The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-06-13
State Streams
Must Be Saved
John M. Champion Declares Law
Must Come to Prevent
Their Pollution
Tells OF DIRE EFFECTS
Filtration Beds For All Cities anC
Big Factory Plants the Only
Solution.

New Haven, June 13-John M.
Champion, ex-member OF the State
Fish and Game Commission of this
State. who is one of the best known
residents of this city, spoke very free
ly last night for the welfare of the
bill introduced by Senator Dickerman
(by requesD, at the present session Of
the Legislature, prohibiting the pollu-
ton of streams and waters by cities
ana factories. From the trend Of his
remarks it was indicated that there
will be a strong fight put up in behalf
of this measure, and that it is expect
ed that it will be holly opposed by
the various manufacturing interests in
the State, an account of the expense
that will necessarily be incurred.
The bill is now before the commit
tee of Public Health and Safety, and
has not yet been reported to the Sem
ate. Before it is, Mr.. Champion in
Dictated that there would probably be
a most thorough discussion of the
subject, because it is matter which
will have to be decided by the citizens
of Connecticut sooner or later, and is
of an Importance, he considers, that
oversnadows even that of the public
utilities bill.
Mr.. Champion has been engaged in
this work for years, ever since he was
in 1892, and he recollects very well
the fact that court decisions regard
ing the pollution of streams thus far
in this State have had little effect on
the case.
He cited the case of Plat Brothers
& Co. and the Plat Mill Company VS..
Waterbury, in which a suit for in
junction under penalty of $1,000 was
brought against discf1arging any
drainage or sewage into the Nauga-
tuck river Ghis was in 1889, and
amounted to little or nothing.
Mr.. Champion is convinced that
some summary action ought to be
taken from facts that he learned while
he was a member Of the Fish and
Game Commission. AS it stands now,
he declares, there is very little chance
for the inhabitants of this State to
secure pure fish food from our rivers,
and the health concern that should
be looked for is entirely 'ost sight of
in the deposits of sewerage, vitriolic
discharges, alkaliS and dyestuffs into
our navigabl streams from our cities
and factories.
In the Thames river, at Norwich
and New London it is found that shad
spawn and oysters are killed off from
these sources; in the Connecticut riv-
er, below Springfield and Hartford, the
conditions are worse: at Manchester
v
err which empties into the Connecticut,
a stream Of ink, as one might say; at
New Milford, this discharge from the
factories is so thick that the bottom
of the river cannot be seen, although
the water is only inches deep; below
Springfield it was to be seen that ice
for consumption in that city was con-
tinually being cut below the outlet
of the sewer of that city, constituting
a menace to the health of that COM
munity; in New Haven, the sewerage
discharge created such a condition
that many would not dare to eat the
shell fish caught in this harbor, and
and other places along the southwes-
tern sound shore were practically in
the same class. The sewage from
Waterbury has practically vitiated the
Naugatuck river, below the Brass
City.
Mr.. Champion said that the only
remedy he saw in sight to correct this
great evil, an evil which will con-
tinue to grow as fast as our popula-
ton increases, was for every city and
every factory to pump it's sewage and
discharges out upon filtration bed
of sand, as is done at Pittsf1eld, Mass,
and at Saratoga. In these places the
substance remaining after the expo
sure on the filtration bed is raked
off and used as fertilizer. This sys-
tenn has proved very successful in
every section where it has been tried,
he said.h
While the expense of this move
would be very large, said Mr.. Cramp-
ton it must be remembered that the
death roll from our present disposal
of sewage is very large, cows are
drinking from the diseased water and
in other ways the germs of disease
are being constantly distributed.
The measure he proposes is one that
will eventually have to come, he de-