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In the 1890's, typhoid fever epidemics (Salmonella typhi) plagued the cities of Lawrence and Lowell, which used the Merrimack River as their water supply. Hiram Mills and William Sedgwick found the cause of the epidemics to be sewage-polluted river water. In 1893, the City of Lawrence began filtration of river water using slow sand filters designed by Mills. Thus, Lawrence became the first city in the country to filter its water as a disease-prevention measure rather than to just improve aesthetic quality. This action led to marked reductions in typhoid fever rate and overall death rate in the city, and was referred to as the "Mills-Reincke" phenomenon.
Shown above is the additional slow sand filter built at the Lawrence water treatment plant in 1907. In the photograph on the right, note that the sand is in place, ready to receive water.
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