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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Historical exhibit shows Bloomington's water struggle

In the early 1900s, students at IU stressed about many of the same things students do today: homework, tests and relationships. They had one worry, however, that modern Hoosiers cannot relate to: running out of water.

In fact, until the city began creating lakes, everyone in Bloomington was worried about getting enough to drink, bathe and operate factories, according to the Monroe County History Center’s exhibit, “Water Woes: Monroe County’s Issues with H20.” 

Ever since settlers moved into the county, the exhibit explains, there were difficulties. With no large bodies of water, residents depended on unreliable wells and cisterns.

During periods of drought, the city would encourage students not to bathe. University officials would drive around in trucks to fill receptacles with whatever water they could give.

“So we filled that tub with the chocolate-covered water, and that was, for I don’t know how long, the total water supply we had.” said Arthur Mogge, a student from the 1910s.

The lack of water led to the spread of diseases like typhoid and tuberculosis. The University established the Pest House as a place where sick students could be quarantined.

Eventually, the exhibit said, IU threatened to move the University out of Bloomington. Instead, they established University Lake as the school’s private water supply.

“I try to make the comparison to the water issues out in California and the Southwest,” David Vanderstel, the museum’s executive director, said. “We need to be aware of our water sources and of conservation measures to protect those sources.”

Next to the antique dresses, washing machines and bed pans is a case displaying the types of modern pipes and sanitation suits used to help quench thirst today.

Bloomington now gets its water from Lake Monroe, which was built between 1960 and 1965. University Lake has become a place for drainage from the golf course. Griffy Lake is the city’s backup water supply.

“We look at Lake Monroe and say, ‘Hey, there’s no problem,’” Vanderstel said. “But if you look at some communities out West, they’ve had water levels in reservoirs drop 40 or 50 feet.” 

He said with today’s climate issues, it is important for people to think more about their water supply and what actions they would be able to take in case of major drought.

Personal water use charts are provided at the exhibit for people to track how much they use each week. The average shower takes 50 gallons of water, taking a bath uses 40 gallons, cooking a meal uses three gallons and one load of laundry uses 30 gallons, according to the chart.

“We take these lakes for granted,” Vanderstel said. “The exhibit is intended to not only give that historical perspective on the issue, but also cause people to think about the future.” 

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