"Clean Mountain Water" Not So Clean

"Clean Mountain Water" Not So Clean. Interpreting History. , Reliance on the Monongahela River to supply enough water to a growing Morgantown meant the overall year-round quality remained a subject of great concern. West Virginia University researchers in the 1920s identified the problems with the river water and its causes as lying upstream, but also found lesser issues with the Tibbs Run Reservoir water. They suggested chemical treatments of different types and amounts, depending on the water source., In 1935, a 250 foot by 100 foot "wall” of wooden sheet pilings (along with a walkway) was placed around the outlet tower where water was collected. There, sediments settled, and the water was chemically treated. When the water level is very low, you can still see the remains of this wall. A chemical feed house was also built here in 1935. It housed a scale, hopper to feed lime into a mixing box,band an electric-driven Gould pump to pull water out of the reservoir into the mixing box. Then, the lime mixture went back into the reservoir. Chlorine was added to the reservoir through a separate line from this house and back into mixing chambers along the enclosure walls. David Fields, who lived on the adjacent property, was the first reservoir caretaker, followed shortly by Ralph Lemley.