomes of a dingy colour, probably by a species 
of corrosion ; in Philadelphia, it will withstand the elements 
for years, and retain its original brilliance and purity. Com- 
pare the City-Hall, in New-York, with the Bank of the 
United States, in Philadelphia, and the difference in the 
appearance of the marble composing the buildings is 
obvious. If this difference is attributable to the influence 
of the atmosphere in the two cities, would not the 
same causes have similar influences upon the public health 
in each city, particularly as regards diseases of a pulmonary Doc. No. 37.] 
178 
character? From these facts it would be evident, that 
New-York, so far as purely natural causes are concerned, 
would be naturally more subject to pulmonary diseases than 
Philadelphia ; but the reverse is the case. If the received 
opinion is correct, that the seaboard is, from its position, 
more subject to consumption than the interior, the greater 
prevalence of consumption in Philadelphia than New-York, 
can be attributed to but one cause-the water: and that 
water, from its acknowledged purity at its source, can be- 
come injurious to health only by means of the iron or leaden 
pipes through which it is conveyed. It is not possible, in 
the matter before the Board, that iron main pipes exert, or 
will exert any deleterious influence upon the water ; and the 
inference therefore is, that if the water in Philadelphia is at 
all affected, it must be by the leaden pipes leading to the 
houses and stores of its citizens. 
Mr. Graff, in his letter to the Chairman of the Committee, 
under date of August 24th, 1842, states, that "lead pipes 
were first used at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, upwards of 
eighty years ago. The reduced diameter of the lead pipes, 
with, I believe, an idea that iron gave a more healthy supply 
of water, induced them to take up the former and lay down 
the latter about the year 1835." In the case of the people 
of Bethlehem, it will be perceived, that after an experience 
of about seventy-three years, they abandoned the use of leaden 
pipes, and substituted iron in their stead, as " giving a more 
healthy supply of water." 
In the same letter Mr. Graff says, " at Trenton, New- 
Jersey, where, I believe, the water is impregnated with 
some mineral substance, objections were made, and the water 
laying in lead pipes was tested about the year 1830, and 
found to contain sufficient acid to cause what is termed the 
painter's colic-since then, their mains have been laid with 
iron." 179 
[Doc. No. 37. 
A highly respectable merchant of Mobile, in a letter which 
has been read before the Committee, informs them that 
"some few years since water was introduced into the City 
of Mobile, from Spring Hill, a distance of about six miles, 
and from the main pipes, it was conducted by means of lead 
pipe to various houses and stores in the city. In many in- 
stances persons were attacked with sickness, which was 
attributed to the use of the water conducted by means of 
the leaden pipes. The impression was so general, that tin- 
ned pipes were substituted, since which I have heard no com- 
plaints. The sickness resembled the billions colic, and my 
impression is, the physicians were generally, if not entirely, 
of the opinion, it was produced by the above cause." 
A gentleman of the highest character, residing at Augusta, 
in Georgia, by letter dated September 15, 1842, informs the 
Committee, that " the hydrant water at Augusta is convey- 
ed into the city from about three miles distance, in wood or 
logs of the long leaved or pitch pine," " the branch pipes 
leading to the dwellings or tenements on either side, are in 
some places of wood, in others of the common lead pipe. 
The water from the spring has been analyzed by our best 
chemists, and pronounced free from any saline mixture, and 
as pure as rain water; that from the wood branch-pipes also 
stood the strictest analysis. But on applying the same tests 
to the water from the pipes of lead, the proof of its being 
held in solution was so apparent that its disuse was strongly 
recommended." 
In the same letter he also states, that a gentleman, whose 
name he mentions, was compelled to visit this city, and place 
himself under the care of a physician, in consequence of a 
disease resulting from the use of the water, impregnated 
with lead, and such was pronounced to be the cause of his 
sickness by his physicians here. The same gentleman, in his Doc. No. 37.] 
180 
letter, mentions the case of a lady in Augusta, who was ad- 
vised by the Professor of Chemistry there, to leave that city, 
inconsequence of the "action of lead in the hydrant water 
upon her system." The cases referred to in this letter prove 
most conclusively the injurious effects of the union of water 
with lead. 
Not only Mobile, Bethlehem, Trenton, Lowell and Augusta, 
from the evidence before your Committee, have suffered the 
evil effects resulting from the use of water drawn through 
leaden pipes, but a prosperous and populous village in our 
state has been induced to adopt other means of introducing 
water into the houses of its citizens. Your Committee are 
informed by the persons who supplied the materials, that the 
authorities or " Water Works Company of Syracuse have 
adopted tinned pipes instead of leaden ones." From this 
fact, as well as those stated in the cases of the other cities 
and villages which have been mentioned, it must be evident 
to all, that not only chemists, " scientific men" and physi- 
cians, but " practical men," who have no interest in sustaining 
either side of the question, even whole communities, have 
been taught by the lessons of experience, the danger of using 
the purest water, when conducted to their dwellings by lead- 
en pipes. 
A case also occurred in New-Jersey, which tends to prove 
the injurious consequences resulting from the use of leaden 
pipes. Two respectable farmers, near Shrewsbury, had, 
about a year since, water brought from springs to their 
houses through leaden pipes. After using the water for 
some time, both families became sick. Their physician at- 
tributed the sickness to the lead, with which the water be- 
came impregnated. He recommended the pipes to be taken 
up, which was done, and both families recovered their usual 
health. The brother of one of the gentlemen above refer- 181 
[Doc. No. 37. 
fed to, uses, in his family, water conducted through tinned 
leaden pipes. He informs the Committee that the water has 
never been in the least degree affected. These facts, in 
conjunction with the others above mentioned, are, in the 
opinion of your Committee, sufficient to prove the extreme 
danger of using leaden pipes for the conveyance of water to 
the houses of our citizens. 
Another case of injurious effects of leaden pipes upon wa- 
ter, has been communicated to your Committee, by a gentle- 
man now residing in this city, who formerly resided at 
Charleston, in South Carolina. In his letter, under date of 
September 2d, 1842, he informs the Committee, that when 
he resided in Charleston, his family and two of his friends 
became sick, from the use of watei* conducted through leaden 
pipes :-the water, having been examined, was found to be 
strongly impregnated with lead. 
But there is another case to which the Committee would 
particularly call the attention of the Common Council; that 
of the Croton water itself, introduced into a private dwell- 
ing in Pearl-street, by leaden pipes. Several examinations 
were made of the water, and in each case lead was found 
in solution, in a greater or less degree. The longer the 
pipes were in use the less was found, but on every examina- 
tion lead was found in the water. The results of these ex- 
periments prove ihe correctness of Dr. Dana's theory; "the 
purer the water, the greater the amount of lead dissolved." 
We boast of the purity of the Croton water, and we have* 
in the case of one private dwelling-house, an instance of the 
deleterious effects of lead. If the Croton water is as pure 
as we believe it to be, according to Christison and Dana, 
and all other writers on chemistry, the more careful should 
we be, not to impregnate it with the poisonous extracts of 
lead. Doc. No. 37. J 
182 
The memorialists, in the case before your Committee; 
have submitted to them a large amount of testimony, in 
favour of the use of leaden and composition pipes. The 
first, in importance, of this evidence, to which the Commit- 
tee would call your attention, is that of Messrs. J. C. Booth 
and M. F. Boye, chemists, of Philadelphia. Their opinions 
the Committee will now proceed to examine. 
Messrs. Booth and Boye, it appears, analyzed the water 
of the Croton, at the request of the memorialists. In the 
principal points their analysis agreed with that of Dr. Chil- 
ton, though in some respects, there was a difference. They 
submitted lead to the action of the water, and state that" an 
extremely minute quantity of lead may however be proved 
to be taken up by applying delicate testsj after the water has 
remained in pure leaden pipes for twenty-four hours," but 
express an opinion that the quantity found would be too mi- 
nute to prove injurious to health in domestic use. 
The same gentlemen, in their letter of September 1st, 
speaking of pipes composed of lead and tin alloyed, state that 
they could, upon subjecting them to the action of the Croton 
water, find no tin held in solution. This proves very con- 
clusively, that tin will not be absorbed by the water. 
In his letter of September 3d, Mr. Booth informs Messrs. 
Tatham & Brothers as follows: "I regret myself finding 
lead in solution at all, but we certainly, and without the shadow 
of doubt, did find it, although, as you mav observe, in very 
small quantity. Now, if we believe that pure lead pipe 
may be used, the Nos. show the composition pipe is much 
more free from objection." 
From the testimony of the chemists referred to, whose 
opinion is regarded by many as favourable to the use of 183 
[Doc. No. 37. 
leaden pipes, it will be perceived that the Croton water will 
•exert an influence on that metal in some degree, which, in 
its turn, will prove injurious to the water, and through it, to 
the public health. Would it be prudent, under such circum- 
stances, to adopt leaden pipes for the introduction of the 
Croton water into our houses ? Your Committee think, that 
under the maxim, " the purer the water, the more rapidly it 
will be affected by lead," it would be sound policy to adopt 
some kind of service pipes, which cannot be liable to the 
objections urged against lead. 
The other witnesses introduced by the memorialists are 
generally plumbers, persons whose pursuits naturally create 
a prejudice in favour of the article, which is mainly the 
subject matter of their business. These gentlemen all de- 
clare, in substance, that they have never known any injurious 
consequences to result from the use of leaden pipes for the 
conveyance of water. The integrity of the witnesses can- 
not be questioned. They are, as far as your Committee 
can know, men of the highest respectability, and there is no 
reason whatever to doubt their sincerity. It should be 
borne in mind, however, they are " practical," not scientific 
men ; and if the doctrine of our chemists and physicians is 
true, that the effects of lead upon the human system are 
slow and insidious," it is not a matter of astonishment that 
plumbers and our citizens generally, are ignorant of its evils. 
It is impossible to ascertain with any degree of accuracy the 
number of deaths in other cities which result indirectly from 
the effects of lead upon the waters of which their citizens 
are in the daily use. Hundreds may die of some " slow and 
insidious disease," and in every case death may be, and un- 
doubtedly has been, attributed to some apparent immediate 
cause, while, in fact, the remote active cause has been the 
pollution of water by the oxydation of their leaden pipes. 
Plumbers, however respectable as members of society and Doc. No. 37.] 
184 
men of business, cannot be supposed to understand the 
chemical properties of lead and other metals as well as those 
who have made the science of chemistry the study of their 
lives. The names of Christison, Chilton, Ellet and Dana, 
are sufficient in themselves to sustain the views expressed in 
this report, in opposition to the opinions of the plumbers, 
whose testimony has been alone referred to. 
The Committee have arrived at the conclusion, that the 
use of leaden pipes for the conveyance of the Croton water 
into our public buildings and to the houses of our citizens, 
would be highly dangerous to the public health. 
In relation to the pipes of Messrs. Tatham & Brothers, 
composed of lead and tin alloyed, there can be no hesitation 
in stating that they are preferable to those consisting entirely 
of lead ; but even those pipes are in some measure objection- 
able. Professors Booth and Boye state, that they have 
subjected the " composition pipe," as it is termed, to the 
action of the Croton water, and they could find no tin in 
solution. They do not say that they could find no solution 
oflead. Several chemists have expressed an opinion, that 
the union of tin with lead in alloy, to the amount of from one 
to five per cent, of the former, would remove all objections 
to the use of pipes so composed, on the ground of danger to 
the public health. If this be true, it proves that tin is a pro- 
tection against the oxydation oflead by contact with water, 
and so far, is an argument in favour of pipes protected by tin, 
on the plan of Mr. Ewbank. 
Your Committee are of opinion that but little can be 
gained to the public by the substitution of composition for 
leaden pipes. Their similarity in appearance is so great, 
that dishonest manufacturers and tradesmen can with ease 
impose the common lead pipe upon their customers as that, 185 
[Doc. No. 37. 
which, in common language, is termed the " composition 
pipe," and it does not appear, with any certainty, that tin in 
alloy with lead will prevent the oxydation of the latter. If 
it has not that effect, the union of the two metals would be 
useless. 
The next class of pipes to which the attention of the Com- 
mittee has been called, is that of the tinned leaden pipes, 
manufactured by Mr. Ewbank. These pipes are composed 
of lead, coated on the inside by tin. Dr. Dana recommends 
copper pipes, coated by tin, obviously for the reason, that a 
tin coating on the inner surface of the pipe will protect the 
other metal from the action of the water. If this be true in 
regard to copper, is it not also true as respects lead ? Messrs. 
Booth and Boye both state, that they subjected the " compo- 
sition pipe" to the action of the Croton water, and could find no 
solution of tin. If this be true as regards tin in alloy with 
lead, is it not equally true of tin in its pure state, as a lining 
for the inner surface of a leaden pipe ? There can be no 
doubt that a tin coating upon a leaden surface will protect 
that surface from the action of the water. This is proved 
by the universal experience of the civilized world. From 
time immemorial, tin has been used to protect culinary uten- 
sils from the action of water, and the various acids in do- 
mestic use. It is too late to declare, in opposition to the 
experience of centuries, that tin applied to a leaden surface, 
as in common domestic use it is applied to iron, will not pro- 
tect either metal from the influence of external causes. 
It is alleged, however, that pieces of the tinned leaden 
pipe are sometimes imperfectly tinned. This objection can- 
not apply with any force to the tinned pipes of Mr. Ewbank, 
for the reason that the process of tinning is such as to ne- 
cessarily make the inner coating of the pipe uniform. If it 
were true, it would be an argument that could only prove Doc. No. 37.] 
186 
that some pieces of tinned pipe are superior to others. It 
certainly does not prove that a tin coating of the inner sur- 
face of a pipe, will not prevent the oxydation of the lead. 
It has been stated by one of the witnesses before the Com- 
mittee, that after some of Mr. Ewbank's pipes had been used 
at a place in this city, particles of the tin coating, described by 
the witness as flakes, were detached from the lead. Such 
can hardly be the case. Our own experience proves that 
even our common tinned cooking utensils will withstand for 
years the action not only of water but of heat and various 
culinary acids. It is very doubtful indeed, that water in its 
natural stale will exert so great an influence upon a metal 
which is known to have withstood the action of decomposing 
agents so powerful as heat and acids. 
The Committee, after an elaborate examination of the 
whole subject referred to them, have arrived at the follow- 
ing conclusions: 
1st. That the use of ordinary leaden pipes for the intro- 
duction of the Croton water into the public buildings, dwell- 
ings and stores of our citizens, breweries, &c., would be 
dangerous to the public health. 
2d. The composition pipes of Messrs. Tatham & Brother, 
consisting of lead and tin in alloy, are much less objection- 
able than leaden pipes, but are still in some measure objec- 
tionable, as not affording a perfect security against the dele- 
terious effects of lead. 
3d. Of the different species of service pipes, the use of 
which is proposed, the tinned leaden pipes manufactured, and 
invented by Mr. Ewbank, afford the greatest degree of pro- 187 
[Doc. No. 37. 
tection against metallic action upon the water, and possess 
equal flexibility with the leaden pipes, and more than the 
composition. The difference in its cost, compared with lead 
and composition pipes, is but trifling, and it could be more 
easily worked than the latter. 
I 
In arriving at this conclusion, the Committee are govern- 
ed by the testimony before them. The vast amount of evi- 
dence which they have been compelled to examine, has ten- 
ded to obscure rather than enlighten the subject. This 
evidence has been carefully observed, and all the material 
facts and principles which have been established, are embo- 
died in this report. Many have been rejected as immaterial, 
but the Committee think that all are herein before stated, 
which can be of any importance to the decision of the case. 
They therefore submit the whole matter to the judgment of 
the Board. 
The following resolutions are offered for adoption: 
Resolved, If the Board of Aidermen concur, That the 
Joint Committee on the Croton Aqueduct be instructed to* 
make use of Naylor & Ewbank's patent tinned leaden pipes, 
for the conveyance of the Croton water into the public build- 
ings, provided that the cost of the same shall not be greater 
than that of any other equally as safe. 
Resolved, That the Common Council recommend to the 
citizens of this City, the use of tinned leaden pipes for the 
introduction of the Croton water into their stores and dwell- 
ings, as less dangerous to health than any other now in use. 
Resolved, That plumbers and others, whose pursuits 
render them familiar with qualities of water pipes of differ- Doc. No. 37. j 
188 
ent characters, be requested to examine the subject, and as- 
certain whether any improvements can be made in any of 
the different kinds of service pipes now used for the intro- 
duction of the Croton water into private dwellings, and if 
any are made, to publish the same for the public good. 
All of which is respectfully submitted. 
CHAS. P. BROWN, 
WALTER MEAD, 
Com7nitteet