Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-08-19
IN
5 CITIES JOIN
STATEN WORK
Help Prevent Stream Pollution
and Utilize Former
Wastes.
REPORT OF ENGINEER

Industrial plants in FIVE cities and
towns in northern Indiana which former
ly discharged wastes into rivers and
streams at a direct loss to the owners
and with menace to public health by
reason of which the water courses were
frequently so polluted during the sea-
sons Of low water stage they were httls
less than open sewers, now, after ex-
Denditure of several hundred thousand
dollars, arc recovering valuable byprod-
ucts and the streams are slowly resum-
ing natural conditions.
This is the summary of several extern
sive reports just submitted by John c,
Diggs. sanitary engineer for the State
conservation department, to Richard
Lieber director, following personal in
spection All is proof that in many In
stances ind Istry Of the State now CO.
operates with the State department to
purify public water courses, whereas
few years ago no action to this end was
concerted, and frequently it was the Gaze
| that industry as a whole rather resented
any activity in this direction by con-
servation officials, ternling it Interior"
| eDce.
| At Decatur Mr.. Digs learned that tho
/
/ installed a 5000, 900 plant t. care for
waste The refinery now Is recovering
valuable by-product, namely potash;
also the sugar yield IL materially in
creased. Is year ago waste from this
/ plant polluted st. Mary's River for dis
/ lance Of twenty miles or more down
! stream and conditions at certain seasons
were insufferable in towns, along the
water course.
IMPROVEMENT AT
MUNCIE.
| From Nuncie the conservation Depart
ment received numerous reports that
/ liquid waste discharged from the Kuhn
! er Packing Company's plant into small
stream one-haf mile above Mccullough
Park, contaminated the water. The stream
/ frequently was blackened with decayed
organic matter and plant growth in the
/ stream and on the banks Of the stream
were coated with filth. it was charged
New filters to follow the septic tank
! treatment Of the waste are to be in
stalled, according to the report. In thu
same city the engineer visited the plant
of the Indiana Steel and Wire Company
( from which spent acid solutions which
had been used to clean the rust and scale
! from iron rods and wire, polluted White
River. This company has plant OPP
Grating now for the recovery Of iron sui
phate as q by-prOduct and IS preparing
to install machinery to recover mur1atie
acid waste. This industry is located
about one-half of a mile above McCul-
Tough Park and pollution of the stream
by mill waste has prevented park off
Gals from constructing a swimming pool
in the river at the foot Of the park The
iron waste the report says, probably does
not kill aquatic life in the stream, but
unqestionably fish life is driven away
from the region for one or two miles be-
cause Of the excessive turbidity pro-
duced by the iron wastes, which kills on
plant forms which serve as food for the
/ fish.
At Albany Mr.. Digs found that the 7.
/ Il Hart Paper Company has installed
"save-au' machine through which de-
/ vice is passed waste from the paper ma
chine A very decided improvement In
/ the waste is made with a saving OF
/ straw pulp which may be reused in max
ing board. test run of one hour shows
! saving Of 90 cents a day on the basis
Of straw at s. and SO a ton, and it IS
believed that continued operation viii
bring more effective results
This company can be commended tor
its efforts toward improvement Of the
wastes from the plant, but no assurance
can be given that nuisance viii not be
produced In the ALississinewa river when
the plant operates at full capacity and the
standardization basins overfows into the
stream the report adds.
ARCADIA COMPANY
TO DIG PIT.
Many complaints reached the depart
ment of a thick dim of oil waste on ca
cero Greek near Arcadia which came from
the Arcadia Glass Works. At low water
stage dead and dying fish were present in
vast numbers and the condition of the
stream was very Insanitary. This COM
pany has agreed to construct a concrete
pit to catch all oil wastes and prevens
their entrance into the stream
The INSPECTION included the factory OK
the Sears & Nichols Packing Company
at Greenwood, where q waste treatment
plant is operating satisfactorily. This
canning factory operates throughout me
year and obviously is more likely to pro-
duce a nuisance at sometime through the
discharge of its waste into stream than
the plant which packs but one product
and produces waste during only xoae
to six weeks period.
The plant formerly discharged ITS
waste directly into Pleasant Run, a
small stream flowing through hAS SNW@
of Greenwood and westward to White
River. As a result each period Of small
stream flow brought series of com
plants from farmers whose land is con-
tiguous to the creek. This resulted in
the packing company installing a waste
treatment plant.
GREENWOOD PLANT
SOLVES PROBLEM.
"This packing plant" the report says,
''has had as severe a problem placed be-
fore it as any in the State of Indiana
II carried on a volume of business de-
cidedly above the average for Indiana
canning factories, operated during the
entire year, and treated its waste in such
q manner that apparently no nuisance
was produced in a stream which has an
almost dry channel during brief periods
of the year"
The pollution of streams is an economic
loss and a menace to public health, de-
clares Mr.. Lieber; therefore the conso4-
vation department is trying its best to
help remedy conditions. Manufacturers
are cooperating, he says. both for the
reason they realize their responsibility
to the community in which they operate,
and because they can recover valuable
by-products. formerly pure wastes. The
time is here, Mr. Lieber contends, when
stream pollution must stop or the people
will decide that the particular offending
industry must cease operations.
This is not a matter of soft senti-