Charles A. Magrath

“ Here in the Niagara River we have 60 times as much water to absorb the sewage, and it has more than 100 times the value on account of the tremendous current that forces the sewage up to the surface and utilizes the oxygen in the air to purify it long before it reaches those cities.
I would like to ask whether the question of the pollution of the Niagara River as it is considered by you is not entirely from the standpoint of the health of the people on both sides of the line, not only as to the odors that come from it, but also as a drinking proposition ”

“ Here it is a question of international boundary streams; but what is there so sacred or so holy about international streams that they are different from the Mississippi River, where they encourage the introduction of all the Chicago sewage and everything into the river? There are millions of inhabitants on that river who take that water for drinking purposes, where here we are expected to spend two or three millions for sewage treatment, for the benefit of whom? On the American side they have the chlorine proposition, which has reduced the death rate of Niagara Falls. ”

“ I just wish, as a lay citizen, only having the interests of my city at heart, and feeling that the matter of life and health is of greater concern than profit, to urge that you will in your report, as far as it lies in your power, bring to the attention of Congress the really awful condition that exists along our shores, and ask that some measures be taken to remedy something which, if it is not remedied soon, will result in a tremendous loss to the city, which you will be sorry for in later days. ”

“ In reference to the aeration of the water, the Niagara Falls is the finest sanitation plant that could possibly be built—far better than any sanitation plant that could be built—for chemical treatment or otherwise, because the air is thoroughly distributed all through the water that comes down. The water becomes atomized, and the aeration of that water absolutely purifies it. ”

“ I think we are drifting away from the subject matter. There is no question the commission has come to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that a condition of affairs exists on the Niagara frontier that must be remedied; that the evil results of depositing sewage on one bank of the stream is felt on the other side of the boundary line, more particularly that which comes from the United States than the Canadian. We are here having gone to great expense in the formulation by our experts of schemes for the solution of this difficulty. ”

“ The sludge, however, which we return and keep intimately mixed with the sewage at all times is perhaps the chief medium of purification, because that sludge is filled with microorganisms and nitrifying organisms, which really do the purification work, and that is the reason that it is called activated sludge, because it is so filled with the nitrifying organisms, and the more active the sludge is the more rapid and higher degrees of purification you secure. ”

“ It is the claim of the complainants that the emptying of the large amount of sewage produced in Grand Rapids into the river contaminates its waters and fills them with impurities which are carried down the stream as it flows to, and into, or through the village; that, as the water goes down, the substances and impurities which are in it, due to the sewage, whether visible or invisible, are left upon the surface of the ground, and there decomposition creates such odors as to constitute a public nuisance in the village. ”

“ At Trenton filtration of the public water supply and a general sewerage system which will properly sewer the entire village and carry the sewage to a point well below the water intake are the essential measures immediately necessary for the proper safeguarding of the public health. As Trenton is the farthermost downstream community of importance, we do not feel that a treatment plant is necessary at the present time. However, we shall insist on a design for the sewerage system which will contemplate treatment of the sewage should such treatment become necessary in the future. ”

“ If there were a drainage canal built from the city of Buffalo to Lake Ontario, it would carry only about 6,000 cubic feet per second under the treaty, and that is one-fortieth of the amount going through Niagara River at a tremendous rate of speed. The necessity for this tremendous expenditure is, I think, overestimated. I think when the drinking water of all those cities is provided for the expense will be absolutely nil. The water, as it absorbs the sewage in the drainage canal at Chicago, has its purification entirely through the free oxygen that is in the drainage canal as it passes along. ”

“ The fact that any one community has been able to get pure water and avoid sickness does not change the matter at all; if they are dumping their sewage into the boundary water it is the duty of this commission to ascertain the facts and report them to the Governments. If the Governments accept the remedies that the commission finally submits to them for adoption there will not, I apprehend, be any discrimination between communities; they will all be treated alike. ”

“ If you can not use Lake Erie water, and if Niagara River must be used for drinking only after treatment, then I will acknowledge it is absolutely necessary to do something in reference to this pollution, but if it is possible to use the Lake Erie water in Canadian towns without this expense, it seems to me it is wise to do it; at least, for the immediate situation. When a great city is found on the Canadian side and they must draw their water from the Niagara River for drinking purposes, then it is time to take action. ”

“ To show you the activity of that sludge, we got the raw sewage, perhaps a million bacteria per cubic centimeter, in the first aerating tank, within half an hour; the sludge contains anywhere from fifteen to twenty million bacteria per cubic centimeter. In this sludge we give the bacteria the natural environments for their work. We give them food, lodging, and air, and that is just exactly what aerobic bacteria need, and the desire is to have intensified the aerobic bacteria, which we have at all times when the plant is being properly operated. ”

“ It is neither necessary to stand still nor to fix a criterion that is good forever. The way in which those things are handled by the departments of health in the States, and I presume in Dr. McCullough’s department, is that a given project is acted upon at a given time with the light that the people then have, but frequently there are clauses which say that if at any time it appears that the works are not adequate, or something else is required, the right is reserved to the governing body to stipulate further requirements. ”

“ Paterson. I do not think so, because of the nature of the by-products. Take this continent, and you import an enormous amount of sulphate of ammonia. The recovery of nitrogen is one of the problems which the United States Government has taken up within the last year. We have to have nitrogen, and you can not get it much cheaper than you can out of sewage, because you have to get rid of the sewage anyway. I do not think that nitrogen will ever depreciate in value. They are trying to take it from the air to-day, and have been fairly successful. ”

“ Did you ever have studies made as to sewage treatment in Brockville?
Dr. Macauley. No; I think not; not for Brockville especially.
Mr. Magrath. It is just your water supply that you are contemplating improving?
Dr. Macauley. At the present time that is all. We know that we shall have to improve the other in time. No doubt it is dangerous. ”

“ If it is true of Cincinnati, it is a thousand times more true of Niagara Falls, a city of 50,000 people, and the Niagara River, whose flow is perhaps five or six times the dry-weather flow of the Ohio River; and not only that, but through the gorge and rapids the tendency is to very thoroughly mix the sewage and the water of Niagara River to such an extent that at no time would there be any bad odor coming off from the water. ”

“ Well, the relative advantages of long interceptors compared with small unit plants is all a question of finance coupled with some question of real estate development policy, but, of course, with any large body of water directly in front of a long community the place to which the sewage must go is that body of water. The most direct means is generally the most economical means, and the measure of cost of a number of plants compared with the cost of an interceptor is what is needed to find out whether the interceptor is advisable or not. ”

“ Clinton; and the municipalities, especially Buffalo and Detroit, must have been studying the subject from the international standpoint, fully realizing, no doubt, that the time has come when they must cease using these rivers as open sewers and make some other provision for sewage disposal. It is not the desire of the commission to make arbitrary recommendations to the two Governments without conferring with the municipalities in order to get their views and to recommend that which is feasible and also desirable within their financial ability to comply with. ”

“ The water of the Detroit River was considered the finest in the world for drinking purposes. The city was comparatively small as considered to its population of to-day; the tonnage was small as compared with what it is to-day; but with the increase of this tonnage and the increase of population, together with the fact that vessels have been built in the past few years of heavy draft, it has been utterly impossible for nature to take care of what it would ordinarily take care of in the matter of pollution. ”

“ We can hardly advance any further without one, but we do not want to be hampered by any particular way of arriving at any desired result. As to whether we will adopt two hours’ sedimentation and Imhoff tanks, or a different type of tank, and one, two, or four hours’ sedimentation is a question that requires study for each separate municipality. It will depend upon the character of the local sewage. And with the developments that are taking place in sewage disposal it is quite conceivable that half an hour’s sedimentation may be a practical limit, with some particular type of tank. ”

“ Mr. Powell. About what is the cost of horsepower? What is the cost to you people?
Mr. Hatton. I say it costs us seventy-seven one-hundredths of a cent per kilowatt hour, and horsepower is about three-quarters of a kilowatt in round numbers—six-tenths of a cent, I should say.
Mr. Mignault. Is there any nuisance resulting from the drying process?
Mr. Hatton. No. The gases must be washed, and then after passing through the washer are taken into the plant itself—into the liquor, and the liquor is a deodorizer; so there is no odor arises from the cooking of the sludge, as we call it. ”

“ My personal opinion is that in general they should not. If the city wishes to take advantage of any of the newer processes of sewage purification and can save money thereby, we say Godspeed. We want you to do it. The commission wants to accomplish and is obliged to accomplish certain things, and it wants to see those things accomplished in the most economical manner. On the other hand, I think the gentleman who last raised this question had in mind the proposed drainage canal. That would, of course, accomplish all that is desired so far as the Niagara River is concerned. ”

“ While it is always desirable to get one point to dispose of your sewage, where the cost is considerable for intercepting sewers to get at that one point it is better to divide up those numbers of points, providing you can do so without nuisance and at less cost than the intercepting sewers, and with this process it can be built and operated in the heart of the city without any nuisance arising. ”

“ They are rather getting away from lime precipitation on account of its cost, but, on the other hand, where they have it for a fertilizer they are getting the value back that they paid for their lime to a very large degree, and possibly they are making a profit out of it. There is no doubt that lime does give more rapid precipitation, and it has its advantages, but it does not affect the solids for treatment or the by-products that you get from the solids. ”

“ In the Province of Ontario the provincial board of health has control of the establishment of waterworks and water-purification works, sewage works, and sewage-disposal works of all kinds. No water plant can be established by any municipality or by any individual for public use unless the consent and approval of the provincial board of health, to which body all plans must be supplied, is obtained. ”