From the Lawrence Daily World for Aug. 31, 1907: “‘I would advise people who can secure water from a good, clean, tight cistern to use nothing else for drinking,’ said Prof. Barber of the university today. ‘The city water is polluted and the water from wells about town shows that about 30 percent of them are more or less contaminated. People who must drink city water should boil it beforehand. The city supply is not currently safe.’ Water company officials deny those claims and say no city has safer water than does Lawrence. State officials are running tests.”