Part 17

Mr. TAWNEY. And at that time you gave us full and detailed information concerning the water purification?

Mr. LEISEN. I believe the points were generally covered then.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you the same process now that you had at that time?

Mr. LEISEN. With this difference: At that, time we were treating the water with hypochloride of lime as a disinfectant. We have since changed to liquid chlorine treatment.

Mr. TAWNEY. What has been the result?

Mr. LEISEN. There has been no radical difference in the result. The results obtained from the use of hypochloride of lime have been almost identical with those obtained from the use of liquid chlorine; possibly some elimination of the taste in the water. I do not believe the complaints of taste of chlorine have been of any moment at all since the liquid-chlorine process was adopted. To that extent I consider it an improvement and it is a little more cleanly. It is a nicer process, more methodical, and more mechanical in its methods.

Mr. TAWNEY. You have only one intake?

Mr. LEISEN. Yes.

Mr. TAWNEY. What is its capacity?

Mr. LEISEN. It is 10 feet in diameter and a little over 300 feet long. Its capacity, of course, would vary with the head permissible on the shore end.

Mr. TAWNEY. How many gallons are you consuming per day?

Mr. LEISEN. We are consuming at the present time about 130,000,000 to 160,000,000 gallons per day.

Mr. TAWNEY. That is, a day of 24 hours?

Mr. LEISEN. Yes. Our highest hourly capacity for any one period was at the rate of about 190,000,000 gallons per day of 24 hours.

Mr. TAWNEY. The hour consumption was at that rate?

Mr. LEISEN. That was the peak load, yes; for one hour during the past year.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you studied this problem in connection with the matter of sewage disposal at all, or do you deal entirely with the water end of it?

Mr. LEISEN. I have no official connection with the sewage disposal proposition; but my interests are simply those of an engineer in the problem, and as a citizen.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you had any cases of typhoid fever in the city of Detroit in the last year or two?

Mr. LEISEN. Yes; there have been cases, not abnormal. The typhoid-fever death rate has been reasonably constant for the last few years and comparatively low.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you gentlemen any questions to ask? If not, that is all, Mr. Leisen. Are there any other gentlemen here representing the city of Detroit who wish to be heard on this subject? I see that the mayor of the city has just come in, in time to witness the closing of these hearings. He may have something to say. If he has we shall be glad to hear from him.

Mr. MARX. I do not know really what you have done this morning.

Mr. TAWNEY. Well, gentlemen, it seems that this closes the hearing. In concluding the hearing I have been requested, on behalf of the commission, to extend to the mayor of the city of Detroit and the council of the city our sincere thanks for the courtesy which has been extended to us in giving us the use of this council chamber. I can assure the mayor and the council that the commission sincerely appreciates, not only the courtesy that has been extended to us, but also the hearty cooperation which we have received from the officials of the city since the beginning of the investigation, and we sincerely hope that when our final recommendations are made to the two Governments they will receive the approval and support of the city of Detroit and of the neighboring cities as well. Thanking you gentlemen for your appearance and courtesy, I will state that the hearings are now closed.

Mr. MARX. I want to assure you of our continued cooperation.

(Thereupon, at 12.30 o’clock p. m., the hearings were closed.)

INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION, _Ogdensburg, N. Y., Friday, August 25, 1916._

The commission met at 10 o’clock a. m.

Mr. Gardner presided.

Mr. GARDNER. Gentlemen, you will kindly come to order. In August, 1912, the Governments of Canada and the United States jointly referred to the International Joint Commission for investigation and report, under the terms of Article IX of the treaty of January 11, 1909, certain questions relating to the pollution of boundary waters. Briefly stated, these questions are: What are the extent, causes, and localities of such pollution? How may such pollution best be remedied?

It is safe to say that of all the questions with which the commission has had to deal this is by far the most important. Nothing can be more vital than the conservation of health, and that is precisely the object of this investigation. The population directly tributary to the boundary waters between Canada and the United States amounts to over 7,000,000, and it is estimated that over 15,000,000 are carried annually in steamboats on these waters. The pollution of boundary waters is a direct menace to every one of these millions of citizens of the two countries. Its prevention will be of incalculable benefit.

In investigating the first question the commission was fortunate enough to secure the services of Dr. Allan J. McLaughlin, of the United States Public Health Service, and now commissioner of health of Massachusetts. Associated with him were Dr. J. W. S. McCullough, Prof. John A. Amyot, and Mr. F. A. Dallyn, of the Provincial Board of Health of Ontario. Under the direction of these officers bacteriological surveys were carried out throughout the boundary waters, from the St. John River in the east to the Lake of the Woods in the west. They also had the cordial cooperation of the Public Health Services of both the Federal Governments and of the States and Provinces on these boundary waters. The results of this investigation were embodied in a progress report submitted to the two Governments in 1914, to which was appended a very complete report by the sanitary experts of the commission, outlining the extent of pollution in the different localities and the causes to which it was attributed.

Having disposed of the first question, the commission took up the second, as to remedies. As a first step, a conference was arranged in New York with six eminent sanitary engineers, George W. Fuller, Earle B. Phelps, and George C. Whipple, of the United States, and F. A. Dallyn, W. S. Lea, and Theo. J. Lafrenière, of Canada, whose testimony furnishes an invaluable record on the engineering side of the question. As a result of this conference certain broad fundamental principles were established, upon which any remedial action must be based. The services of Prof. Phelps were secured as consulting sanitary engineer to the commission, and under his direction a series of careful studies were made, with particular reference to the interception and treatment of riparian sewage on the Detroit and Niagara Rivers, the chief areas of pollution. Public hearings were held in the cities and towns along these waters in 1914, and again in the present year, to afford every opportunity to the municipal and other authorities interested to put their views before the commission.

In March, 1916, the consulting sanitary engineer submitted to the commission his report upon remedial measures. Before closing the hearings the commission deemed it desirable to give those interested in health matters on the St. Lawrence an opportunity to come forward and present their views. With that object in view it was decided to hold a meeting in Ogdensburg to-day. Afterwards the commission will proceed to prepare for submission to the two Governments its final report, both as to the extent and causes of pollution and as to the remedies best designed to safeguard the health of the Canadian and American communities along the boundary.

Not only are we here to confer with those interested in health matters, to find remedies for the removal of the causes of pollution, but to ascertain to what extent and by what methods, system, or lack of system are the boundary waters in this community being polluted in contravention of the terms of the treaty made between the British Empire and the United States, which provides that “These waters shall not be polluted on either side of the line to the injury of health or property on the other,” and also to serve notice that the time is drawing near when no raw sewage will be allowed to flow into these waters, and all communities in the near future will be required to treat their sewage by some process of purification before being allowed to use the waters of the boundary as an avenue for its discharge. The commission therefore desires to hear from representatives of the cities and towns bordering on the St. Lawrence River as to what is being done at this time and what plans, if any, are being considered for the future to remove the causes of pollution in these boundary waters.

By direction of the chairman, Secretary Burpee then read the notice of the meeting to be held at Ogdensburg, which was sent to interested municipalities and officials in the United States and Canada, together with copies of the report of the consulting sanitary engineer of the commission, and also the list of the municipalities to whom the notice and report were sent.

The notice and list are as follows:

NOTICE.

JULY 7, 1916.

DEAR SIR: I am sending you a copy of the report of the consulting sanitary engineer upon remedial measures in connection with the pollution of boundary waters investigation. The commission intends to hold a hearing at Ogdensburg, N. Y., probably toward the end of August. I will advise you of the exact date as soon as it has been decided. Meanwhile the accompanying report is sent to you so that your engineers and other officers may be in a position to give the commission the benefit of their views at the hearing. If you require any additional copies of the report, please let me know.

Yours, very, truly, ---- ----, _Secretary_.

Municipalities to whom notice was sent:

Cape Vincent, N. Y.; Clayton, N. Y.; Thousand Island Park, N. Y.; Alexandria Bay, N. Y.; Morristown, N. Y.; Ogdensburg, N. Y.; Waddington, N. Y.; Kingston, Ontario; Gananoque, Ontario; Brockville, Ontario; Prescott, Ontario; Cardinac, Ontario; Morrisburg, Ontario; Cornwall, Ontario.

The chairman, specifically mentioning each municipality in the above list, called for the names of persons appearing in their behalf, as well as the names of any others who desired to enter an appearance, and the following appearances were announced:

APPEARANCES.

Prof. Earle B. Phelps, of the United States Public Health Service, Washington, D. C., consulting sanitary engineer of the commission.

Dr. J. W. S. McCullough, of Toronto, Canada, medical health officer, provincial board of health of Ontario.

F. A. Dallyn, Toronto, Canada, sanitary engineer, provincial board of health of Ontario.

W. J. Stewart, Ottawa, Canada, representing the department of public works of Canada.

James White, Ottawa, Canada, assistant chairman of the conservation commission of Canada.

Francis S. King, representing the Dominion Marine Association.

George A. Wright, mayor of Brockville, Ontario.

W. H. Kyle, chairman of the public utilities of Brockville, Ontario.

G. H. Bryson, city engineer of Brockville, Ontario.

Dr. A. J. Macauley, medical health officer of Brockville, Ontario.

J. R. A. Lang, member of the council of Brockville, Ontario.

J. E. Chrysler, member of the council of Brockville, Ontario.

C. J. Sheriff, member of the council of Brockville, Ontario.

George K. Dewey, city clerk of Brockville, Ontario.

F. S. Evanson, mayor of Prescott, Ontario.

R. R. Dowsley, superintendent of the water and light system of Prescott, Ontario.

G. F. Darrow, chairman of the water board of Ogdensburg, N. Y.

Andrew Irving, chairman of the board of public works of Ogdensburg, N. Y.

Frank Chapman, member of the board of commissioners of Ogdensburg, N. Y.

Mr. GARDNER. We will first call on the mayor of Brockville.

STATEMENT OF MR. GEORGE A. WRIGHT, MAYOR OF BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO.

Mr. WRIGHT. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I shall have very little to say, personally. We have with us our city engineer and medical health officer, who will be able to give you whatever information you require and to ask for whatever information we ourselves desire. It is needless to say that we are very much interested in this question. Pure water has been a big problem with us in the town of Brockville. Within a year we have suffered severely from impure water. Therefore we are looking at the present time for ways and means to secure a supply of pure water. We have been dealing with the question of filtration, but the matter has not been definitely settled by us yet.

As to the disposal of our sewage, our civic officers will give you information regarding that. I do not think it is necessary for me to take up any more of your time than to introduce to you, first, our medical health officer, Dr. Macauley.

Mr. GARDNER. You obtain your water from the St. Lawrence River, do you?

Mr. WRIGHT. We take our drinking water from the St. Lawrence River and discharge our sewage into it.

Mr. MIGNAULT. Do you discharge your sewage into the St. Lawrence River treated or untreated?

Mr. WRIGHT. Untreated.

Mr. TAWNEY. You said that you had suffered severely from impure water within the last year. Will you kindly state what your experience was in that regard?

Mr. WRIGHT. We had a typhoid epidemic about a year ago.

Mr. TAWNEY. How large an epidemic did you have in your town?

Mr. WRIGHT. We had about 180 cases.

Mr. TAWNEY. What is the population of Brockville?

Mr. WRIGHT. About 10,000.

Mr. TAWNEY. How many deaths were there?

Mr. WRIGHT. Fourteen.

Mr. GARDNER. Was that the first instance of typhoid that you had?

Mr. WRIGHT. It was the first epidemic. We had a break in one of our pipes, which I think had something to do with the cause of it.

Mr. TAWNEY. Did you trace the source of the epidemic to the pollution in the river water?

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes.

Mr. POWELL. What is the cause of your pollution?

Mr. WRIGHT. We think the sewage is the cause.

Mr. POWELL. Sewage from where?

Mr. WRIGHT. From the town of Brockville. Of course, as I stated, there was a break in our sewage pipe which permitted the contamination.

Mr. POWELL. Is the source of your intake farther upstream?

Mr. WRIGHT. It is above our sewage outlet; yes, sir.

Mr. MIGNAULT. How far above?

Mr. WRIGHT. Not a great distance, but much farther out in the river. The town engineer will be able to give you that information.

Mr. POWELL. If your intake is farther upstream than the outlet of the sewage, how can the sewage be responsible for the trouble?

Mr. WRIGHT. We have a considerable eddy. On account of the eddy in the river we occasionally find sewage above the town.

Mr. POWELL. That is the town’s own sewage?

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes. We find that the river there is contaminated, and we find a great deal of difficulty in obtaining any samples of pure water in the river anywhere in the neighborhood of the town.

Mr. POWELL. Are there many shoals in the river which cause a deflection of the current?

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes; there are a great many shoals.

Mr. POWELL. That leads to a mixture of the waters on both banks?

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes.

Mr. MIGNAULT. Is there any sewage in the river above Brockville?

Mr. WRIGHT. There are some small summer resorts above the town, and I understand that a limited amount of sewage goes in from them.

Mr. POWELL. How far is it from Brockville to Gananoque?

Mr. WRIGHT. A little over 30 miles. We do not feel that we are contaminated from Gananoque, though.

Mr. POWELL. I suppose you have never made an investigation to see whether you are or not?

Mr. WRIGHT. No.

Mr. MAGRATH. You would rather have those questions directed to your health officer, would you not?

Mr. WRIGHT. I think so. I will ask our health officer, Dr. Macauley, to take the floor now.

STATEMENT OF DR. A. J. MACAULEY, MEDICAL HEALTH OFFICER OF BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO.

Mr. GARDNER. What is your official position, Dr. Macauley?

Dr. MACAULEY. I am medical health officer of Brockville.

Mr. GARDNER. How long have you occupied that position?

Dr. MACAULEY. About 15 years.

Mr. GARDNER. What has been your observation in regard to the water supply for the city of Brockville?

Dr. MACAULEY. The water supply, the untreated water, for years has been found to be impure. It is much more impure now than it was some years ago, but we have always found colon bacilli in the water.

Mr. GARDNER. In your opinion, does it increase in amount as the time goes on?

Dr. MACAULEY. It certainly has increased.

Mr. POWELL. To what do you attribute the increase?

Dr. MACAULEY. I suppose it is the pollution. There is a constant emptying of sewers into the water all the way up. As you will find by investigation, the St. Lawrence River is polluted all the way up, even above the towns where the summer resorts are.

Mr. MIGNAULT. There are a large number of boats that ply on the river, are there not?

Dr. MACAULEY. There are a great many boats; I could not say as to the number.

Mr. MIGNAULT. I suppose the islands and the riparian communities are increasing in population, and the increase in sewage would be the logical result?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes, sir.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you ever made any independent examinations?

Dr. MACAULAY. Examinations have been made by our board. They are made every week. I think from four to six samples a week are analyzed, and the raw water is now found to be constantly polluted.

Mr. TAWNEY. Have you a water-filtration plant?

Dr. MACAULEY. We have not. We chlorinate our water by gas chlorination.

Mr. POWELL. What would be the average summer contamination, expressed in colon bacilli?

Dr. MACAULEY. We find colon bacilli practically constant in 5 to 10 cubic centimeters.

Mr. GARDNER. Do you notice any difference in the amount of pollution in winter and summer?

Dr. MACAULEY. I think it is practically the same; perhaps it may be a little higher in the summer season.

Mr. MIGNAULT. What have you done locally to remedy the situation, Dr. Macauley?

Dr. MACAULEY. Our epidemic was due to an accident. The intake pipe we have now extends 700 feet out into the St. Lawrence from the dock, but the one we had before extended only a little over 100 feet into the river. There is an eddy that flows down to Picketts Point right below Brockville, and it goes right straight up back along the shore; but our sewage pipe extends about 900 feet down and about 800 feet from the shore. In December about two years ago a boat anchor got a hold of the sewer pipe down below our intake pipe and opened it about 200 feet from shore. It made an opening in the joint of the pipe, and we got the pollution from the sewage into the intake pipe. That is undoubtedly what caused the epidemic. When that was remedied the epidemic stopped.

Our water is chlorinated. We use about 100 pounds of hypochloride to 3,000,000 gallons of water. It is put in as an equivalent, because we use gas instead of the chlorine.

Mr. GARDNER. Have you more than one outlet to your sewage discharge?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes; we have. We have an outlet at the western end of the town. Our engineer will give you the capacity of that outlet. Our main outlet is below the town and also below our intake pipe.

Mr. POWELL. Your system of piping is a series of small pipes, is it not?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes; but there is a trunk sewer.

Mr. POWELL. How large are those pipes?

Dr. MACAULEY. The engineer can give you that information.

Mr. POWELL. Dr. Macauley, on which side of the river is the riparian population increasing most rapidly, on the United States or the Canadian side?

Dr. MACAULEY. I think it is increasing most rapidly on the Canadian side; perhaps not in the summer resorts; there is quite a large population on the islands, but principally on the American side. The population is increasing very rapidly each year.

Mr. POWELL. When you say on the Canadian side do you mean exclusive of Brockville?

Dr. MACAULEY. Well, they are increasing every year.

Mr. POWELL. As rapidly as on the American side?

Dr. MACAULEY. I do not think so with respect to the summer resorts, because the majority of the islands are on the American side.

Mr. POWELL. What is the density of the population during the time that the summer residents are there?

Dr. MACAULEY. I could scarcely tell you that.

Mr. POWELL. I want to get the floating population passing from one side to the other.

Dr. MACAULEY. I could not give you that information. There is a great deal of pollution undoubtedly from the boats.

Mr. MIGNAULT. There is quite a large summer population on the islands?

Dr. MACAULEY. There is, particularly this summer.

Mr. MIGNAULT. You do not make provision for letting the surface water of the city pass into your sewerage system, do you?

Dr. MACAULEY. Partially it does; but it enters the St. Lawrence by a separate pipe.

Mr. GARDNER. How many cases of typhoid fever do you think developed in consequence of the sewage pollution in your water supply?

Dr. MACAULEY. At that time?

Mr. GARDNER. Yes; that is approximately how many cases?

Dr. MACAULEY. There is no doubt that the breaking of the intake pipe was practically the cause of the epidemic. We have had too high a typhoid content always until the water was heavily chlorinated. We have chlorinated our water since 1910.

Mr. GARDNER. Previous to that time did you have an epidemic of typhoid?

Dr. MACAULEY. We had in 1909 a slight epidemic. There were, perhaps, 25 or 30 cases. I could not give you the exact number now. We had none in 1910. The dredging that was being done along the river front was practically the cause of the epidemic. We have never been as free from typhoid as we were this last summer. We have never had any cases that we could trace to the water since it has been highly chlorinated. Still our water is always suspicious, and if anything went wrong with the chlorination plant we would surely have typhoid.

Mr. MIGNAULT. At the time of the last epidemic the water was chlorinated?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes; but it was not chlorinated highly enough. We practically got sewage into our water pipe.

Mr. POWELL. I suppose there was too great a burden thrown on your chlorinating system?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes.

Mr. POWELL. In the official circles of your city has the question of purification of your sewage ever been mooted or discussed?

Dr. MACAULEY. Not of our sewage. We have been for some time agitating very seriously the question of putting in a filtration plant.

Mr. POWELL. That is for your water for consumption?

Dr. MACAULEY. Yes.

Mr. POWELL. But what about the sewage?

Dr. MACAULEY. The sewage is never treated.

Mr. MAGRATH. Have any demands been made upon you by the public-health service of Ontario to improve your system?

Dr. MACAULEY. We have been notified that the time would come when we would have to do that. We are trying to get our filtration plant in. We thought last year that we practically had it.

Mr. POWELL. You would look after your water and let the other fellow look after the sewage?

Dr. MACAULEY. Self-preservation first, always.