Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-02-10
Pollution Seen
Key Problem
Facing D. c.
BY CHARLES d. PIERCE
Star staff Writer ~

awareness that the Washington
area is rapidly approaching .
water supply crisis" 'a'a
He said in q speech to the
Interstate Commission on the
Potomac River Basin that poll
luton is a major part Of the
overall water problem.
Gen. Clarke said that despite
the scheduled construction Of
q major interceptor sewer to
Dulles Airport, :'the, situation
which the sewer was designed
to avoid may continue for some
time" ~
He explained that he has
been advised by Loudoun Coun..
ty officials that they do not
have funds to provide connec.
tons with the Dulles Airport
sewer for new sewage treatment
plants to be built in this county.
-
~ Long Delay Seen =:
Gen. Clarke said he has been
told that the treatment plants
will be sufficiently far from
the interceptor sewer and in>
italy so small that it viii be
some years before it will be
feasible to connect them to the !.
sewer. s .-- - -
I'VE may be no worse off
than we are now with regard
to the purity Of water which
the CAPITAL area drinks" Gen.
Clarke said, "but we will sta
have effluent Of sewage plants
dumped into the river" above
the intake for 'Washington's
water supply.
Construction Of the approx.
imately $26 million interceptof
sewer is expected to be COM
pleted in 1868.
The Washington Metropon-
tan Regional Conference has
adopted o resolution opposing
discharge Of any effluent into
the river above Washington,s
water intakes 10 months after
the interceptor sewer Is COM
pleted.
The conference reasoned that
discharge Of effluent into the
river would no longer be neces-
sary since local sewage treat
ment plants could be connected
to the interceptor sewer within
this time limit. lF.4
Difficulty Reported ,,
However, Loudoun County
apparently will not be able. to
comply with this conference
policy. according to the irfor-
nation received by Gen. Clarke.
Discussing proposals that res
ervoirs be built upstream on
the Potomac River to help pro-
vide additional water for dillu-
ton Of, pollution Gen. Clarke
said: "It is quite easy for me
as Q representative Of the Dis
trict Of Columbia to stand here
and insist that something must
be done upstream to improve
the quality Of the water, that
flows into and past the District
Of Columbia"
However. he said, people liv-
ing further upstream on the
Potomac take q different view
of construction Of reservoirs in
their area to benefit Washing
ton.
Gen. Clarke said he some
times thinks the problem could
be solved quickly If the flow Of
gravity could be reversed so
that pollution now coming
down the Potomac could be
poured back into the water in
takes Of the communities re-
sponsible for the pollution.
Alternatives Expected
Gen. Clarke said that he
doubted that there Is anyone
who would. wish US other than
a pure water supply and q
clean Potomac" but the prob
lem will come when the various
alternative solutions are pre-
sented.
The District Corps Of En-
gineers, which Is studying the
problem Of the development Of
the Potomac River, will OUT
line what 1t considers the best
alternative plans to the public
next November. "a
Construction of reservoirs
will definitely be included
among the alternatives sug.
gested by the engineers to pro-
tect. among other purposes, the
Washington area water supply.
Referring to the controversy
in the past about the pro-
posed construction Of dams at
River Bend and other points
on the Potomac, Gen. Clarke
said:
II recognize that there Is
already considerable opposition
to some Of the specific plans
which have been suggested in
the past for controlling the
flow Of the Potomac River.
"As a matter Of fact, it is
only eight days since, at the
National Capital Planning
Commission, we had to delete
the word dam from a resolu.
ton concerning the Potomac
Valley and substitute there
fore the innocuous word
lake"
Last night Senator Hart,
Democrat Of Michigan, said that
the Eastern States must now
start thinking Of water supply
as a life and death matter a.
1t has long been regarded in the