Sewage Pollution
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57TH CONGRESS, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. \ DOCUMENT 1st Session. \ } No. 691. Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 72 Series L, Quality of Water, 3 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEKIOK UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR SEWAGE POLLUTION METROPOLITAN AREA NEAR NEW YORK CITY ITS EFFECT ON INLAND WATER RESOURCES MARSHALL ORA LEIGHTON WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1902 CONTENTS. Letter of transmittaL --__________..__.___._._._.________._._._.--_...-._. 6 Normal waters. _----_____.___.___________.._ ........_.--.---....-. ...... 7 Polluted waters.... _____________________________________________________ 9 Raritan River._______ ________________ _.____________.___..__---.-.-.--.. 11 Tributaries of the Raritan.________.______________--..---.----..-.--._ 13 South River. ................................................... 13 North Branch of Raritan River ___-_.._-.--.._-_- ...-.---.-...-. 13 South Branch of Raritan River.....-...--.-.-..--..---.-------.-. 14 Pollution in Raritan River _____ _____._.._.________-.-._-.--.._-_._ 14 Passaic River -.................._........................................ 15 Tributaries of the Passaic...______ ....................-----.-.-.--.- 18 Saddle River_................................................... 19 Ramapo River. _____ .___:_____._______________ ............. ...... 19 Wanaque River...._........................................._... 21 Pequanac River ______________________ ..............--...----..-. 22 Rockaway River,..........._..................................-. 24 Whippany River.________________ __,___.._...__.____________-.__ 25 Pollution of Passaic River system .................................... 25 Value of Passaic River system and its modification by pollution....... 30 Water power and water supply .___...._.._-_.._____..-____-_-___ 30 Ice industry .____.____.___.._...____.___.___ ................... 32 Fish............................................................. 33 Realty values _______________ ___._____________.._-...-._._...____ 33 Summary._____.____..._.__.._....____.__..-_-.._--...___-______. 33 Hudson River.............. ............._............----.--..--.-.--.-. 34 Eastern tributaries..... --.-__._____._-_---._----.----.-_- .._.._---.. 40 Western tributaries._.-...--._._......_---.------_.----.----.--_----- 43 Rondout Creek and Wallkill River ..............-.-------.---._.- 44 Esopus Creek _____ ._..._______ _ _ _. ...... .. .-......------.-.. 45 Catskill Creek.... ..................................... ........ 46 Mohawk River........................ __.____...-_.-.__---__..__ 46 Tributaries of the Mohawk .. ...._..._..__._--.-..._...-----. 50 Anthony Kill ............................. .... ............... 58 FishCreek.................. ..... _. ........................... 58 Damage to water resources of Hudson River system by pollution...... 60 Water power................. .. .. .....__......_... ........... 61 Ice ................................. ......................... -. 61 Water supply..-.-........- .......-.-..-.-.-..-..-..---.--.-..-. 64 Realty values..........--...........------.--.--.--.------.--..-. 69 Index...................... ... ..... ..... ..................... ... 73 3 ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE I. A. Along the Passaic; B, Great Falls at Paterson, N. J --------- 16 II. A, Great Falls of the Passaic from the crest; B, Passaic River below Great Falls at Paterson.._-...----..----.-.-.---------- 18 III. A, Dundee dam, which holds back and concentrates the sewage from Paterson; B, Dundee Canal-..------.-. __-----...----.- 20 IV. A, Greenwood Lake, head of Wanaque River; B, Dam at Maco- pin intake, Newark water supply .--.---------.--- -_--.___--- 22 V. A. Poughkeepsie, N. Y., the head of salt-water influence on the Hudson; B, Delaware and Hudson Canal terminus, Rondout, N. Y ......................................................... 34 VI. A, A lake in the Catskill Mountains at the head of the Catskill River, New York; B, Winnisook Lake...--....-----.--------- 46 VII. A, Ausable River, New York; B, Devasego Falls, Schoharie River, New York-.----.---------_-----------_ -..-.--------- 50 VIII. Log jam in Adirondack Brook, New York _._---_____----._--.-- 68 FIG. 1. Profile of Passaic River..__.................-..--.....-----....-- 15 2. Discharge of Mohawk River at Rexford Flats, N\ Y., 1898-1900.... 47 3. Discharge of Mohawk River at Little Falls, N. Y., 1898-1900...... 48 4. Diagram showing extent of pollution at various places along Mo hawk River.._._-.---__.-___.__.________-.---------_-----_----- 49 5 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, ' Washington, D. C., May &£, 1902. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript by Mr. Marshall O. Leighton, relating to sewage pollution in the metropolitan area, and to request that it be published in the series of Water-Supply ( and Irrigation Papers. In an investigation of the water resources of the country it becomes necessary in the thickly settled portions to give consideration not merely to the quantity of water and its fluctu ations, but also to the quality, and to the changes that are taking place owing to the presence of various industries. The best methods of utilizing the water resources of the country are dependent not only upon geologic and topographic features, but also upon what has been termed cultural conditions, the latter embracing I all of the changes brought about by man. The accompanying discus sion by Mr. Leighton relates to a portion of the most thickly settled ( part of the United States, and shows that water resources may be so misused that streams which in their natural condition were useful and ; attractive may be rendered obnoxious and made sources of loss to the | community. j Very respectfully, F. H. NEWELL, Hydrographer in Charge. Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director United States Geological Survey. SEWAGE POLLUTION IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA NEAR NEW YORK CITY AND ITS EFFECT ON INLAND WATER RESOURCES. By MARSHALL O. LEIGHTON. NORMAL WATERS. In a primeval country, undisturbed by the advance of civilization, where there are no houses, barns, or factories, the water that flows from a drainage basin may be said to be normal. This, however, does not mean that the water is chemically pure. The water of precipita tion or rainfall, which is the origin of all surface waters, takes three courses, the proportion carried along each depending upon many physical characters and conditions. There is, first, that which is evaporated or absorbed by vegetation; second, that which runs off the ground directly into water courses; and third, that which sinks into the ground and reappears in various well-known ways after having filtered through the earth. The character of the water is markedly influenced by the ingre dients which it takes up along these courses, and therefore chemically pure water is seldom found in nature. Water that runs along the earth's surface directly into natural water courses carries in suspen sion a large quantity of fine particles which lie in its way vegetable matter in a state of complete disintegration, organic matter in various stages of oxidation, minute particles of sand and mineral matter from the earth, and large quantities of silt. On the other hand, water that sinks into the ground leaves behind, in the majority of cases, these suspended particles, but when it reappears it carries in solution the soluble mineral constituents of the earth through which it has passed, and, if it then contains any dissolved organic matter it is usually in an advanced state of oxidation. Water thus discharged from drainage areas is by no means uniform in composition, nor is it of the same nature in the same area during a series of examinations. Run-off water varies in character according to the amount of precipitation, the 7 8 SEWAGE POLLUTION NEAR NEW YORK CITY. [NO. 72. season of the year and consequent state of vegetation, the extremes of temperature, the nature and slope of the surface of the land, and many other physical conditions, varying familiarly from season to season. During the season of copious rains it is observed that water from a drainage area carries along more sediment than during seasons of normal precipitation, and analysis would show that the organic matter contained in the water is in larger proportion. At the close of the warm season, during which vegetation has been flourishing, there is much less decayed and dried vegetable matter to be carried along than during the spring season, after the winter has destroyed the tender growth of the previous summer. Again, during the warm season there is a larger proportion of precipitation absorbed by vegetation and evaporated. The season is also a factor in determining the condition of water in countries in which snow covers the ground for a part of the year. During the time of snow the water which during warm seasons would be immediately diverted to its accustomed channels is retained upon the surface of the earth, to be evaporated by prevailing winds or to be melted quickly upon the approach of spring. The slope and the nature of the surface of the land are important factors in determining the character of surface waters. Where sur faces are steep and smooth a large proportion of water runs directly into streams, and with it a great amount of sediment, while upon most flat surfaces nearly all the precipitation not directly evaporated sinks into the ground. Between the steep, smooth surfaces and the flat ones there are many gradations, each