Water treatment subject of historical talk

The Lorain Historical Society continued their deep dive into the history of the city’s drinking water May 26 as they presented part two of a history talk on the water treatment plant.

Retired Lorain Water Purification Plant Superintendent William D. Gollnitz has utilized his 44 years of industry experience in presenting the talks. He retired from the position in April 2017.

He said he started doing research on the history of the plant because it

has been added onto many

times over the years.

“I found out they had a Jewell Filter installed initially to try and remove typhoid bacteria from the raw drinking water,” he said. “That just led to me finding out more and more about the first several treatment plants that were built.”

The first part of the talk on May 8 at the society’s Carnegie Center, 329 West 10th St., focused on some of the first attempts to ensure the citizens were supplied with sanitary water culminating in the aforementioned Jewell Filter.

On May 10, Gollnitz led a tour through the current Lorain Water Treatment Plant, 100 Alabama Ave., to give those interested an inperson view of the facility.

In part two of the talk, also held at the Carnegie Center, Gollnitz spoke about the efforts to deliver fresh water to the residents just after the turn of the 20th century; focusing on the expansions between 1905 and 1925.

Lorain Historical Society Executive Director Barb Piscopo said the topic is timely due to recent incidents which bring the question of drinking water quality and safety to the national consciousness.

“With the whole thing with Flint, Mich., cities are responsible for the quality of water that is given to their residents and it’s really an important issue,” she said before the lecture began. “Even though (Gollnitz) did the research for a personal interest it really is rather timely.

“It’s also very fascinating how people in the past, in the 1800s, really figured out that we ought to be doing something about treating our water,” she continued.

At the end of the talk, Gollnitz said there is room for even more lectures and the ever-changing water treatment plant and presented options for at least three more.

“So far, I’ve only covered 40 years,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve got more to go.”

KEITH REYNOLDS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Retired Lorain Water Purification Plant Superintendent William D. Gollnitz presented part two of his historical talk on the history of the plant May 26 at the Lorain Historical Society Carnegie Center, 329 West 10th Street, Lorain.