The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-02-17

| the court interstate streams cannot be depended upon by he lower
 state as a source of supply.
 There are great variety of poll luting materials gaining access to the
 public waterways of the state. but
 for my purpose here they will be
 divided into two classes: 1.-Pollu-
 ton due to industrial waste; and 2.-Pollution due to domestic sew- | age.
 When President Hoover was sec-
 retary of commerce he caused to be
 made a national survey on this ques-
 ton of pollution. One conclusion
 arrived at was that domestic sewage
 accounted for 85 per cent of the
 total volume and industrial waste for
 the remaining IS per. cent. These
 ratios very probably would require
 modification for this state as Con-
 necticut is very highly industrial | ized. Possibly 75 per cent and 25
 per cent would better represent the
 relationship here.
 | "As indicating the type of work
 being done the following brief refer ence to two lines of research work
 will, because of time and space, have to suffice; (a) finishing waste | (cloth); and (b) brass industry. Finishing cloth results in the dis l charge of wastes containing a large poroportion of putrescible organic
 matter-often highly colored-into the public waterways. Such com- pounds use up the oxygen and re- sul. in serious public nuisance. Our
 research chemists have developed practical methods for purifying these wastes at a reasonable cost. As a re- , suit we can now recommend to tex | tile plants the exact procedure and i type of equipment needed to re-
 move the colors, suspended and or-
 ganic wastes from bleacheries, wool
 en, cotton, silk, dye and felt mills.
 "The state water commission holds that one of the essential steps
 in correcting this pollution consists
 in recovering the wastes in such | form that they can be used again by the industry which produces | them. To that end our research chemists are now developing meth ods for recovering in metallic form the copper. for example, from pickle | liquors in brass mills.
 During the past five years the necessity of giving careful study to the problem of sewage disposal has been taken up with every town, city or borough which was polluting stream with raw sewage. The com missions policy has been one of friendly cooperation. It has ex- plained the law, pointed out to the responsible officials the necessity of adopting a program for complying with it and has in each case out lined the steps to be taken by the particular community. In all cases the first step advised is an engineer ing survey to determine just what rnrnh1nfr, ic n1 n n oSti- mate of the cost involved. With this information a plan can be formulat- ed for carrying out the construction work in the manner best suited to the financial condition of each com munity.
 'The claim made by some of our larger cities that they are unable to finance necessary work for the sew craze system deserves careful con- sideration. If sewage removal and disposal is an essential public util. ity, and it would be difficult to sus- tain any other contention, then there would appear to be something radically wrong with our present meeting this municipal obligation. It | is true that there are many cities in | this state which require the expen | allure of very large sums of money | for the purpose of correcting the ! cumulative results of past neglect. Under the present method of financ- ing this work there appears to be no possible way of accomplishing it.
 '"The problem facing Connecticut municipalities varies. One asks how the original cost of financing sys- tenn of collecting sewers, including interceptors and a treatment plant, hn l collecting sewers but wants to add a sewage treatment plant and a third wants advice as to how best to meet the cost of annual maintenance and extensions of tn esystem. To provide for such expenditures by general taxation only is obviously un- fair and unjust. Yet the laws of the state permit of no other meth- cd.
 Tor more than a year past the commission has been working on a proposed act which had for it's pur- pose, first, to increase the borrowing power of municipalities and, there- by, permit securing funds for de- velopment of the sewerage system; second, to authorize any town. city or borough to build sewers and sew age treatment plants; third, to per init any town, cyti or borough to adopt the sewer service charge: fourth, to permit towns, cities and boroughs to unite with other towns, cities and boroughs to form sewer districts; fifth. to permit towns, cit ies or bOroughs to condemn land re- quired in the construction of a sew craze system; and sixth, to outline a method of procedure for instituting | construction program by munich pality and the methods of financing the same.
 There is nothing new Or radical in the proposed legislation. Other | sary to incerase municipal borrowing | powerf. Many have enacted permis- sive legislation covering the sewer service charge.
 The value of the method in financ- | ing the sewerage system depends on its being used in conjunction with | property assessments and general | taxation. It's special value rests on l the fact that it is the only equitable ! method yet devised for meeting the | annual maintenance and operating | charges of the sewerage system" BUOY IS LIFE-SAVER FOR
 SUBMARINE CREW. |
 A buoy large enough to contain | one man was recently demonstrated | as a submarine escape device by | Captain Torruella, of the Spanish | navy, at Cartagena, Spain. In the | event of accident, a member of the | crew climbs into it and 1t is elected l from the submarine by compressed | individual life preserver," says roaou1a,, Ccianco Manfh11y