The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1905-11-10
THE SEWAGE QUESTION.
Continued from page one, J

HILL
The above statements, we believe
fairly represent the conditions alons
the course of the river with regard K
the use of the water of Milk river TO
domestic purposes by the various
ranchers. A certain portion of tn,
rancherS depend entirely on the rive
for water, Others depend on it in par1
while Others do not use the rive
water at all.
In the study of this problem man,
questions must be considered othel
| than those heretofore looked into
| The character of the water of Mill
river before Beaver Creek enters if
its character at various points below
Beaver creek and Havre. character OF
the water shed, source OF contamina.
ton other than the sewage from any
city or town, character Of the river
bed with regard to natural filtration.
character Of the water of the river
with regard to standardization.
amount of water flowing in the river
at various times during the year, the
feasibility of securing water from
other sources than Milk river by those
living along the course of the river.
the character of the water to be thus
obtained, and, finally, how can SAM
tary measures be obtained in Milk river
valley IN the most practical manner.
are all questions Of vital Importance
to the subject under consideration,
CHARACTER OF THE WATER SHED.
Sources of contamination other
than sewage from towns.
In our travels up and down the
river we noticed many dead cattle
along the banks. These cattle were
not directly on the banks of the river
but SO situated that a heavy rain
would wash the putrid matter into
the stream. At several points feeding
pens and barns were so located that
the drainage from them must pass
into the river. Careless irri-
gators allow fields to become flooded
and the water to pass directly into
the river. This water passes over
heldS more or less covered with
manure and frequently through barn
yards or manure heaps and in this
much organic matter is
carried into the river. About $50 feet
above the intake of the Chinook
such a stream was enter
ing the river. The amount of sewage
the river at Havre at present
Is SO small that it can not be con-
as a source of contamination.
u Sutfclent moment to be reconed
with, so that examinations made at
this time show the condition of Milk
river water without contamination
from the city of HaVre, and if there
Is evidence OF contamination it must |
from other sources. There |
tore, from an analytical stand point |
ms investigation can not determin |
lie degree of population resulting
rom HaVre sewage but can only form
standard of purity from which to
ietirmin the additional population
which such sewage may cause.
should the evidence herewith pre-
ented not be sufficient to satisfy this
BOARD then analyses must be made
liter the sewage from Havre has
,ctually been placed in the river
OF THE RIVER BED WITH
REGARD TO NATURAL FILTRATION
The bed of Milk river is composed
t 'Quick sand' or sand mixed with
tine talcum-like powder This sand
Xtends several feet deep at several
Joints along the course of the river
n fact the deapth to which it ex-
ends is not known. At certain
intervals gravel bed is met with
1t such points the river can be forded
We did not see any one ATTEMPT to
ross the river except at points where
his gravel bed appeared hence can
not Vouch for the statement made to
IS that Il COW or horse attemptinp to
ross at other points would almost
ertalnly be mired, especially if the
nlmal was in weakened condition
rom any cause. In talking with
eople living along the course of the
liver two of them made the state
1ent that they had repeatedly seen
nimals mired in the sand where they
led and finally disappeared, either
eing washed away or sinking in the
md. At several points we attemtod
0 reach the water over what apDear
d to be dry ground but found it was
My thin crust that was dry while
he sand under this crust was |,
saturated with water to a
epth unknown to us. All the water
lTht