Evening star., 1901-07-10
POLLUTION OF RIVERS.
Contention fn Many Sections Over the
Disposal of Sewage.
From the 81 Paul Pioneer Press


The question of the pollution Of streams
by the sewage Of cities. villages and iso-
lated factories has become an acute one
in quite number OF states. Illinois and
Missouri fighting one another in the
United States Supreme Court over the
question of the alleged pollution of the St
Louis water supply. drawn from the Father
Of Waters, by the sewage of Chicago. de-
livered into the Mississippi at Grafton
through the Chicago drainage canal and the
Illinois river. Rhode Island-which seems
hardly large enough to contain a river
worth Quarreling about-is in the throes OF
an investigation. conducted by the United
States geological survey and a professor
OF Brown University, concerning the pol
luton Of the Blackstone and the Paw
tucket. both Of which streams are relied
upon for the drinking water of a dense
population along their banks. while in the
same currents the sewage OF the same pop
uiatfon. enriched still further by the
poisonous drainage of numerous factories,
Is poured IN noisome volumes. In New Jer-
sey. like dense population. lining both
banks Of the Passaic river. is in a similar
plight and the lower towns are fighting
the upper ones, In the courts and before
the legislature, to bring about much
needed but terribly expensive change in
the methods Of sewage disposal. In New
York state the large city Of Binghamton.
on the Susquehanna-a river whose name
in bygone years was the synonym of puri-
ty-finds the stomachs of its population
now poured into the stream by towns and
factories farther up. Other towns in New
York are experiencing similar trouble.
Bfnghamton proposes a remedy in the es-
tablishment of a filtration plant for itself.
but Is naturally disgruntled at the impo-
sition Of such a burden of expense upon II
by the up-river towns. which have fol-
lowed Binghamton's own example in using
the SusQuehanna as a receptacle for sew
age. In Connecticut. with its splendid
ray of fourishing cities, the condition of
the rivers, according to United States
bulletin. has become simply deplorable.
with the natural consequence of great
named it would seem that the condition of
the populations dependent on the rivers
for drinking water is little to be preferred
over that of the people of Hindustan, who
habitually drink the stored-up water of
tanks in which crowds of them take a
the practice Of these American communi-
ties less offensive than that of the Hindus.
Gradually nearing the same unpleasant
situation is our neighbor. Minneapolis, as
the towns along the Upper Mississippi in
crease in number and in population. The
same may be said, in fact, of every city
dependent upon river for its water sup
running water is good so long as tie
amount of impurities is small, but does not
hold good against the injection of large
volumes of sewage.
There are two methods Of curing the
evil: one. the enforcement Of rigid laws
against the emptying of sewage or other
filth into the streams: another, the erec-
tion of filtration plants by which the water
supply Of each city may be purified before
it is delivered to the distributing mains.