Final Report 
 
 OF TUB 
 
 international Joint Commission 
 
 Washington- Ottawa 
 1918 
 
FINAL REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 International Joint Commission 
 
 On the 
 
 Pollution of Boundary Waters 
 Reference 
 
 v 
 
 Washington-Ottawa 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1918 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 DAVIS 
 
INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 OBADIAH GARDNER, CHAIBMAN. 
 JAMES A. TAWNEY. 
 R. B. GLENN. 
 
 WHITEHEAD KLUTTZ, Secretary. 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 CHARGES A. MAGRATH, CHAIRMAN. 
 HENRY A. POWELL, K. C. 
 P. B. MIGNAULT, K. C. 
 
 LAWBENCE J. BUEPEE, Secretary. 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10, 1918. 
 
 SIR: We have the honor to inclose herewith the Final Eeport of 
 the International Joint Commission in the matter of the reference 
 of August 1, 1912, submitted by the Governments of the United 
 States and of the Dominion of Canada, under the provisions of 
 Article IX of the treaty of January 11, 1909, between the United 
 States and Great Britain. 
 We have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servants, 
 
 WHITEHEAD KLUTTZ, 
 LAWRENCE J. BURPEE, 
 
 Secretaries. 
 The honorable the SECRETARY OF STATE, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 3 
 
FINAL REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION IN 
 THE MATTER OF THE REFERENCE BY THE UNITED STATES 
 AND THE DOMINION OF CANADA RELATIVE TO THE POLLU- 
 TION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Under the terms of Article IX of the treaty of January 11, 1909, 
 between the United States and Great Britain, the following ques- 
 tions were submitted by the Governments of the United States and of 
 the Dominion of Canada to the International Joint Commission 
 under date of August 1, 1912, for examination and report upon the 
 facts and circumstances connected with the pollution of boundary 
 waters, and for such conclusions and recommendations tfs might be 
 appropriate : 
 
 1. To what extent and by what causes and in what localities have the 
 
 boundary waters between the United States and Canada 
 Original reference. been polluted so as to be injurious to the public health and 
 unfit for domestic or other uses? 
 
 2. In what way or manner, whether by the construction and operation of 
 suitable drainage canals or plants at convenient points or otherwise, is it pos- 
 sible and advisable to remedy or prevent the pollution of these waters, and by 
 what means or arrangement can the proper construction or operation of 
 remedial or preventive works, or a system or method of rendering these waters 
 sanitary and suitable for domestic and other uses, be best secured and main- 
 tained in order to insure the adequate protection and development of all 
 interests involved on both sides of the boundary and to fulfil the obligations 
 undertaken in Article IV of the waterways treaty of January 11, 1909, between 
 the United States and Great Britain, in which it is agreed that the waters 
 therein defined as boundary waters and waters flowing across the boundary 
 shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the 
 other? 
 
 The expression "boundary waters" is used in the treaty with 
 Definition of bound- a special meaning, being therein defined as 
 
 ary water*. f olloWS I 
 
 For the purposes of this treaty, boundary waters are defined as the waters 
 from main shore to main shore of the lakes and rivers and connecting water- 
 ways, or the portions thereof, along which the international boundary between 
 the United States and the Dominion of Canada passes, including all bays, arms, 
 and inlets thereof, but not including tributary waters which in their natural 
 channels would flow into such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or waters flowing 
 from such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or the waters of rivers flowing across 
 the boundary. 
 
 5 
 
6 FINAL REPORT INTERN ATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 In this report the term " boundary waters " shall have the mean- 
 ing attached to it by the treaty. 
 
 The reference as thus submitted is broad enough to require an 
 
 investigation of all boundary waters as the same 
 
 eretcT dl are defined in the treaty without regard to the 
 
 present or future transboundary effect of their pol- 
 
 lution on either side; but when it first came before the commission 
 
 at its Ottawa meeting in October, 1912, a doubt arose as to whether 
 
 or not the two Governments intended that pollution in all boundary 
 
 waters was to be included in the investigation, and a letter was 
 
 addressed to both Governments requesting an expression of their 
 
 views in such manner as they might deem proper 
 
 As to whether or not the broad scope of the inquiry is to be circumscribed 
 by construction so as to confine the same to cases of pollution of the boundary 
 waters upon one side of the boundary which may extend to and affect the 
 boundary waters upon the other side. 
 
 By letter under date of November 19, 1912, the commission was 
 informed by Mr. Knox, Secretary of State, that the Governments of 
 the United States and Great Britain had 
 
 reached an accord that the inquiry is to be confined to cases of pollution of 
 boundary waters on one side of the boundary which extend to and affect the 
 boundary waters upon the other side. 
 
 The original submission as modified by this limitation constitutes 
 the reference under which the commission is acting. 
 
 The treaty, in addition to prohibiting such pollution of boundary 
 
 waters as would have the effect of injuring health 
 
 omission of pollution or property on the side of the boundary line oppo- 
 
 ln rivers crossing the . J . . J r f 
 
 site to that in which it originates, prohibits the 
 
 pollution of rivers flowing across the boundary 
 line which has an injurious transboundary effect. The first ques- 
 tion omits entirely any reference to pollution in these rivers, al- 
 though it is involved in the second question submitted. The facts 
 connected with pollution in rivers crossing the boundary line, how- 
 ever, call for no special investigation; and the commission regards 
 it as clear that the treatment prescribed in the case of rivers which 
 are boundary waters should be made applicable to them. 
 
 interests and terri- The reference has imposed upon the commission 
 tory affected. grave responsibilities. From the language of the 
 
 submission and this prohibitory clause of the treaty, it is evident that 
 the object which the two Governments had in view in making the 
 reference was to see that their reciprocal obligations with respect to 
 the pollution of those waters should be fulfilled. By the traditions 
 of each country a treaty obligation is of supreme sanctity and is the 
 highest law of the State. Any conclusions the commission may reach 
 and any recommendations it may make, may, if acted upon, affect 
 
POLLUTION OP BOUNDARY WATERS. 7 
 
 the physical health of millions of people who dwell along these 
 waters, as well as the financial and other interests of eight States 
 of the United States and three Provinces of the Dominion. 
 
 The people of both countries possess, in the splendid immensity of 
 the series of waterways through which so much of their common 
 boundary passes, a heritage of inestimable value. Millions of people 
 dwell in their watersheds. Along the banks of the rivers and Great 
 Lakes communities which a few years ago were mere villages are 
 now in population, in social and industrial development, among the 
 most important on the continent. Industries which have suddenly 
 sprung up have an annual output of manufactured products aggre- 
 gating in value $10,000,000,000. Agriculture and mining have kept 
 pace with manufacturing in the line of expansion. According to 
 official information the rural population of the watersheds culti- 
 vate to-day over 100,000,000 acres of land, and the yearly yield of 
 the mines is valued at $300,000,000. The boundary waters are the 
 natural channels of interstate and international commerce. The 
 world possesses no other water thoroughfare comparable with the 
 highway leading from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the head of Lake 
 Superior. While nature left comparatively little for man to do in 
 adapting these waters to commercial needs, canals had to be con- 
 structed at certain points, and rivers, channels, and harbors deep- 
 ened or created. These works involved an expenditure on the part 
 of Canada of $250,000,000 and on the part of the United States of 
 $135,000,000. Vessels drawing 19 or 20 feet can now navigate the 
 Great Lakes from Duluth or Chicago to Buffalo. Some idea of the 
 magnitude of commerce on these waters may be gleaned from the fact 
 that the vessel passages up and down the Detroit River in 1916 
 amounted to 37,852, the registered tonnage of the vessels reaching 
 76,677,264, their passengers, including ferry passengers, numbering 
 15,000,000 and their freight exceeding 100,000,000 tons, valued at 
 something over $1,000,000,000. 
 
 The Thousand Islands and hundreds of other attractive spots 
 along the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, and their connecting 
 waterways, as well as in that splendid chain of boundary waters still 
 farther west which lie within the Lake of the Woods watershed, 
 afford unexcelled opportunities for rest, recreation, and pleasure, 
 which are taken advantage of by a very large floating population 
 during the summer months. 
 
 The directness of the water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the 
 head of Lake Superior, the adaptation to water carriage of the 
 freight borne by the lake boats, and the cheapness with which this 
 freight can be transported by them, the completion of the barge 
 canal from Buffalo to New York, the proposed enlargement of the 
 Welland and other canals along the boundary rivers permitting the 
 
8 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 passage of vessels of 28 or 29 feet draft from the ocean to the 
 heart of the continent, the future settlement of the great wheat belt 
 of Canada, the fringe only of which has been touched, and the pos- 
 sible utilization of the 3,375,000 dependable horsepower of the 
 boundary rivers, render the conclusion inevitable that the commerce 
 and shipping on these waters and the wealth, the industries, and the 
 population along their banks must in the near future reach dimen- 
 sions far exceeding their present attainment, and may ultimately 
 far surpass any area of similar extent in the world. In working 
 out the enormous possibilities of this vast section of the continent 
 the proper observance of international sanitary requirements will be 
 a most essential factor. 
 
 The first branch of the reference expressly calls for an inquiry 
 
 into three subjects : (1) The location and extent of 
 scope of the inquiry, the pollution of boundary waters, (2) the sources 
 
 from which this pollution is derived, and (3) the 
 localities, if any, in which the pollution has a transboundary effect 
 injurious to health or property. Involved in this last subject is the 
 determination of what is an injury to health or property within the 
 meaning of the reference and of the treaty. The second branch of 
 the reference calls for the recommendation of measures and methods 
 for remedying or preventing existing or future evils. 
 
II. PLAN OF PROCEDURE IN THE INVESTIGATION. 
 
 While the answer to the question in the first branch of the refer- 
 ence covers chiefly matters of fact, the proper pro- 
 "" cedure to be followed in the investigations re- 
 quired the most careful consideration of every- 
 thing involved, of the geographical and experimental limitations 
 that might with advantage be imposed on the scope of the work, of 
 the most suitable form of organization for carrying otit the neces- 
 sarily extensive examinations thoroughly, expedition sly, and eco- 
 nomically, and of the minor details of technique and general pro- 
 cedure. Man}^ of the matters involved called for expert assistance, 
 and the commission enlisted the sympathetic aid and cooperation of 
 sanitary experts, health officials, and others interested in both the 
 United States and Canada in the preparation and carrying out of a 
 plan of procedure. A conference was held at Buffalo on Decem- 
 ber 17, 1912, at which, on the invitation of the commission, the fol- 
 lowing officials and experts were present and participated: Mr. 
 John Thompson, K. C., representing the Dominion Government; 
 Dr. Frederick Montizarnbert, director general of public health for 
 the Dominion of Canada: Dr. Charles A. Hodgetts, medical ad- 
 visor, commission of conservation, Ottawa ; Dr. John A. Amyot, 
 director of laboratories, provincial board of health, Toronto; Dr. 
 J. W. S. McCullough, chief health officer for Ontario; Mr. F. A. 
 Dallyn, C. E., provincial sanitary engineer for the Province of 
 Ontario; Mr. Theodore J. Lafreni&re, sanitary engineer, provincial 
 board of health of Quebec ; Dr. Allan J. McLaughlin, United States 
 Public Health Service, Washington; Hon. George Clinton, Buffalo; 
 Mr. A. H. Seymour, secretary State department of health, Albany; 
 Mr. Theodore Horton, chief engineer, State department of health, 
 Albany; Dr. Edward Clark, medical health officer, State board of 
 health, Buffalo; Mr. George H. Norton, deputy engineer commis- 
 sioner, department of public works, Buffalo; Dr. Francis E. Fronc- 
 zak, health commissioner, Buffalo; Mr. H. A. Whittaker, assistant 
 director, laboratory division, Minnesota State Board of Health; 
 Mr. John W. Hill, State board of health, Cincinnati, Ohio ; Dr. Ed- 
 ward Bartow, director State water survey, Urbana, 111.; Mr. W. M. 
 Mills, president Niagara Frontier Pure Water Conference, North 
 Tonawanda, N. Y. ; Dr. W. G. Palmer, member of the Niagara Pure 
 Water Conference, North Tonawanda; and Mr. Irving L. Pruyn, 
 
 9 
 
10 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 Oneonta, N. Y. Representatives from the health departments of 
 Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, although requested to do 
 so, were unable to attend. 
 
 The conference was organized, Mr. A. H. Seymour, secretary of 
 the New York Department of Health, being appointed chairman, 
 and Dr. Allen J. McLaughlin, of the United States Public Health 
 Service, secretary. 
 
 The commission requested the advice of the conference as to the 
 points in boundary waters where investigations should be made, the 
 general nature of the investigations at these points, and other mat- 
 ters of detail. 
 
 The conclusion was reached that the points of investigation should 
 include Rainy River, St. Marys River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, 
 Niagara River, the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to a 
 point as far below the international boundary line as should be 
 thought necessary, the lake waters in the vicinity of Port Arthur, 
 Fort William, and Duluth, the lower end of Lake Huron in the 
 vicinity of Sarnia and Port Huron, the western end of Lake Erie in 
 the vicinity of Cleveland and Port Stanley, the eastern and western 
 ends of Lake Ontario, and sections of the latter lake at Rochester and 
 Toronto. It was contemplated that other points on the boundary 
 outside of the Great Lakes system should be examined if subsequently 
 deemed desirable. 
 
 The conference further advised the commission that the investiga- 
 tion should include a bacteriological examination of samples taken, 
 including the bacterial count, the qualitative and quantitative esti- 
 mation of B. coli according to standard methods, and such chemical 
 examination as might subsequently be deemed necessary. 
 
 In February, 1913, a detailed plan for conducting the investiga- 
 tion in its entirety was adopted, and Dr. Allan J. 
 In " McLaughlin was employed as chief sanitary expert 
 and director of field work. With him the commis- 
 sion associated Dr. J. W. S. McCullough, Dr. John A. Amyot, and 
 Mr. F. A. Dallyn, C. E. For the sake of convenience these four 
 gentlemen will hereinafter be referred to as " the sanitary experts." 
 
 The carrying out of the adopted plan involved what is probably the 
 most extensive bacteriological examination of waters the world has 
 ever known. It embraced Rainy River, parts of Rainy Lake, parts 
 of Lake of the Woods, Thunder Bay in Lake Superior, St. Marys 
 River, Mud Lake, Detour Passage, lower Lake Huron, St. Clair 
 River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, the western end of Lake Erie, 
 the central portion of Lake Erie, the eastern end of Lake Erie, 
 Niagara River, the western and eastern portions of Lake Ontario, 
 the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to Cornwall, and the St. 
 John River so far as it forms the international boundary. The num- 
 
POLLUTION" OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 
 
 11 
 
 ber of sampling points exceeded 1,500, and the number of samples 
 collected at them was over 18,000. The following table shows the 
 location of the laboratories, the waters examined, the dates of the 
 examination, the number of sampling points, and the total number 
 of samples : 
 
 Date. 
 
 Waterway. 
 
 Location of laboratories. 
 
 Num- 
 ber of 
 sample 
 points. 
 
 Total 
 number 
 samples. 
 
 1913. 
 July 8-22 
 
 Rainy River 
 
 Fort Frances, Ont 
 
 192 
 
 955 
 
 July 28- August 15 
 
 Lake Superior (Thunder 
 
 Port Arthur, Ont 
 
 66 
 
 922 
 
 June 28- July 16 
 
 Bay). 
 Lake Superior, St. Marys 
 
 Sault Ste. Marie, Mich 
 
 104 
 
 1,065 
 
 July 25- August 25 
 
 River. 
 Lake Huron. St. Clair River. 
 
 
 142 
 
 1,606 
 
 
 LakeSt Clair Detroit River 
 
 Windsor, Ont 
 
 174 
 
 1 755 
 
 
 Detroit River Lake Erie 
 
 A mherstburg, Ont 
 
 114 
 
 1,306 
 
 
 Lake Erie Port Stanley 
 
 Windsor, Ont 
 
 51 
 
 214 
 
 May 26-June 17 
 
 Lake Erie Niagara River. .. 
 
 Fort Erie, Ont 
 
 133 
 
 1,375 
 
 May 27 June 12 . 
 
 Niagara River 
 
 Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont . 
 
 59 
 
 840 
 
 April 10-May 23 
 
 Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence 
 
 Kingston, Ont 
 
 113 
 
 928 
 
 May 23- August 27 
 
 River. 
 St Clair River, Lake St. 
 
 Detroit, Mich 
 
 70 
 
 1,812 
 
 June 12-July 23 
 
 Clair, Detroit River, Lake 
 Erie. 
 Lake Erie 
 
 U. S. revenue cutter "Mor- 
 
 20 
 
 480 
 
 May 12 July 29 
 
 Lake Erie, Niagara River 
 
 rill." 
 Buffalo, N. Y 
 
 60 
 
 1,624 
 
 
 Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence 
 
 Clayton, N. Y 
 
 32 
 
 482 
 
 
 River, 
 St John River 
 
 Van Buren, Me 
 
 32 
 
 672 
 
 July 3- August 13 
 
 Lake Huron, Sr. Clair River . 
 
 Port Huron, Mich 
 
 45 
 
 720 
 
 
 Niagara River-Lake Ontario 
 
 Youngstown, N. Y 
 
 42 
 
 338 
 
 
 St. Lawrence River 
 
 Montreal, Quebec 
 
 8 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Points for the collection of samples were carefully located, but 
 positions which might show exceptional pollution at sewer outlets 
 were avoided, except in certain cases where information touching 
 them was desired for special reasons. Owing to the extraordinary 
 amount of navigation on these waters, fixed buoys were not feasible 
 for the purposes of locating sample collection points and the work 
 was carried on by a time and course method, the samples being col- 
 lected at prescribed time intervals and along definite courses laid 
 down on the charts of the waters. In swift-running water, as in the 
 Niagara, Detroit, and St. Clair Rivers, diagonal courses were neces- 
 sary in order to give some length to the cross sections and allow 
 sufficient time intervals between the taking of the samples. The 
 various field parties were all furnished with United States War 
 Department maps showing a great deal of the topography of the 
 areas under investigation, and also with copies of the sewer maps 
 for the adjacent municipalities. 
 
 In addition to the examination at these points, samples were col- 
 lected to show the relation between local situations and municipal 
 water supplies and to ascertain the character and extent of the pol- 
 lution which might be due to vessels navigating boundary waters. 
 Both surface and deep samples were simultaneously taken at certain 
 
12 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 points in the St. Clair, Detroit, and Niagara Elvers in order to 
 determine the effect of stratification. While some situations show 
 definite stratification, it may be accepted in interpreting the results 
 that for the waters under investigation surface samples measure 
 directly the extent of bacterial pollution. 
 
 The investigations were essentially bacteriological and the work 
 was continued at each sample-collection point during a period of 
 time sufficient to observe the quality of water, irrespective of minor 
 variations. 
 
 Besides this bacterial examination, some float and temperature 
 observations were made and inquiries were carried 
 other data collected. t on and data collected and compiled as to area, 
 population, location of water-supply intakes, quan- 
 tity of sewage discharged, for each of the several municipalities in 
 the areas under investigation. 
 
 Meteorological data relative to the several points of investigation 
 for the periods of examination were furnished by the meteorological 
 departments of the United States and Canada, and the State and 
 provincial health bodies assiduously supplied the commission with 
 such vital statistics as were available. From these statistics the 
 death rate from typhoid fever per 100,000 has been computed for 
 each of the municipalities either abstracting water from or draining 
 into the boundary waters. 
 
 The immense amount of information thus gathered and presented 
 to the commission appears in the report of the sanitary experts. 
 Maps were prepared to show the location of sample collection points, 
 and charts and tables to show the bacterial counts, B. coli averages 
 per 100 cubic centimeters for each of the sample collection points, 
 together with the dates of collection and the maximum amounts 
 encountered during the period of examination. This material was 
 published with the progress report of the commission under date of 
 January 16, 1914. 1 
 
 With the object of obtaining information in addition to what had 
 been gathered by the sanitary experts in their ex- 
 haustive investigation, the commission held sittings 
 at many places along the border and took the evi- 
 dence of a large number of people who were acquainted with the 
 insanitary conditions of several of the districts affected by pollution. 
 Members of the commission also personally examined most of the 
 points where pollution was strongly complained of. 
 
 Messrs. Streeter and Powell, as a committee of the commission, 
 took evidence at Buffalo in the month of June, 1913, touching the 
 
 1 Progress report of the International Joint Commission on the reference by the 
 United States and Canada in re the Pollution of Boundary Waters. Including report o/ 
 the sanitary experts. 1914. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 13 
 
 extent of pollution in the Niagara Elver and the effect of this pollu- 
 tion upon the riparian towns on the United States side of the river. 1 
 Subsequently, during the months of September, October, and Novem- 
 ber, 1914, and the months of June and August, 1916, meetings of 
 the commission, at which the pollution of boundary waters was 
 inquired into, were held at a number of places along the Niagara, 
 Detroit, and St. Clair Rivers. 2 ' 3 
 
 In order that the commission should, in a matter of such vital im- 
 portance as was being investigated, know the atti- 
 conference with san- tude of leading exponents of sanitary science, it 
 Yorl/ prepared and submitted a series of questions to a 
 
 number of sanitary engineers of large experience 
 and wide reputation in the United States and Canada, namely : Mr. 
 George W. Fuller, of New York City ; Prof. Earle B. Phelps, of the 
 United States Public Health Service; Mr. George C. Whipple, of 
 Harvard University ; Mr. W. S. Lea, of Montreal ; Mr. T. J. Laf re- 
 niere, of the Provisional Board of Health of Quebec ; and Mr. F. A. 
 Dallyn, of the Provincial Board of Health of Ontario. These six 
 engineers afterwards, on the invitation of the commission, attended 
 a conference with it in the city of New York. 4 They are hereafter 
 referred to as the " advisory engineers." Some days were spent in 
 their examination, but the lengthy testimony they gave was con- 
 densed by them into a resume of 14 points, as follows : 5 
 
 1. Speaking generally, water supplies taken from streams and lakes which 
 
 receive the drainage of agricultural and grazing lands, 
 
 lU-sume of testimony, rural communities, and unsewered towns are unsafe for 
 
 use without purification, but are safe for use if purified. 
 
 2. Water supplies taken from streams and lakes into which the sewage of 
 cities and towns is directly discharged are safe for use after purification, pro- 
 vided that the load upon the purifying mechanism is not too great and that a 
 sufficient factor of safety is maintained, and, further, provided that the plant 
 is properly operated. 
 
 3. As, in general, the boundary waters in their natural state are relatively 
 clear and contain but little organic matter, the best index of pollution now 
 available for the purpose of ascertaining whether a water-purification plant is 
 overloaded is the number of B. coli per 100 cubic centimeters of water expressed 
 as an annual average and determined from a considerable number of confirma- 
 tory tests regularly made throughout the year. 
 
 1 Preliminary report of committee having general supervision of the investigation re- 
 lating to the pollution of boundary waters ; with documents * * * relating to the 
 petitions of the Erie and Ontario Sanitary Canal Co. for permission to divert 6,000 
 second-feet from Lake Erie. 1913. 
 
 2 Hearings of the Intel-national Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of 
 boundary waters between the United States and Canada. 1914. 
 
 8 Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of 
 boundary waters between the United States and Canada. 1916. 
 
 4 Conference with sanitary engineers at New York City, May 26 and 27, 1914. 
 
 B Resume 1 of testimony of consulting sanitary engineers in the matter of the pollution 
 of boundary waters, New York, 1914. 
 
14 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 4. While present information does not permit a definite limit of safe loading 
 of a water-purification plant to be established, it is our judgment that this 
 limit is exceeded if the annual average number of B. coli in the water delivered 
 to the plant is higher than about 500 per 100 cubic centimeters, or if in 0.1 
 cubic centimeter samples of the water B. coli is found 50 per cent of the time. 
 With such a limit the number of B. coli would be less than the figure given 
 during a part of the year and would be exceeded during some periods. 
 
 5. In waterways where some pollution is inevitable and where the ratio of 
 the volume of water to the volume of sewage is so large that no local nuisance 
 can result, it is our judgment that the method of sewage disposal by dilution 
 represents a natural resource and that the utilization of this resource is justi- 
 fiable for economic reasons, provided that an unreasonable burden or responsi- 
 bility is not placed upon any water-purification plant and that no menace to 
 the public health is occasioned thereby. 
 
 6. While realizing that in certain cases the discharge of crude sewage into 
 the boundary waters may be without danger, it is our judgment that effective 
 sanitary administration requires the adoption of the general policy that no 
 untreated sewage from cities or towns shall be discharged into the boundary 
 waters. 
 
 7. The nature of the sewage treatment required should vary according to 
 the local conditions, each community being permitted to take advantage of its 
 situation with respect to local conditions and its remoteness from other com- 
 munities, with the intent that the cost of sewage treatment may be kept reason- 
 ably low. 
 
 8. In general, the simplest allowable method of sewage treatment, such as 
 would be suitable for small communities remote from other communities, should 
 be the removal of the larger suspended solids by screening through a one-fourth 
 inch mesh or by sedimentation. 
 
 9. In general, no more elaborate method of sewage treatment should be re- 
 quired than the removal of the suspended solids by fine screening or by sedi- 
 mentation, or both, followed by chemical disinfection or sterilization of the 
 clarified sewage. Except in the case of some of the smaller streams on the 
 boundary, it is our judgment that such oxidizing processes as intermittent sand 
 filtration and treatment by sprinkling filters, contact beds, and the like, are 
 unnecessary, inasmuch as ample dilution in the lakes and large streams will 
 provide sufficient oxygen for the ultimate destruction of the organic matter. 
 
 10. Disinfection or sterilization of the sewage of a community should be re- 
 quired wherever there is danger of the boundary waters being so polluted that 
 the load on any water-purification plant becomes greater than the limit above 
 mentioned. 
 
 11. It is our opinion that, in general, protection of public water supplies is 
 more economically secured by water purification at the intake than by sewage 
 purification at the sewer outlet, but that under some conditions both water 
 purification and sewage treatment may be necessary. 
 
 12. The bateriological tests which have been made in large numbers under 
 the direction of the International Joint Commission indicate that in most 
 places the pollution of the boundary waters is such as to be a general menace 
 to the public health should the water be used without purification as sources 
 of public water supply or should they be used for drinking purposes by persons 
 traveling in boats. 
 
 13. It is our judgment that the drinking water used on vessels traversing 
 boundary waters should not be taken indiscriminately from the water traversed, 
 unless subjected to adequate purification, but should be obtained preferably 
 from safe sources of supply at the terminals. 
 
POLLUTION OP BOUNDARY WATERS. 15 
 
 14. While recognizing that the direct discharge of fecal matter from boats 
 into the boundary waters may often be without danger, yet in the interest of 
 effective sanitary administration it is our judgment that the indiscriminate dis- 
 charge of unsterilized fecal matter from vessels into the boundary waters 
 should not be permitted. 
 
 These views of the advisory engineers were given after most 
 mature consideration on their part, and not only have they been 
 of great assistance to the commission in arriving at the conclusions 
 and recommendations expressed in this report, but their thorough- 
 ness and exhaustiveness have been recognized by scientists on this 
 continent and in Europe, frequent applications having been made to 
 the commission for copies of both the testimony and the resume. 
 
 It was necessary that the commission should form some reliable 
 estimate of the cost of installing the requisite 
 remedial works, and it determined to carry on its 
 investigations in such detail that the engineering 
 possibilities and difficulties would be fully considered and the cost 
 of the ultimate projects determined within reasonably close limits. 
 Prof. Earle B. Phelps, of the United States Public Health Service, 
 was engaged as the commission's consulting engineer and was put 
 in charge of the investigation. Engineering offices were established 
 at Detroit and Buffalo, each office comprising a small but well- 
 organized force, under Prof. Phelps' supervision, but in immediate 
 charge of a district engineer. The Detroit office had charge of the 
 investigation in the cities and towns bordering upon the St. Clair 
 and Detroit Rivers, and the Buffalo office had charge of the investi- 
 gation along the Niagara River. The investigations covered the 
 following cities and towns : 
 
 In the United States: Port Huron, St. Clair, Marine City, Al- 
 gonac, Detroit, River Rouge, Ecorse, Ford City, Wyandotte, Tren- 
 ton, Lackawanna, Buffalo, Tonawanda, North Tonawanda, Lasalle, 
 Kemnore, Niagara Falls, Lewiston, and Youngstown. 
 
 In Canada: Sarnia, Ford, Walkerville, Windsor, Sandwich, Am- 
 herstburg, Fort Erie, Bridgeburg, Chippewa, Niagara Falls, Queens- 
 ton, and Niagara-on-the-Lake. 
 
 All of these cities and towns were asked to assist in the investi- 
 gations in which they were respectively concerned. The examina- 
 tions at Detroit and Buffalo were of much greater magnitude 'than 
 the others, and this fact, coupled with the wish of the commission 
 that these cities should be associated with the investigation in which 
 they were interested, led to an invitation being extended to their 
 officials to collaborate with the consulting sanitary engineer in tho 
 prosecution of his work ; and the commission expresses its apprecia 
 tion of their sympathetic and efficient cooperation. 
 
16 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 On December 5, 1914, Detroit appointed Mr. Clarence W. Hubbell, 
 
 a consulting sanitary engineer, to review the data 
 iic^ntaoriticB ** Pnb an( ^ ^ ne conclusions of the commission's sanitary 
 
 experts, and to report what means, if any, should 
 be adopted by the city for the purification of its sewage, and to 
 what extent it would be justified in incurring expense for that pur- 
 pose. Mr. Hubbell's office cooperated most closely with the com- 
 mission's Detroit office during the whole period of the investigation 
 so far as the work related to Detroit ; and the commission is pleased 
 to report that his recommendations to the city and the recommenda- 
 tions of the consulting engineer of the commission are in substantial 
 accord. Buffalo furnished office space and equipment for the com- 
 mission's staff at that city and furthered the progress of the investi- 
 gation by supplying all information in its possession and by ren- 
 dering valuable assistance to the commission's engineers, in addi- 
 tion to making readily available all city maps and documents re- 
 quired. 
 
 The commission also expresses its satisfaction with the readiness 
 and promptness with which the smaller cities and towns furnished 
 the maps, data, and information in their possession. The Provincial 
 and State health authorities also afforded the commission's engineers 
 valuable assistance by providing them with maps and data in their 
 possession relating to the sewerage systems of those cities and towns. 
 This was particularly the case in the Province of Ontario. The re- 
 ports of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army supplied 
 hydraulic data of great importance, especially the data dealing with 
 Great Lakes levels, river discharges, and elevations. 
 
 The investigations began in March, 1915, and were completed in 
 
 March, 1916. In carrying them out it was neces- 
 Treatment projects, sary to prepare plans for treatment works adapted 
 
 to local requirements and sufficient for the general 
 needs of the situation. For economic reasons the consulting engineer 
 adopted the existing sewerage systems as points of departure. When 
 available, sites for treatment works were tentatively determined upon 
 and the necessary collecting systems were planned to bring the sewage 
 to these points. This procedure was necessarily largely experimental, 
 as there were usually several possible and available sites for treat- 
 ment works and frequently more than one possible system of main 
 drainage. It was also necessary to plan these works with due regard 
 to the future growth of the cities, and consequently in some instances 
 sewer interceptors were planned for sections thereof almost wholly 
 undeveloped. This procedure generally led to the tentative adoption 
 of several major projects, all of them feasible and practicable, but 
 differing in the type of treatment works, in the number and location 
 of the concentration points for treatment, the arrangement of trunk- 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 17 
 
 line interceptors, and the substitution in some cases of pumping-sta- 
 tion plants for deeper interceptor construction. In each case these 
 various projects were worked out in detail, the necessary structures 
 were designed to a point sufficient for comparative cost estimates, and 
 they were then compared upon the basis of cost and general desir- 
 ability. No attempt was made to exhaust all the possibilities; and 
 it is not assumed that the remedial works planned are the most eco- 
 nomic or desirable. Neither time nor funds were available for field 
 surveys, except in some minor instances, such surveys not being con- 
 sidered essential to the work. The engineering investigations were 
 naturally and necessarily much less detailed than would be those in 
 connection with a city about to construct new works. They were, 
 however, in sufficient detail to develop in the case of all cities and 
 towns feasible and workable plans for the collection and treatment of 
 their sewage. The estimated cost is ample for the application of sat- 
 isfactory remedial measures. Details of the proposed plans for col- 
 lecting and treating the sewage of the various cities and towns are set 
 forth in the report of the consulting engineer. 1 
 
 As soon as this report was submitted to the commission it was 
 printed, and copies were supplied to the different 
 Meetings. municipalities along the Niagara, Detroit, and St. 
 
 Clair Eivers, with an invitation to attend the meet- 
 ings of the commission held, as before mentioned, at Buffalo and 
 Detroit in June, 1916. 2 At these meetings the remedies suggested 
 by the consulting engineer were discussed with the representatives 
 of the various municipalities interested. A meeting of the commis- 
 sion was also held at Ogdensburg in August, 1916, at which a large 
 number of the municipalities on the upper St. Lawrence were repre- 
 sented by their mayors, city engineers, and health officers. 
 
 The commission also devoted considerable attention to the investi- 
 gation of existing methods of sewage disposal. 
 
 1 Report of the consulting sanitary engineer upon remedial measures, Mar. 8, 1916. 
 1 Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of 
 boundary waters between the United States and Canada. 1916. 
 
 8787318 2 
 
III. EXISTING POLLUTION. 
 
 The first question in the reference is 
 
 To what extent and by what causes and in what localities have the boundary 
 waters between the United States and Canada been polluted so as to be in- 
 jurious to the public health and unfit for domestic or other uses? 
 
 To enable the commission to answer this question the detailed bac- 
 teriological examination hereinbefore described was 
 
 Sources and extent made by the sanitary experts. A brief epitome only 
 of their report can be given here. An extensive 
 examination was made of the waters in Thunder Bay and White Fish 
 Bay of Lake Superior, the lower end of Lake Huron, and the eastern 
 ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They were found to be prac- 
 tically free from B. coli in 100 c. c. quantities, and to have a bac- 
 terial count of less than 10 on agar at 37 C. This, then, is the con- 
 dition of the water as it enters the St. Marys, St. Clair, Niagara, and 
 St. Lawrence Rivers. The lower portions of Lake St. Clair and 
 Rainy Lake, the sources of the Detroit and Rainy Rivers, respectively, 
 while appreciably polluted by agricultural and other drainage, show 
 a remarkable freedom from extensive bacterial pollution. 
 
 The waters of Rainy River, St. Marys River, St. Clair River, and 
 of the Detroit and Niagara Rivers, in consequence of the unrestricted 
 discharge of sewage from vessels and towns, are no longer fit for 
 domestic use unless subjected to extensive treatment in water-purifi- 
 cation plants. Below the cities of Detroit and Buffalo the waters of 
 the Detroit and Niagara Rivers, respectively, are so intensely pol- 
 luted that it is highly questionable whether by the aid of any ordinary 
 purification plant they can be made at all suitable for drinking 
 purposes. 
 
 The waters of Rainy Lake, Rainy River, and Lake of the Woods 
 were examined during the period from July 8 to 
 
 Bainy Lake, Rainy j u jy 22, 1913. In this examination 995 specimens 
 
 River, Lake of the ,, , , , , , rM . 
 
 Woodg> were collected and reported upon. The waters of 
 
 Rainy Lake, subjected to agricultural drainage, 
 
 showed a pollution amounting to 19 B. coli per 100 c. c., presumably 
 
 the effect of this drainage, and of the construction of a big fill for 
 
 railway purposes. The drinking water of the towns of Fort Frances 
 
 and International Falls is taken from the head of Rainy River, and 
 
 18 
 
POLLUTION OP BOUNDARY WATERS. 19 
 
 was found to be seriously contaminated owing to the discharge of 
 polluting matter in the vicinity of the respective waterworks intakes. 
 Below the falls a very considerable pollution, averaging about 300 
 B. coli per 100 c. c., exists throughout the length of the river. This 
 is mainly attributable to the discharge of raw sewage by these towns. 
 The polluted condition of the river is augmented by drainage from 
 farms and small villages located at intervals along its banks, and 
 markedly by sewage from the towns of Rainy River and Baudette. 
 
 An examination was made of the water in the Lake of the Woods 
 in the vicinity of the mouth of Rainy River and showed an average 
 of only 34 B. coli per 100 c. c. It appears that the self-purification 
 and dilution had here operated to lessen pollution in the river. 
 
 Rainy River throughout its entire course has been rendered unfit 
 for domestic uses owing to the unrestricted discharge of sewage and 
 other wastes. The population along the banks is sparse, with the 
 exception of that of the villages and towns. If subjected to exten- 
 sive water purification, the river may be used as a source of drinking- 
 water supply. 
 
 The waters of Thunder Bay were examined during the period 
 from July 28 to August 15, 1913. In all, 922 sam- 
 Thnnder Bay. pies of water were collected and reported upon. 
 
 Thunder Bay is extensively polluted in the neigh- 
 borhood of the towns of Port Arthur and Fort William, but not to 
 such an extent as to affect Lake Superior. 
 
 The waters of the St. Marys River were examined during the 
 period from June 28 to July 16, 1913, 1,065 samples 
 
 st. Marys Ri?er. being collected and reported upon. The results of 
 the investigation show that Lake Superior at the 
 head of the St. Marys River is practically pure. In White Fish Bay 
 the pollution measures 6.5 B. coli per 100 c. c. The discharge of 
 sewage from vessels was shown to seriously pollute the waters in the 
 lanes of vessel travel. Especially does vessel pollution menace the 
 water supplies of the towns of Sault Ste. Marie (Mich.) and Sault 
 Ste. Marie (Ontario) . The average pollution at the waterworks intake 
 of the former city during investigation was about 25 B. coli per 100 
 c. c., and at the waterworks intake of the latter over 200 B. coli per 
 100 c. c. Below the towns the pollution was shown to increase to 
 291 B. coli per 100 c. c. A serious condition of the river continues, 
 although in a less pronounced degree, down to Neebish Island. 
 
 The pollution present in this river, due to the discharge of raw 
 sewage by vessels and by the two towns of Sault Ste. Marie, affects 
 very seriously the only available water supplies for summer resi- 
 dents and for pleasure boats frequenting its waters. Water exam- 
 ined in the Straits of Mackinac proved to be quite pure. 
 
20 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 The laboratories stationed at Port Huron, Detroit, and Sarnia 
 
 were in operation during May, June, July, and 
 
 Lake Huron, st. August, 1913, for the examination of the waters 
 
 Clair Eifer, Lake St. ., c , T . _. ** 
 
 oi the lower end or Lake Huron, River St. Clair. 
 
 and Lake St. Clair. In all, 2,336 samples were 
 examined and reported upon. The examination showed that the 
 waters of Lake Huron at the head of the river would be practically 
 free from B. coli were it not for the pollution from vessel sewage. 
 Samples taken about 10 miles up the lake showed absence of B. coli 
 even in 100 c. c., while the water at the lower end, where vessel 
 pollution is concentrated, showed an average of 9 B. coli per 100 
 c. c. Below the towns of Port Huron and Sarnia the waters of 
 the St. Clair River for a stretch of about 34 miles are quite unfit 
 for drinking purposes unless extensively treated, the B. Coli con- 
 tent found in the river water exceeding 200 per 100 c. c. The pol- 
 lution below these towns is due to the combined effects of the dis- 
 charge of untreated sewage from vessels and the towns along the 
 shores. Any tendency toward self-purification of the river by 
 natural agencies is counterbalanced by the sewage and drainage 
 from the small villages and residences along its course. 
 
 Lake St. Clair, which receives the discharge of the river, showed 
 less evidence of pollution. Natural agencies promote in the lake 
 a purification not found in the river. 
 
 The laboratories for the study of the Detroit River and the western 
 end of Lake Erie stationed ' at Detroit, Windsor, 
 
 Detroit River and Amherstburg, and on the United States revenue 
 
 western end of Lake ,.. . , -i i ,1 ,t 
 
 Erie. cutter Mornll, were operated during the months 
 
 of May, June, July, August, September, and Octo- 
 ber, 1913. Some 5,353 samples were collected and examined, includ- 
 ing those taken in the western end of Lake Erie and at the mouth 
 of the Detroit River. The situation with reference to the Detroit 
 River is described by the sanitary experts in their report to the com- 
 mission ill 1914, 1 as follows : 
 
 The results of our analyses of samples taken above the intake for the Detroit 
 city water supply showed this to be an unsafe source of supply without careful 
 treatment. * * * Samples taken along the several cross sections from this 
 point to the site of the Michigan Central tunnel showed a marked increase of 
 pollution in the shore samples. 
 
 The water intakes of Walkerville and Windsor are both located in dangerous 
 situations, owing to the discharge of sewage above these intakes and to a 
 potential danger of climatological variation diverting the intense shore pollu- 
 tion to points from whence it would affect the water intakes. In spite of the 
 efforts made by these towns to protect their supplies by means of chlorination, 
 
 1 Progress report of the International Joint Commission on the Reference by the 
 United States and Canada In re the Pollution of Boundary Waters. Including report of 
 the sanitary experts. 1914. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 21 
 
 the typhoid rates remain too high. At times the pollution is so great that the 
 quantity of chlorine required to overcome it gives an objectionable taste to the 
 water. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Samples taken from a cross section over the Michigan Central Railroad tun- 
 nel showed gross pollution at sample points near the Canadian and United 
 States shores, and a considerable pollution extending across the entire river. 
 Samples taken from several cross sections showed gross pollution throughout 
 the entire river from the Michigan Central Railroad tunnel to Fighting Island. 
 
 From Fighting Island to the mouth of the river the water is grossly polluted 
 and totally unfit as a source of water supply. It is our opinion that such raw 
 water would impose an unreasonable responsibility on any known method of 
 purification, even with the morft careful supervision. Unfortunately, Wyan- 
 dotte, Trenton, and Amherstburg are taking their water supplies from this part 
 of the river. 
 
 The extensive pollution of the Detroit River is perhaps better indi- 
 cated by saying that at its head the B. coli count is approximately 
 5 per 100 c. c., and in the lower portions just below Amherstburg it 
 reaches the enormous figure of 10,592 B. coli per 100 c. c. 
 
 The pollution in the Detroit River is occasioned by the discharge 
 of raw sewage from its riparian communities, notably the city of 
 Detroit, and by the sewage from vessels. 
 
 The investigations at the laboratories at Detroit, Windsor, and 
 Amherstburg show that while the waters of the western end of Lake 
 Erie are extensively polluted by the flow of the Detroit River, this 
 pollution does not extend past the islands which separate this end 
 from the remainder of the lake. 
 
 Lake Erie, outside of this polluted area and the 
 
 Lake Eric. polluted areas at the mouths of its tributaries and 
 
 its littoral waters, affords a remarkable instance of 
 
 self -purification. The purity of the main body of the lake was amply 
 
 established by examination of its water at several widely separated 
 
 stations. 
 
 The laboratories for the study of the Niagara River established 
 at Buffalo, Port Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and 
 
 Niagara Birer. Youngstown were operated during the months of 
 
 May, June, and July, 1913, 4,137 samples of water 
 being collected and examined. This investigation showed that above 
 Niagara Falls the great bulk of the pollution in the river, and due to 
 the discharge of sewage therein, is confined to the marginal waters 
 of the country in which it originates and that the sewage of Buffalo 
 is polluting to a serious extent the available water supplies of the 
 two Tonawandas and the city of Niagara Falls, N. Y. 
 
 The effect of the pollution of the lower Niagara is to render the 
 river water totally unfit for domestic uses unless purified. All of 
 the lower municipalities have been forced to install and operate 
 water-purification plants, and the results of their operation show 
 
22 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 only too clearly that the use of the water is accompanied by no 
 proper margin of safety. 
 
 The investigation revealed the fact that the waters of Lake Ontario 
 are comparatively free from B. coli, with the ex- 
 Lake Ontario. ception of an 18-mile radius from the mouth of 
 the Niagara Eiver, of limited areas at the mouths 
 of other rivers, and of the littoral waters of the lake and of the lanes 
 of vessel travel. 
 
 The laboratories operated at Kingston and Clayton, as well as at 
 
 Montreal, during the months of April, May, and 
 
 st. Lawrence Bher. August, 1913, for the purpose of examining the 
 
 waters of the St. Lawrence River, collected and 
 
 examined 1,890 samples. 
 
 The St. Lawrence Eiver is the only water supply available for 
 the summer residents at the Thousand Islands and for the communi- 
 ties along its banks. 
 
 During the period of examination it was observed that the pres- 
 ent practice of unrestricted discharge of sewage renders certain 
 areas unfit sources of drinking water. Before the tourists appear in 
 June, with the consequent increase of boat traffic, the waters are in 
 a remarkable state of purity. Below the Thousand Islands popu- 
 lation is denser and considerable pollution exists throughout the 
 river, the source of which is the discharge of sewage from vessels 
 and from the riparian communities. 
 
 The laboratories stationed at Van Buren in October, 1913, for the 
 study of the St. John Eiver collected and ex- 
 st. John Hirer. amined 672 samples. The pollution in this river 
 amounted to about 125 B. coli per 100 c. c. in the 
 late fall. This is excessive in comparison with the figures in the 
 Detroit and Niagara Eivers, population and stream flow considered. 
 This abnormal condition is attributable in large measure to the 
 potato starch factories located along this river, the waste from which 
 contains large numbers of bacteria capable of fermenting lactose. 
 Eeference has already been made to the numerous vessels navigat- 
 ing boundary waters and their enormous floating 
 Tei pollution. population and the pollution resulting therefrom. 
 This pollution not only clearly exists in boundary 
 rivers, in harbors, and in the vicinity of water intakes, but was 
 found to a harmful extent in the Great Lakes, where its presence 
 is due to the fact that vessels navigating lake waters ply in compara- 
 tively narrow lanes in order to avoid collision in the nighttime or 
 during fog. Upbound vessels follow one track and down-bound 
 vessels follow another, and the pollution is confined to the vicinity 
 of these lanes. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 23 
 
 Pollution from vessels is of two kinds: (1) Raw sewage in the 
 shape of human excreta, garbage, etc., and (2) water ballast dis- 
 charged by vessels on approaching ports of designation. This 
 pollution is a serious menace to public health, not alone through 
 the possible contamination of the public water supplies near their 
 intakes, but also by reason of its effect upon the water supplies of 
 other vessels following or crossing the same routes. 
 
 Complaints were made to the commission regarding a form of pol- 
 lution which is not of a bacteriological character, 
 trui a tl. and Indl "" existing in the St. John and Eainy Rivers. It re- 
 sults from the deposit of sawdust and other saw- 
 mill wastes in the streams, frequently causing nuisances by making 
 the shores and bed of the stream unsightly, unclean, and malodorous. 
 This pollution is also injurious to fish life. At International Falls 
 and at Fort Frances objection was also made to the discharge of 
 wastes from the pulp mills on the Rainy River. Like complaints 
 were made with respect to the St. Croix River, which in part forms 
 the boundary line between New Brunswick and the State of Maine. 
 The pollution complained of in the case of the pulp mills was chiefly 
 due to chemical waste resulting from the manufacture of pulp. 
 This form of pollution is also injurious to fish life and the fishing 
 industry. The pollution from sawmill and pulp -mill wastes has in 
 every instance transboundary effects detrimental to property and 
 health. 
 
 With the exception of sawmill and pulp-mill wastes no reference 
 has been made to industrial and chemical wastes as a source of pol- 
 lution. Contamination from these sources is at present so limited 
 and local in its extent that the commission did not regard it as of 
 sufficient moment from an international standpoint to call for any 
 extensive scientific investigation. Unquestionably in the future, 
 unless preventive measures are taken, pollution from all these wastes 
 will have a very injurious effect, and the commission has not been 
 unmindful of this fact in preparing the recommendations herein- 
 after made. 
 
 The grossly polluted condition of boundary waters is doubtless 
 the cause of the abnormal prevalence of typhoid 
 ust^ 01 fever throughout the territory bordering thereon. 
 
 The table following gives the statistics of death 
 from typhoid fever in the cities and towns therein mentioned for 
 a period of 14 years, beginning with the year 1903 : 
 
24 FINAL EEPOET INTEBNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 Typhoid death rates per 100,000 of population. 
 
 
 1903 
 
 1904 
 
 1905 
 
 1906 
 
 1907 
 
 1908 
 
 1909 
 
 1910 
 
 1911 
 
 1912 
 
 1913 
 
 1914 
 
 1915 
 
 1916 
 
 Rainy River: 
 International Falls, 
 Minn 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fort Frances, Ontario . . 
 Baudette, Minn 
 
 665 
 
 665 
 
 775 
 
 96 
 
 86 
 
 133 
 
 66 
 
 393 
 
 342 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rainy River, Ontario... 
 St. Mary's River: 
 Sault Ste. Marie, Mich... 
 SaultSte. Marie, Ontario 
 St. Clair River: 
 Port Huron, Mich... 
 
 
 
 115 
 
 152 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 52 
 26 
 
 35 
 
 200 
 
 68 
 150 
 
 15 
 
 200 
 
 59 
 191 
 
 56 
 
 
 
 17 
 91 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 73 
 68 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 56 
 90 
 
 58 
 
 
 24 
 
 154 
 
 74 
 
 63 
 
 54 
 280 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 23 
 85 
 
 197 
 
 
 
 22 
 127 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 84 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 63 
 
 7 
 31 
 
 30 
 
 Sanaa, Ontario 
 
 116 
 
 34 
 
 33 
 
 55 
 
 87 
 
 110 
 
 82 
 
 101 
 
 148 
 
 139 
 
 45 
 
 26 
 
 34 
 
 60 
 
 etroit River: 
 Detroit, Mich 
 
 20 
 
 17 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 25 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 23 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 29 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 Wallcerville, Ontario 
 Windsor, Ontario 
 
 
 30 
 
 47 
 59 
 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 41 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 35 
 63 
 
 
 56 
 
 
 49 
 
 30 
 34 
 
 57 
 38 
 
 25 
 10 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 
 Sandwich, Ontario.. 
 
 122 
 
 182 
 
 57 
 
 54 
 
 52 
 
 96 
 
 47 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 173 
 
 35 
 
 34 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 Wyandotte. Mich 
 
 (i) 
 
 (i) 
 
 (1) 
 
 72 
 
 107 
 
 123 
 
 87 
 
 75 
 
 12 
 
 54 
 
 92 
 
 33 
 
 47 
 
 63 
 
 Trenton, Mich 
 
 
 166 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 163 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 163 
 
 
 
 243 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 Amherstberg, Ontario . . 
 Niagara River: 
 Buffalo, N. Y 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 24 
 
 83 
 23 
 
 
 28 
 
 
 70 
 
 40 
 24 
 
 
 20 
 
 78 
 25 
 
 118 
 12 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 85 
 
 Fort Erie, Ontario 
 Bridgeburg, Ontario . . . 
 North Tonawanda, N.Y 
 
 
 
 
 108 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ?8 
 
 99 
 
 46 
 
 
 68 
 53 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 4? 
 
 87 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 56 
 15 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Niagara Falls, N. Y.... 
 Niagara Falls, Ontario. 
 Lewiston, N. Y 
 
 127 
 
 
 140 
 14 
 
 181 
 
 
 150 
 40 
 
 131 
 
 38 
 
 103 
 
 84 
 
 87 
 26 
 
 98 
 60 
 
 194 
 90 
 
 67 
 44 
 
 23 
 
 85 
 
 
 10 
 34 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 10 
 27 
 
 
 Youngstown, N.Y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Niagara - on - the - Lake, 
 Ontario . 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 78 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 St. Lawrence River: 
 Cape Vincent, N.Y. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kingston. Ontario 
 
 100 
 
 22 
 
 38 
 
 38 
 
 27 
 
 32 
 
 32 
 
 80 
 
 26 
 
 32 
 
 75 
 
 43 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 Clayton, N. Y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Gananoque, Ontario 
 Alexandria, N. Y. . . 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 
 Brockville, Ontario 
 Ogdonsburg, N. Y. . 
 
 66 
 54 
 
 66 
 61 
 
 22 
 
 40 
 
 109 
 86 
 
 21 
 
 39 
 
 43 
 32 
 
 32 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 50 
 
 42 
 31 
 
 64 
 37 
 
 10 
 
 72 
 
 162 
 
 
 
 Prescott, Ontario 
 
 
 
 
 
 34 
 
 34 
 
 103 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 Cornwall, Ontario 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 30 
 
 90 
 
 75 
 
 111 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 48 
 
 61 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 77 
 
 73 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Average for years 1889-1905, 85 deaths. 
 
 It may be incidently mentioned that there is a marked improve- 
 ment in the statistical showing in the period since the commission's 
 investigation in 1913. This is largely attributable to the fact that 
 in consequence of this investigation greater efforts have been made 
 to protect water supplies by the use of bleaching powder and liquid 
 chlorine. The condition, however, is still far from satisfactory. 
 Notwithstanding the general improvement, violent outbreaks of ty- 
 phoid fever have occurred, and the potential danger must continue 
 to exist in view of the extensive pollution of these waters and the 
 limitations and inefficient operation of water-purification plants. 
 Not only have the border communities suffered from this condition, 
 but the navigation interests have also been injured very severely 
 from the disastrous outbreaks consequent on the use of polluted 
 boundary water. 
 
IV. TRANSBOUNDARY EFFECTS OF POLLUTION. 
 
 This report so far has dealt with pollution generally in boundary 
 waters. The reference as amended calls for a further inquiry into 
 pollution of the waters on one side of the boundary line which may 
 extend to and effect those upon the other side. Some persons who 
 appeared before the commission argued for a literal interpretation 
 of the language of the amended reference and suggested that the 
 only pollution with which the commission is concerned is that which 
 actually crosses the boundary line and has a transboundary effect. 
 While the commission does not accept this narrow interpretation, 
 it must consider the extent to which, and the places at which, pol- 
 lution has such an effect. 
 
 The most intense and the most clearly demonstrable cases of pol- 
 lution crossing the boundary exist in the Detroit 
 
 Detroit niter. and Niagara Rivers. The city of Detroit dis- 
 
 charges into the former all the raw sewage from 
 its estimated population of 850,000. On the United States side op- 
 posite Amherstburg the pollution of the river reaches the enormous 
 figure of 10,392 B. coli per 100 c. c., and its waters from that point 
 to Lake Erie and the waters of that lake within a radius of about 
 4 miles from the mouth of the river are very greatly polluted. Be- 
 yond question the pollution from Detroit and the towns lower down 
 the river crosses the boundary line and affects detrimentally health 
 and property on the other side. A notable example of this is to be 
 found in the condition of the shore waters of Bois Blanc Island, a 
 summer resort on the Canadian side of the river which is extremely 
 popular, especially with the inhabitants of Detroit. The island 
 shore waters are very greatly polluted by the sewage from that city. 
 The transboundary effect of this pollution may be estimated from 
 the data given in Tables XII, XIII, and XIV, and the maps opposite 
 pages 38, 39. 40, 41, and 42 of the Progress Report. Transboundary 
 effects are detectable along the lower stretches of the river generally. 
 Owing to the comparative smallness of the towns on the Canadian 
 side, it is not at present possible to trace pollution from them across 
 the boundary, but these towns are growing rapidly, and if they ever 
 attain anything like the size of Detroit or Buffalo, unless successful 
 preventive or remedial measures are adopted, the river will be ab- 
 solutely unfit for domestic purposes. 
 
 25 
 
26 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 In the Niagara River, owing to the discharge into it by the city 
 of Buffalo of the sewage of an estimated popula- 
 Niagara Hirer. tion of 500,000, the waters below the city on the 
 
 United States side are grossly polluted. This pol- 
 lution is increased by the sewage from towns on both its banks but 
 particularly from towns on the United States side. Until the Falls 
 are reached the great bulk of the pollution, as has already been 
 stated, is confined to the marginal waters into which it is discharged. 
 At the Falls and in the rapids below the Falls, however, the waters 
 are thoroughly intermixed; and the entire river from the whirlpool 
 to Lake Ontario shows an intense pollution from shore to shore and 
 from the surface to the bed of the stream. The flow of such an 
 enormous quantity of grossly polluted water into the lake con- 
 taminates its waters for a radius of about 18 miles from the river's 
 mouth. The intensity of this pollution may be judged from the 
 data given in Table XIX on page 48 and on the map facing that 
 page of the progress report. This map shows that the maximum 
 average of B. coli per 100 c. c. at several points in this polluted area 
 of the lake during the period of examination by the sanitary experts 
 was 10,000. The Canadian area of this portion was found to be 
 much more densely polluted than the United States area, the map 
 showing at some points in the former, distant about 10 miles from 
 the mouth of the river and about 6 miles from the international 
 boundary line, a maximum average count of 1,000 B. coli per 100 c. c. 
 There is a well-marked crossing of pollution from one side to 
 the other in the case of the Rainy River, the 
 
 J^i^JSr st - Mar y g River > and the st - John River ' al - 
 
 though much less pronounced than in the cases of 
 the Detroit and Niagara. 
 
 In the remaining boundary rivers pollution does not exist to as 
 great an extent as in the Niagara and Detroit ; 
 jKher boundary riy- and its trans b oun dary effect, where such effect ex- 
 ists, is not easy of detection. The communities 
 along their banks which have sewerage systems all discharge raw 
 sewage into the streams. It was contended that the polluting mate- 
 rial discharged into them "hugs their shores," and while the effect 
 may be very harmful to the health and property of lower com- 
 munities on the same side of a river, its effect upon the waters on the 
 other side of the boundary may be, and in the case of the larger 
 rivers is, practically nil. In judging of the transboundary results 
 of pollution people are ordinarily influenced by the lack of palpable 
 effect at or near the point where the sewage is discharged. In all of 
 the boundary waters, notwithstanding the disposition on the part 
 of the urban sewage they receive "to hug the shore" (assuming 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 27 
 
 there is such a disposition), winds, cross currents, eddies, rapids, 
 shoals, reefs, ice jams, differences in specific gravity between the 
 sewage and the water of the streams, the form and varying courses 
 of the channel, and the churning of the waters by the propellers of 
 steamboats may, and in some cases do, cause such a commingling and 
 diffusion of their waters that the pollution originating on one side 
 is carried to some extent to the other side of the stream, although 
 the contaminating element may be so colorless as not to be detectable 
 by the eye. Even in cases where transboundary evil results can not 
 be proved the probability of the pollution on one side passing over 
 or affecting the waters on the other side of the boundary line is so 
 great that the inhabitants on the latter side should not be forced to 
 run the consequent risk to life, health, and property. The idea is 
 deeply rooted in the minds of many that running water always 
 purifies itself. This belief was put forward by some as a reason 
 why no action should be taken in respect to these rivers. Undoubt- 
 edly water does purify itself if it receives no accretions of contamina- 
 tion and runs in its course a sufficient length of time. The banks 
 of these remaining boundary rivers are generally densely peopled, 
 and the communities along their course discharge their sewage un- 
 treated into them, thus more than counteracting this cleansing or 
 purifying influence. 
 
 The waters of the Great Lakes constitute a class by themselves, 
 
 and except at the points where the Niagara and 
 The Great Lakes. Detroit Rivers enter Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, 
 
 respectively, there is no pollution in them which 
 crosses from one side of the boundary line to the other, except it may 
 be vessel pollution. This is clear when the condition of the central 
 portions of the lakes is considered. Outside of a margin along their 
 shores and the polluted areas at the mouths of the rivers tributary to 
 them, these waters are, with the exception of places where pollution 
 from vessels exists, in their pristine purity. Take Lake Ontario and 
 Lake Erie for examples. 'Notwithstanding the facts that these lakes 
 are fed entirely by streams more or less polluted, including the 
 Niagara and Detroit Rivers, with their immense flow of extremely 
 contaminated water, and that there is poured into them the raw 
 sewage of several very large cities and towns, so efficacious is the self- 
 purifying power of water that, with the exception of this littoral 
 margin and of those limited areas at the mouths of the tributary 
 rivers, their waters, when unaffected by vessel pollution, are abso- 
 lutely pure. This condition is an interesting one. The purifying 
 power of nature, assisted by time, accomplishes here what human 
 agencies and human resources find it impossible to duplicate. 
 
28 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 Vessel sewage, which was found on examination by the sanitary 
 experts to be a much greater factor in polluting 
 Jg'e! boundary waters than is generally supposed, is a 
 matter of great international moment, and must be 
 referred to in this connection. The commission does not commit itself 
 to any view of the fiction or theory of vessel territorially, which 
 has been much discussed by writers of international law, but 
 a vessel may, and for the purpose of this investigation the commis- 
 sion thinks should, be looked upon as a portion of the territory of 
 the State from which she hails or in which she is registered. If 
 sewage is discharged by a vessel on her own side of the boundary 
 and then passes over the line, and there affects harmfully health and 
 property, the treaty is violated both in letter and in spirit. Is viola- 
 tion of the treaty, however, limited to cases of this kind ? The words 
 of the treaty are broader than the language of the reference. The 
 latter, taken literally, deals with pollution in boundary waters 
 on one side of the boundary, which extends to and affects the waters 
 on the other, or which, in other words, has both a transboundary 
 extension and a transboundary effect. To bring pollution within the 
 treaty it need only have one of these features a transboundary 
 effect. 
 
 It might not be straining too much the language of the treaty, 
 " health and property on the other " (meaning the other side of the 
 boundary line), to regard it as indicative of national ownership or 
 sovereignty rather than location. This construction, for instance, 
 would prohibit the pollution of Canadian boundary waters that 
 might injure citizens of the United States who for the time being 
 were exercising their treaty right to free and open navigation of 
 these waters, and would also prohibit pollution of the United States 
 boundary waters by Canadian vessels discharging their sewage 
 therein. If the language is susceptible of this interpretation, such a 
 construction would certainly be consonant with the spirit of the 
 treaty. 
 
 Independently of the point whether this construction is or is not 
 warranted, the relations of the United States and Canada, especially 
 with regard to boundary waters, demand that the question of their 
 pollution should be treated on the broadest possible lines. 
 
 The international situation along the boundary line is a phe- 
 
 nomenal one. Not only is it one of the most vital 
 
 international sitna- practical importance to each country, but it is one 
 
 (ion along boundary . . , . . ., ,. . . , -. 
 
 on which each nation may felicitate itself as afford- 
 
 ing a great object lesson to the world, showing how 
 two liberty-loving, morally directed, and law-abiding peoples can live 
 side by side in the spirit at once of friendly rivalry and perfect peace. 
 Along the thousand miles of their territorial contact from the At- 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 29 
 
 lantic to the Pacific there is nothing which suggests the existence of 
 enmity or the possibility of military strife. The provision of the 
 treaty of Ghent that " there shall be a firm and universal peace be- 
 tween His Britannic Majesty and the United States, and between 
 their respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people of 
 every degree, without exception of places or persons," has happily 
 fair promise of perpetual observance. Practically the two peoples 
 commingle with all the freedom consistent with the physical and 
 political barriers which separate them. This condition has led to 
 an interweaving of interests which makes the bond between them 
 one of more than international comity. The treaty right of naviga- 
 tion is exercised at present to an enormous extent, and in the future 
 will be exercised to a still greater extent. Along the boundary 
 waters the citizens of both countries fraternize socially, select and 
 patronize their summer resorts, invest their capital and engage in 
 industries and enterprises, almost without regard to territorial 
 sovereignty. Such freedom of intercourse, however laudable, has 
 the attendant danger of being conducive to the spread of disease and 
 infection if either country fails to observe sanitary principles. The 
 pollution of drinking water supplies and of bathing waters at Bois 
 Blanc Island, on the lower Niagara, at the Thousand Islands, or at 
 other summer resorts, or of the waters navigated by vessels and 
 yachts, might not only be an injury to the immense number of citi- 
 zens of both countries who would be brought immediately in con- 
 tact with the pollution, but would indirectly be a source of great 
 peril to hundreds of thousands more. To illustrate the danger the 
 following citation is made from the United States Public Health 
 Service Keport for 1914, volume 29, page 393 : 
 
 It is stated that during one short period of the summer's cruise (referring to 
 the voyage of a lake boat) 77 cases of typhoid fever developed as the result of 
 the use of impure drinking water taken from the Detroit River. * * *. 
 
 * * * Investigations by this service of similar outbreaks on three Great 
 Lakes vessels during the summer of 1913 showed that out of a total of 750 
 people there were over 300 cases of diarrhea and 52 cases of typhoid with 7 
 deaths. 
 
 The lamentable prevalence of typhoid fever referred to previously 
 calls for consideration in this broad international view of the ques- 
 tion of pollution of boundary waters. 
 
V. INJURY TO HEALTH AND PROPERTY WITHIN THE MEANING 
 OF THE REFERENCE. 
 
 The commission having ascertained the necessary facts, both as to 
 the extent and effects, including the transboundary 
 effects, of existing pollution, was confronted with 
 the very difficult problem of deciding whether or 
 not the effect of this pollution was an "injury" to health and prop- 
 erty within the meaning of the reference. From the language of the 
 second question in the reference it is evident that the object which the 
 two Governments had in view in making the submission was, as has 
 been previously stated, to see that the treaty was observed in its 
 integrity. This object is expressed as follows: 
 
 In order * * * to fulfill the obligations undertaken in Article IV of the 
 treaty. 
 Article IV, so far as it is necessary to quote it, reads as follows : 
 
 It is further agreed that the waters herein defined as boundary waters and 
 waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either side to the 
 injury of health or property on the other. 
 
 The controlling words of this prohibition are "to the injury of 
 health or property on the other." It is necessary to consider the 
 meaning which is to be attached to the word " injury." Does it mean 
 simply harm or damage, actual or potential, to health or property, 
 without regard to any extrinsic considerations, such as justification 
 or excuse on the part of those who cause the damage or ease of avoid- 
 ance on the part of those who suffer from this harm or damage ? It 
 appears to the commission that a broader and more liberal view 
 should be taken than would suggest an affirmative answer to this 
 question. It is necessary to consider the language of the reference 
 and of the treaty, and also the law and practice of both countries with 
 respect to the pollution of waters. 
 
 The common law respecting rights in streams is admirably set 
 forth in the leading textbooks of both countries on 
 " waters," and is especially well summarized by 
 Lord Macnaghten in the case of Young v. Sankier 
 Distillery Co. et al., decided by the British House of Lords in 1893. 1 
 
 A riparian proprietor is entitled to have the water of the stream, on the banks 
 of which his property lies, flow down as it has been accustomed to flow down 
 to his property, subject to the ordinary use of the flowing water by upper pro- 
 
 1 Appeal cases, House of Lords and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1893, 
 p. 698. 
 
 30 
 
POLLUTION OP BOUNDARY WATERS. 31 
 
 prietors, and to such further use, if any, on their part in connection with their 
 property as may be reasonable under the circumstances. Every riparian pro- 
 prietor is thus entitled to the water of his stream, in its natural flow, without 
 sensible diminution or increase and without sensible alteration in its character 
 or quality. Any invasion of this right causing actual damage or calculated to 
 found a claim which may ripen into an adverse right entitles the party injured 
 to the intervention of the court. 
 
 These principles are applicable to public bodies as well as pri- 
 vate persons. While private rights, however, may be overridden by 
 the acquisition of a prescriptive right, public rights can not. Without 
 exception the riparian communities which pollute the waters of the 
 boundary rivers do so in violation of the principles of the common 
 law. 
 It must be observed, however, that the circumstances under which 
 
 these principles were evolved have greatly changed, 
 mo"u!r BT f C m " and the P h y sical features of the boundary rivers 
 
 differ very much from those of the streams of 
 England, where the common law originated. When settlements had 
 been made along our boundary waters to an extent that urban com- 
 munities commenced to grow, and sewerage systems in consequence of 
 this growth began to be installed, such was the immensity of these 
 rivers that settlers living farther down stream probably neither no- 
 ticed nor protested against the discharge into them of what was rela- 
 tively an infinitesimal amount of pollution. When these communi- 
 ties, therefore, installed sewerage works they took advantage of the 
 diluting powers of the rivers, and resorted to the simple and inex- 
 pensive expedient of discharging into them their sewage in its raw 
 condition. The custom of doing so has now become universal. The 
 selfishness of vested interests, familiarity with evil conditions, which 
 has begotten an indifference to both the doing and the suffering of 
 wrong, an ill-directed spirit of economy averse to the assumption of 
 financial burdens to remedy what was only regarded as an existing or 
 potential evil to other communities, and the disinclination to change 
 ingrainted in humanity, have resulted in a situation along the frontier 
 which is generally chaotic, everywhere perilous, and in some cases 
 disgraceful. The common law having proved inadequate to the task 
 of controlling affairs, it has been supplemented or superseded by 
 legislative enactments, which in their practical working have about 
 as signally failed. 
 The great difficulty is that in the United States and in Canada, 
 
 as in all countries, in fact, modern development, 
 robienf'of '"injury*" social and economic, has introduced a number of 
 
 new elements into the question of sewage purifica- 
 tion which call for the reconsideration of views and methods which 
 have fallen into disuse. 
 
32 FINAL BEPOET INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 It must be admitted that the conservation of public health is of 
 
 paramount importance under the treaty. This is 
 
 sanitary consider- evident f rom Article IV to which reference has 
 
 tion first In order of . . 
 
 procedure. been made. I he significance of sanitary considera- 
 
 tions is also evidenced by Article VIII of the treaty, 
 which contains the following provisions : 
 
 The following order of procedure shall be observed among the various uses 
 enumerated hereafter for these waters (meanng boundary waters), and no v-se 
 shall be permitted which tends materially to conflict with or restrain any other 
 use which is given preference over it in this order of procedure : 
 
 1. Uses for domestic and sanitary purposes. 
 
 2. Uses for navigation, including the service of canals for the purposes of 
 navigation. 
 
 3. Uses for power and for irrigation purposes. 
 
 Although this order of procedure is in respect to certain uses 
 enumerated in this particular article, it may be 
 question! 7 taken as indicative of the view of the high contract- 
 
 ing, parties regarding the importance of sanitation. 
 Notwithstanding this, the discharge of sewage into streams can not be 
 looked upon exclusively from the standpoint of its harmful effects 
 upon health and property. The reference itself does not so look upon 
 pollution. One of the questions in its second branch is, "By what 
 means or arrangement can * * * a system or method of render- 
 ing these waters sanitary and suitable for domestic and other uses be 
 best secured and maintained in order to insure the adequate protection 
 and development of all interests involved on both sides of the boun- 
 dary ? " The growth and development of riparian communities 
 would be seriously arrested if pollution were looked upon from this 
 standpoint exclusively. While public health is the paramount con- 
 sideration, it must be looked upon, however, as only one of a large 
 number of elements in the many-sided and complex question of the 
 public weal. 
 
 The pollution of rivers in England has been the subject of inves- 
 tigation by royal commissions which have been studying the question 
 very thoroughly and almost continuously for about 50 years. Their 
 investigations have covered nearly all the rivers of England and 
 practically all the various phases of the problem of river contami- 
 nation, and the voluminous reports submitted by them from time to 
 time are very valuable and deserving of careful study. The conclu- 
 sions and recommendations made in these reports, while recognizing 
 sanitary considerations as first in order of precedence, are based 
 upon the implied assumption that the solution of the problem lies 
 in the proper balancing of the various conflicting elements existing 
 in the individual cases. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATEES. 33 
 
 The parties who appeared before the commission discussed the 
 question of " injury " almost entirely as viewed 
 injury" as be- f rO m two standpoints: First, from the standpoint 
 ' of the relation between the riparian communities 
 which pollute the waters of the streams and those 
 communities which suffer in consequence of the pollution of their 
 water supply ; and, second, from the standpoint of the agriculturists, 
 the floating population of summer resorts, casual visitors, picnickers, 
 campers, yachtsmen, and crews and passengers of vessels frequenting 
 boundary waters. 
 
 The difficulties arising from viewing the situation from the first 
 standpoint will appeal' by considering the supposititious case of town 
 "A" and town " B," the first town being situate above the other on 
 the same bank of a boundary stream, the former discharging raw 
 sewage from its sewerage system into the river, the latter being 
 obliged to drink the water thus contaminated or to purify it at its 
 own expense. To compel "A" to purify its sewage absolutely or com- 
 pletely would, under present conditions and in the present state of 
 sanitary engineering practice, involve a financial burden too great 
 for that town to bear, a burden which might retard its progress both 
 industrially and in respect to population. On the other hand, to per- 
 mit "A" to relieve itself of any reasonable financial burden by throw- 
 ing its raw sewage on the waterworks intake of " B " and thus com- 
 pelling that town either to drink contaminated water, or to assume 
 an unreasonable financial burden in purifying it, would be an act of 
 injustice which no fair-minded community, with a proper apprecia- 
 tion of the evil inflicted, would perpetrate or continue, and one to 
 which no community should be asked to submit. If the harm which 
 would be done " B " could be remedied, however, by the assumption 
 of a financial burden which would be reasonable under all the circum- 
 stances of the case, there would not be an " injury " within the mean- 
 ing of the reference or the treaty. 
 
 From the second standpoint, that of the agriculturist, the floating 
 
 population of summer resorts, etc., the question of 
 
 * injury " from the injury " under the reference is a much more diffi- 
 
 standpoint of summer ,, . j i j j? .r. i_ ^ 
 
 residents, etc. cu lt one. The shores and islands of the boundary 
 rivers and lakes must particularly be considered. 
 Their scenic attractions, their pure air and salubrious climate, their 
 opportunities for bathing, fishing, and yachting, and their ease of 
 access, affording facilities for rest, enjoyment, and health restora- 
 tion to unlimited numbers, are invaluable assets, factors in progress 
 and civilization which should not, unless under the pressure of abso- 
 lute necessity, be destroyed. The harm done by existing pollution to 
 bathing resorts can not be remedied except by preventing the dis- 
 charge of sewage into the waters which flow to them. Contamination 
 of the sources of the drinking supplies of these classes of people is a 
 most serious matter. The millions whom it affects or may affect are 
 8787318 3 
 
34 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 more exposed to danger than are the urban inhabitants who draw 
 their water supplies from public water systems. Such systems have 
 been installed by sanitary engineers and generally afford a reason- 
 ably pure drinking water. These classes, however, have no such pro- 
 tection and it is difficult to devise adequate means of protection which 
 they could utilize. The fact that they consist in a large measure of 
 children, especially at the summer resorts, must also be taken into 
 account. What would, therefore, be an "injury " to them might not 
 be an "injury" to riparian communities with water-purification 
 systems. 
 
 The commission regards the word " injury " when used in the refer- 
 ence or treaty as having a special signification one 
 
 Definition of "in- somewhat akin to the term 'injuria' in iurispru- 
 
 Jury" as used In the T * * 
 
 reference. dence. It does not mean mere harm or damage, but 
 
 harm or damage which is in excess of the amount 
 of harm or damage which the sufferer, in view of all the circumstances 
 of the case, and of all the coexistent rights (if it be permissible to 
 use the term in this connection), and of the paramount importance 
 of human health and life, should reasonably be called upon to bear. 
 
 In the case of the Detroit and Niagara Rivers pollution exists on 
 
 "injury" in De- one side of the boundary line which unquestionably 
 trofct and Niagara BIT- is an "injury" within the meaning of the treaty 
 er8 ' to health and property on the other. 
 
 In the case of the Rainy River and the St. John River, pollution 
 also exists on one side of the boundary line which 
 is an "injury" within the meaning of the treaty 
 to health and property on the other. 
 
 In the case of these four rivers the pollution is transboundary both 
 in its effect and extension. 
 
 In the case of the other boundary rivers the commission is unable 
 to say that at the present time pollution does exist on either side of 
 the boundary line to the injury of property upon the other, although 
 it is of the opinion that at times it does. As populations along their 
 banks grow, pollution having both transboundary extension and trans- 
 boundary effect will doubtless increase. 
 
 In the division of this report which treats of pollution having 
 transboundary effects a broader view of the question of pollution is 
 taken than the literal words of the reference and treaty might be 
 thought to justify. In the broad view there expressed pollution 
 exists throughout the whole range of boundary waters, which is an 
 " injury " to health and property in both countries, and comes within 
 the spirit of the prohibition of Article IV of the treaty. It is now 
 necessary to consider the limits of permissible pollution, or the extent 
 to which pollution which might cause this " injury " should be 
 restricted. 
 
VI. LIMITS OF PERMISSIBLE POLLUTION AND STANDARDS OF 
 SEWAGE PURIFICATION. 
 
 Two distinct lines of policy with regard to the disposition of 
 sewage in boundary waters were suggested to the commission. (1) 
 To look upon them as open sewers for the reception of riparian 
 pollution of all kinds, and (2) to restore the purity of the boundary 
 waters as far and as fast as a comprehensive and adequate appre- 
 ciation of all interests involved will permit. 
 
 The first policy would not only be contrary to the treaty and the 
 principles of international law, but the continued discharge of un- 
 treated sewage into boundary waters by either country would, in 
 the case of the Niagara and Detroit Rivers especially, be increas- 
 ingly injurious to its own riparian communities farther downstream. 
 
 The advisory engineers in their resume, which has already been 
 set forth in full in this report, say : 
 
 Opinion of advisory . 
 
 engineers. "A" as to While realizing that in certain cases the discharge of 
 the discharge of raw crude sewage i n t the boundary waters may be without 
 
 sewage in boundary " 
 
 waterg> danger, it is our judgment that effective sanitary adminis- 
 
 tration requires the adoption of the general policy that 
 no untreated sewage from cities or towns shall be discharged into the boundary 
 waters. (Sec. 6.) 
 
 Water supplies taken from streams and lakes into which the sewage of cities 
 and towns is directly discharged are safe for use after 
 
 " B " as to feasibil- purification, provided that the load upon the puriflying 
 Ity of purifying water 
 after pollution- mechanism is not too great and that a sufficient factor of 
 
 safety is maintained, and further provided that the plant 
 is properly operated. (Sec. 2.) 
 
 In waterways where some pollution is inevitable and where the ratio of the 
 volume of water to the volume of sewage is so large that 
 "C" as to utilizing no local nuisance can res ult, it is our judgment that the 
 streams for dilution. 
 
 method of sewage disposal by dilution represents a natural 
 
 resource and that the utilization of this resource is justifiable for economic 
 reasons, provided that an unreasonable burden or responsibility is not placed 
 upon any water-purification plant and that no menace to the public health is 
 occasioned thereby. (Sec. 5.) 
 
 This " burden or responsibility " is a very important element to 
 be considered in arriving at a standard of puri- 
 fication or the limits of permissible pollution. 
 The advisory engineers were interrogated very 
 fully on this subject at the New York conference and were pressed 
 to define this limit in as exact terms as possible. Their answer is 
 contained in the fourth section of their resume : 
 
 While present information does not permit a definite limit of safe loading 
 of a water-purification plant to be established, it is our judgment that this 
 
 35 
 
36 FINAL REPOBT INTEKNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 limit is exceeded if the annual average number of B. coli in the water delivered 
 to the plant is higher than about 500 per 100 cubic centimeters, or if in 0.1 
 cubic centimeter samples of the water B. coli is found 50 per cent of the time. 
 With such a limit the number of B. coli would be less than the figure given 
 during a part of the year and would be exceeded during some periods. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark that the engineers are speaking 
 of bacterial pollution only. In view of the present 
 stage of progress in sanitary science, this limit or 
 standard must be regarded as tentative. Their 
 evidence shows that they regarded the question as profoundly 
 affected by conditions and in no sense capable of absolute generaliza- 
 tion. The commission agrees with the statement of principles set 
 forth in these four sections. It therefore recommends that all 
 sewage should, before being discharged into boundary waters, re- 
 ceive some purification treatment, and the degree of such treatment 
 is to be determined in a large measure by the limits of safe loading 
 of a water-purification plant. 
 
 To determine the extent of remedial treatment required in each 
 particular case would involve consideration of the varied lines that 
 have been followed by the commission throughout the present in- 
 quiry; the existence of pollution and of harm, actual or potential, 
 to domestic or other uses, to public health, or property; the results 
 of the engineering studies of feasible remedies; and the economic 
 facts relating to the conservation of stream resources. It would 
 require the balancing of the value of remedial measures in the terms 
 of public good against the cost of the requisite improvements. 
 
 On the one hand, it is evident that the paramount importance of 
 public health and the binding obligations of the treaty must be 
 borne in mind. These make impossible the recommendation of such 
 lenient remedial measures as would work economic injustice or 
 would indorse officially the continued spoliation of a natural re- 
 source to the injury of the citizens upon both sides of these waters. 
 
 On the other hand, sewage-treatment requirements must not be 
 made so excessive and unreasonable as to involve the cities and towns 
 along these waters in an expenditure entirely unjustifiable. They 
 should be reasonable and feasible from the standpoint of engineering 
 construction, of adaptability to local conditions, of the availability 
 of necessary lands, of outfalls and incident structures, and of costs. 
 
 In view of the fact that pollution in the Detroit and Niagara 
 Rivers, and its transboundary effects therein, are much greater than 
 in the other boundary waters, these two rivers will be treated as one 
 class and the remaining boundary waters as another class. 
 
 The problem of necessary bacterial purification of the sewage dis- 
 charged into the two former is one of extreme perplexity, owing to 
 the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining definite and ample data 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 37 
 
 and the relative importance to be attached to many of the factors 
 which enter into it. 
 
 After a great deal of consideration the commission has, in view of 
 all the circumstances of the case, come to the conclusion that for the 
 present, and as an immediate step in the way of restoration of the 
 purity of these streams, the communities responsible for the discharge 
 of raw sewage into them should purify it to such an extent that the 
 resulting average cross-sectional pollution in each river will not ex- 
 ceed the limit of safe loading for a water-purification plant. 
 
 In other words, the standard of purification required of these 
 communities should be such that the streams after receiving their 
 treated sewage would have a mean annual cross-sectional average of 
 B. coli not exceeding 500 per 100 c. c. 
 
 Compliance with the requirements of this standard would not im- 
 pose upon the riparian communities along these rivers discharging 
 their sewage therein a burden which would be unreasonable or 
 greater than that ordinarily imposed upon urban communities which 
 purify their sewage. 
 
 It necessarily follows that this standard of sewage purification, 
 being based upon a tentative standard of safe load- 
 in g of water-purification plants, must itself be 
 tentative. The growing appreciation of sanitation, 
 the consequent demand for a higher degree of purity in water sup- 
 plies, and the constant improvement that is taking place in the proc- 
 esses of sewage treatment tend to make a proper standard of sewage 
 purification one of ever-increasing stringency. The discovery of a 
 new and much more economical, or possibly a profitable, method of 
 disposal of sewage, for example, would naturally lead to the adop- 
 tion of a stricter standard of permissible pollution in heavily pol- 
 luted streams. Furthermore, any limit of permissible impurity that 
 might be established even temporarily for a given stream must be 
 influenced largely by strictly local considerations. 
 
 The data necessary for the formulation of a fixed standard either 
 of sewage purification or of water purification are not sufficiently 
 well established at the present time. ByViore precise methods of 
 experimental study there will doubtless be obtained in the future 
 a more ample and accurate command of facts, which will admit of 
 the determination of a more definite standard. 
 
 In view of the difficulties and uncertainties of bacteriological 
 
 technique, it is distinctly advantageous to have, if 
 
 Bettor worUns mie possible, a working rule which is more accurate 
 
 required than bacte- TIT -111 11 
 
 rial standard. and readily determinable than the bacterial stand- 
 
 ard suggested. Prof. Phelps, the consulting engi- 
 neer, taking the results of the extensive investigations reported 
 upon in the Progress Report as an index of the conditions actually 
 
38 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 existing, worked out, as will appear from his calculations on page 
 9 of his report to the commission, such a rule or standard. 
 
 He found that if the sewage of the cities be diluted in a stream flow 
 of 4 cubic feet per second, per capita of the population, the resulting 
 water will contain approximately 500 B. coli per 100 c. c. If the 
 dilution is proportionately less than this, a corresponding degree of 
 purification of the sewage will be necessary to maintain this final 
 stream condition. Further investigations will no doubt make pos- 
 sible a more accurate statement of these relations, but, as the entire 
 matter of standards is always subject to revision in the light of ac- 
 cumulated knowledge, it is considered that for all purposes of a pres- 
 ent inquiry the practical equivalence of the dilution and the bac- 
 teriological standards may be accepted. 
 
 These standards are not applicable to rivers other than the Niagara 
 and Detroit, but it is in no sense to be inferred, how- 
 
 The case of bound- 
 
 ary riTers standard of ever, that remedial or protective measures are not 
 sewage purification in required in their case where the effect of pollution 
 based upon the entire cross section of the streams 
 exceeds in every instance 4 feet per second per capita of the popu- 
 lation. 
 
 As has been stated, the view of the advisory engineers is adopted 
 that no untreated sewage should be discharged into boundary waters, 
 but the commission considers it inadvisable at the present time to 
 prescribe what the amount of treatment should be in the case of these 
 remaining rivers. The sewage from each community along their 
 banks must be considered by itself in respect of the degree of purifica- 
 tion that is necessary, basing the standard on the reasonable use of 
 the waters, the practical possibilities of remedial and protective meas- 
 ures, the economic value of stream purification, and also the economic 
 value of stream pollution, proper regard being had to the public 
 health. 
 
 After giving much attention to the question of standards of puri- 
 fication in these six boundary rivers the commission has come to the 
 conclusion that the fixing of standards for them, and the subsequent 
 modifications of those standards from time to time, should be left as 
 hereinafter recommended to some authority clothed with the neces- 
 sary power to deal with the question. This authority should also 
 have power to vary, from time to time as conditions demand, the 
 standards of sewage purification in the Detroit and Niagara Rivers. 
 
VII. REMEDIAL TREATMENT REQUIRED. 
 
 The second branch of the reference is concerned with remedying 
 and preventing pollution in boundary waters. 
 
 In what way or manner, whether by the construction and operation of suitable 
 
 drainage canals or plants at convenient points or other- 
 Second branch of 
 reference wise, is it possible and advisable to remedy or prevent the 
 
 pollution of these waters, and by what means or ar- 
 rangement can the proper construction or operation of remedial or pre- 
 ventive works, or a system or method of rendering these waters sanitary and 
 suitable for domestic and other uses, be best secured and maintained in order to 
 insure the adequate protection and development of all interests involved on 
 both sides of the boundary, and to fulfill the obligations undertaken in Article 
 IV of the waterways treaty of January 11, 1909, between the United States and 
 Great Britain, in which it is agreed that the waters therein defined as boundary 
 waters and waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either 
 side to the injury of health or property on the other? 
 
 The question of securing treatment of the sewage discharged into 
 boundary waters is one in respect of which, for- 
 f m M tunately, the communities responsible for the pollu- 
 tion are inclined to take a reasonable view. At sev- 
 eral meetings held by the commission the representatives of the 
 various communities interested generally recognized the intolerable 
 condition of boundary waters from a sanitary standpoint, and 
 expressed their assent to any reasonable remedial measures the 
 commission might suggest. Some objections were made to any dis- 
 turbance of the existing order of things, but the commission was 
 pleased with the sympathetic reception generally met with in dealing 
 with this problem. 
 
 In this connection the following extract is given from the report 
 made by Mr. Clarence W. Hubbell, consulting sanitary engineer of 
 the city of Detroit, in November, 1916. It is at one and the same time 
 the expression of the opinion of a well-known sanitary engineer and 
 an evidence of the commendable attitude taken by him and the city of 
 Detroit with respect to sewage purification. 
 
 In regard to the second part of the problem, as to what expense would be 
 justified for sewage treatment, it is difficult to formulate an answer in terms 
 of money alone. However, it is believed that, aside from the international 
 features of the problem, the combined benefits which would accrue from a 
 more cleanly water front, purer water at the bathing beaches and summer 
 playgrounds, reduction in typhoid and other water-borne diseases, due to the 
 use of sewage-laden water along the river front; betterment of raw-water sup- 
 plies for the municipalities below the city, and the protection of Detroit's 
 
 39 
 
40 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 water from gross sewage pollution at times when the Detroit River flows back- 
 ward, amply justify the expenditure required for sewage-treatment works as 
 above outlined. In round figures, the cost would be about $6,000,000, and in my 
 judgment the expenditure of this sum would be justifiable. 
 
 The duty devolving upon the commission in answering the first 
 question contained in this branch of the reference is not to lay down 
 any particular scheme of remedial works which the communities 
 interested should adopt, but to ascertain whether or not there is any 
 means by which the pollution of boundary Avaters can be prevented 
 or remedied which is at once practicable and within their financial 
 ability. Subject to the requirement that the remedial works should 
 be ample to accomplish the desired results, the adoption of the par- 
 ticular type of works to be installed should be left to the communi- 
 ties themselves, which may be able to select more efficient and less 
 expensive methods than those which the commission has found suffi- 
 cient to work out the desirable standards of sewage purification. 
 
 The art of sewage treatment has developed along divers lines, and 
 there are available at the present time various types 
 
 various types of o f treatment adaptable to the needs of varying 
 
 sewage nuisance and . . mi . jjuj.- 
 
 treatment. conditions. Ihe most important type of pollution 
 
 is the bacterial contamination of drinking-water 
 supplies. Sewage-polluted drinking water constitutes an actual or 
 potential menace to health, so much so that the presence of the bacte- 
 rial organisms of water-borne diseases in the sewage of an urban com- 
 munity should always be assumed. While bacterial pollution is most 
 serious in the case of waters used as sources of drinking-water sup- 
 ply, it is also serious in the case of waters used for bathing, boating, 
 and other pleasurable exercises, and also, although to a less degree, 
 in the case of shore waters on account of possible indirect infection 
 through cattle and insects. 
 
 Certain types of sewage treatment processes, such as sand filters, 
 having as their chief function oxidation of sewage, are incidentally 
 more or less efficient as a 'means of disinfection; but sewage disin- 
 fection as a primary requirement is most economically and efficiently 
 carried out by chemical means. Among the various chemical agent* 
 that have been proposed from time to time and extensively used 
 for this purpose, calcium hyperchlorite or bleaching powder has 
 proved most satisfactory. 
 
 A second type of pollution or nuisance arising from the discharge 
 of sewage into boundary waters is physical and re- 
 
 physicai pollution, lates primarily to the condition of streams, as 
 floating matter, turbidity, deposits upon the bot- 
 tom or banks, and unsightly appearances. Sewage screening by 
 means of so-called coarse screens will remove a considerable portion 
 of the larger and more undesirable floating matter and improve the 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 41 
 
 appearance of streams. Efficient sedimentation will remove a sub- 
 stantial part of suspended matter generally and nearly the whole of 
 the suspended matter which is capable of settling and producing bot- 
 tom deposits of an offensive character. Fine screening is intermedi- 
 ate in effectiveness between coarse screening and sedimentation. The 
 requirements of each particular situation and the relative cost of the 
 installation and operation of these three systems must determine in 
 each case the type of treatment to be adopted. There is a third type 
 of nuisance, chemical in its nature, which arises from changes in the 
 chemical characteristics of streams reduction in the normal degree 
 of aeration, development of offensive odors, and discoloration and 
 banishment or destruction of fish life. It is due to the oxidizable 
 character of the polluted waters. Partial improvement results from 
 screening or sedimentation by the removal of a portion of the 
 oxidizable matter. Biochemical oxidation of sewage, which is the 
 most effective treatment, is brought about by passing it through 
 natural or specially prepared beds of sand or over the surface of 
 stones or other coarse material or by passing it through tanks, with 
 artificial aeration in contact with sludge properly cultivated (acti- 
 vated sludge) , for the development of oxidizing organisms. 
 
 With the extension of stream pollution by increasing population 
 these three kinds of nuisance appear in the chronological order in 
 which reference has been made to them. A minor physically unde- 
 tectable pollution may seriously injure a stream bacterially, and a 
 stream may be physically affected by floating debris and deposits, 
 and yet, from a chemical standpoint, be normal or practically so. 
 The final result of continuously increasing pollution is the chemical 
 breakdown of a stream, resulting in the most objectionable conditions, 
 examples of which are becoming increasingly common in the more 
 densely settled sections of both countries. In purely local situations 
 in the Niagara, Detroit, and St. Clair Rivers, for instance, notably in 
 the vicinity of sewer outlets and the mouths of tributary streams, 
 and in the inner harbor at Buffalo, the waters are polluted to the 
 extent of definite chemical nuisance. At these points the difficulty is 
 due to incomplete dispersion of the sewage permitting the overload- 
 ing of the immediate waters. The rivers as a whole, however, are 
 far removed from this condition. 
 
 It is advisable to consider the Niagara and Detroit Rivers as a class 
 by themselves so far as remedial and preventive systems are con- 
 cerned. As has been stated, the most serious condition existing is 
 the bacterial pollution of these streams. To remedy this evil, sewage 
 treatment should be applied in connection with dilution so far as is 
 necessary to bring their waters to the standard mentioned a mean 
 annual cross-sectional average of B. coli not exceeding 500 per 100 
 c. c. This necessary sewage purification can be effected by fine screen- 
 
42 
 
 FINAL BEPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 ing or sedimentation, and when necessary by chemical disinfection, 
 at a cost which will impose no unreasonable burden upon the urban 
 community responsible for the present pollution. 
 
 The consulting engineer, Prof. Phelps, investigated the question 
 
 of installing adequate remedial works at Detroit 
 
 cost of remedial an( j Buffalo. The results of his investigation are 
 
 works at Buffalo and . . . . 
 
 Detroit. given in his report to the commission, to which 
 
 those desirous of looking into this question at 
 length are referred. 1 A summary of his conclusions, however, is 
 given in the following table : 
 
 
 First co st. 
 
 Annual charges. 
 
 Intercept- 
 ors. 
 
 Other 
 structures. 
 
 Land. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Fixed. 
 
 Operat- 
 ing 
 
 Total. 
 
 Per 
 
 capita. 
 
 Detroit 
 
 $2,560,000 
 1,560,000 
 
 $2,690,000 
 1,770,000 
 
 $680,000 
 270,000 
 
 $5,930,000 
 3, 600, 000 
 
 $295,000 
 203,000 
 
 $216,000 
 187, 000 
 
 $511,000 
 390,000 
 
 $0.54 
 .65 
 
 Buffalo - ... 
 
 
 The estimated first cost of necessary remedial works for Detroit is 
 about $6,000,000, and for Buffalo something less than $4,000,000. 
 In each case about one-half of the total costs is for treatment works 
 proper, the remainder being the amount chargeable to the collection 
 of sewage. The annual charges include interest, maintenance, and 
 operating expenses, and amount on a per capita basis to 54 and 65 
 cents, respectively. 
 
 The United States Census Bureau furnishes data 2 respecting the 
 combined yearly charges per capita for water and sewerage works 
 in American cities. Tabulated, these data are as follows : 
 
 Cities over 500,000 population $3.48 
 
 Cities from 300,000 to 500,000 4. 01 
 
 Cities from 100,000 to 300,000 3.92 
 
 Cities from 50,000 to 100,000 3.71 
 
 Cities from 20,000 to 30,000 3. 65 
 
 Average of all cities over 30,000 population 3. 94 
 
 These estimated yearly costs per capita for required sewage treat- 
 ment determined by Prof. Phelps do not appear to the commission 
 to be unreasonable, either in view of the combined water and sew- 
 erage costs in the United States cities or in view of the financial stand- 
 ing of the communities interested. 
 
 The sewage pollution of the Rainy, St. Marys, St. Clair, St. Law- 
 rence, St. John, and St. Croix Rivers differs from 
 
 other riTers. that of the Detroit and Niagara Rivers in degree, 
 
 but not in kind. The less concentrated population* 
 on these six rivers have not yet brought about the regrettable condi 
 
 1 Report of the Consulting Sanitary Engineer Upon Remedial Measures, Mar. 6, 1916. 
 U. S. Census Bureau. Financial Statistics of Cities, 1912. Washington, 1913. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 43 
 
 tions existent in the other two. A fortunate opportunity, therefore, is 
 afforded them to avoid the dilemma of the more dense populations 
 along the Detroit and Niagara Rivers and to profit by recent advances 
 in sanitary science and provide at an earlier stage in their develop- 
 ment facilities and arrangements for sewage purification, the absence 
 of which makes stream protection in the Niagara and Detroit Rivers 
 a matter of such serious expense and difficulty. Despite the fact that 
 the effects of pollution in these six streams are largely local and con- 
 fined in the main to shore conditions, the commission has no doubt 
 as to the advisability of their adopting remedial measures in the im- 
 mediate future. The extent of treatment required is controlled by 
 local rather than by general conditions. By this statement it is 
 meant that while conditions exist in many instances which are in 
 substantial contravention of treaty obligations, their immediate local 
 effect is much more serious than their effect upon the stream as a 
 whole. Remedies sufficient to meet the local conditions would be 
 ample to meet the international situation. 
 
 In the case of these streams any remedial works installed in com- 
 pliance with existing legislation, and the regulations of the States 
 and Provinces directly affected, should have in view the safeguard- 
 ing of international interests, present and future. These interests 
 require as a minimum measure the planning of a sewer system with 
 provisions for the collection of sewerage at one or more points suit- 
 able for treatment, the installation of tanks or other devices suffi- 
 cient for the removal of the larger portion of the suspended solids 
 capable of settling, and ample equipment for the chemical disinfec- 
 tion of all sewage at such times as may be found necessary, the time 
 for taking these remedial measures to be left to the discretion of the 
 authority hereinafter recommended. 
 
 The consulting engineer also investigated the question of the cost 
 of adequate remedial works at the following towns in the Province 
 of Ontario: Windsor, Sarnia, Amherstburg, Fort Erie, Niagara 
 Falls, Bridgeburg, Chippewa, and Queenston; at the following 
 towns in the State of Michigan : Port Huron, St. Clair, Marine City, 
 Algonac, River Rouge, Ecorse, Ford City, Wyandotte, and Trenton ; 
 and at the following towns in the State of New York: Tonawanda, 
 North Tonawanda, Lasalle, Niagara Falls, Lackawanna, Kenmore, 
 Lewiston, and Youngstown. 
 
 In the case of these cities and towns the estimated annual charges 
 in connection with these works, including interest, maintenance, and 
 operating expenses, range from 44 cents to $2.49 per capita, averag- 
 ing 77 cents per capita of their population. These estimates, as well 
 as the estimates in the case of Detroit and Buffalo, are based on ordi- 
 nary prices and not on the exceptional prices which, owing to the 
 war, are ruling at the present time. These charges also appear to 
 
FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 the commission to be reasonable, both in view of the financial stand- 
 ing of the towns and cities and in view of similar charges in the case 
 of other towns and cities in the two countries. 
 Although the commission felt itself more concerned with results 
 than methods, it devoted considerable time and at- 
 
 Inquiries into meth- , j.i L ' ' < 
 
 ods of sewage disposal, tention to the investigation of improved processes 
 of sewage treatment and disposal. The science of 
 sanitation, as has been remarked, is a progressive one, and its ad- 
 vance is marked by important developments from year to year. 
 
 Mr. T. Chalkley Hatton, sanitary engineer for the city of Mil- 
 waukee, gave evidence before the commission on this subject. 1 One 
 of his statements illustrates the active spirit of research along this 
 line which to-day characterizes the world of sanitary science. He 
 says: 
 
 Before deciding upon the methods of sewage disposal for Milwaukee we built 
 rather an elaborate experimental station, in which we tried to put all those 
 modern methods of sewage disposal now prevalent in this country and abroad, 
 and I think we had 23 different processes going on there at one time one of 
 the largest experimental stations carried on in this country for sewage-disposal 
 purposes. , 
 
 A controlling factor in the disposal of sewage is the cost of dealing 
 with the sludge. Great care must be taken in disposing of the set- 
 tleable solids of sewage in order to prevent local nuisances, and under 
 certain conditions very large expenditures must be made to prevent 
 the substitution of nuisances on land for nuisances in the water of the 
 diluting streams. What sanitary engineers generally are seeking for 
 is some effective process by which the disposal of the sludge can be 
 made a commercial success. 
 
 The activated sludge process, which has apparently been finally 
 adopted by Milwaukee, is one of the most promising of modern 
 methods and is meeting with the approval of a large number of 
 sanitary engineers. 
 
 A sludge-treatment process operated in England was discussed be- 
 fore the commission by Mr. Edward A. Paterson, chemical engineer 
 of London. 2 The object of this process is to dry prepared sewage 
 sludge so that it can be used as a fertilizer and extract as by-products 
 during destructive distillation, ammonia, oils, gas, fat, phenol, and 
 other materials suitable for drugs and dyes. Mr. Paterson claims 
 that the sludge can be and -is being treated by this process in Eng- 
 land at a fair profit. Other processes were looked into. Of all of 
 them it may be said that they are still in their experimental stage, 
 and while their results so far have under certain circumstances been 
 very encouraging, they have not been fully tested by time and condi- 
 
 1 Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of 
 boundary waters between the United States and Canada, 1916, p. 99. 
 Mbid., p. 35. 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 45 
 
 tions. A full discussion by the commission of these various proc- 
 esses in their present stage of development would not serve any 
 useful end, and its opinions would not be taken, and could not be 
 expected to be taken, as conclusive as to their respective merits. 
 
 So far remedial methods have only been dealt with in connection 
 with urban communities. Sewage from vessels, water ballast dis- 
 charged from vessels, garbage, industrial and manufacturing wastes 
 call for consideration with regard to remedial methods. 
 
 The discharge of sewage from vessels has been shown to constitute 
 a series menace to public health in both countries, 
 
 Vessel sewage. A . 
 
 not only through the possible contamination of 
 water supplies near their intakes, but also by reason of its effect upon 
 the water supplies of other vessels traversing the same areas. Experi- 
 ments undertaken by the United States Public Health Service have 
 shown that by the use of steam this sewage can be easily disinfected 
 before discharge. A practical test of an automatic apparatus de- 
 signed for this purpose carried out through two complete seasons upon 
 the D. C. Kerr, a lake steamship, met with entire success both as to 
 mechanical operation and bacteriological efficiency. The installation 
 of this apparatus would be quite inexpensive and all steamships on 
 boundary waters should be compelled to sterilize their sewage. Since 
 the navigation of these waters is almost entirely by steamship, the 
 evil now caused by this sewage would be practically remedied. In 
 the case of other vessels some system of purification can doubtless 
 be found which is cheap and practical. 
 Pollution by water ballast constitutes a more difficult problem. 
 
 There has not yet come to the notice of the com- 
 vesgei ballast, mission any feasible means of purifying the rather 
 
 large quantities of water which vessels while in 
 the polluted areas of inner harbors frequently take on board for 
 purposes of ballast, and which they afterwards discharge upon ap- 
 proaching their ports of destination, often while passing water 
 intakes. It will probably be sufficient for the present at least to 
 control this practice by suitable regulations, designed to limit or 
 prevent the discharge of water ballast in the neighborhood of intakes. 
 In the event of the failure of such control by regulations, more ex- 
 pensive and time-consuming methods of treatment will have to be 
 developed and prescribed. 
 The floatable character of garbage generally renders it liable to 
 
 be carried by winds to the shores of the rivers and 
 Garbage. lakes, where, within a limited radius, it becomes 
 
 particularly offensive. In the case of one Ameri- 
 can city of considerable size a substantial part of its garbage was 
 being disposed of by dumping it into the main outfall sewer near its 
 mouth. Such a practice is highly censurable and out of keeping 
 
46 FINAL BEPOET INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 with the usual practice of American cities. The remedy for pollu- 
 tion from this source is to prohibit the discharge of all garbage into 
 boundary waters. 
 
 Pollution from industrial wastes has received a great deal of at- 
 tention, and expensive works for its purification 
 industrial wastes. have been installed both in this continent and in 
 Europe. In some of these works valuable by- 
 products have been recovered, and the cost of treatment thus re- 
 duced. The immensity of the boundary waters, and their consequent 
 capacity for dilution, will probably for some time to come prevent 
 pollution from this source other than sawmill and pulp mill wastes 
 becoming an international question. Having regard to the future, 
 however, it is well to provide for its regulation. Specifically the 
 dumping of large quantities of sawdust and other sawmill waste, 
 and the discharge of wastes from pulp mills, have been brought to 
 the attention of the commission. Sawmill waste has in many States 
 and Provinces been prohibited by laws, more honored in their breach 
 than in their observance. It is possible that there will come a time, 
 and not in the very distant future, when all sawmill wastes will 
 become valuable and be utilized in manufacturing ; but in the mean- 
 time these wastes should be burned, or otherwise prevented from 
 being discharged into boundary waters. At present the St. John 
 Lumber Co.'s sawmill on the St. John River at Van Buren, Me., dis- 
 poses of all its sawmill waste in connection with the pulp mill in 
 its vicinity, and none of it is permitted to enter the St. John River. 
 Other cases, including wastes from manufacturing and chemical 
 industries, may demand further investigation of a somewhat de- 
 tailed character before it will be possible to determine the extent of 
 the resulting injury and the feasibility of remedial measures. The 
 nature of the treatment of this waste and the degree of its purifica- 
 tion necessary will have to be determined upon the facts and circum- 
 stances of individual cases as they arise. The dealing with this class 
 of pollution should be left to the authority hereinafter recommended. 
 The reference specifically calls for consideration by the com- 
 mission of drainage canals as a possible way or 
 Drainage canals. means of remedying or preventing the trans- 
 boundary effect of pollution. The only suggestion 
 that has been made before the commission of a drainage canal project 
 is of that promoted by the Erie & Ontario Sanitary Canal Com- 
 pany. This company was organized primarily for power purposes, 
 but among the objects in its application for incorporation is remedy- 
 ing the pollution of the Niagara River by the construction of a canal 
 starting at or near the mouth of Smokes Creek in the city of Lacka- 
 wanna and thence running through a well-settled country to Lake 
 Ontario. It is proposed that the canal should be used free of charge 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 47 
 
 by the cities of Lackawanna, Buffalo, Tonawanda, North Tona- 
 wanda, Niagara Falls (United States) , and Lockport, and by all other 
 municipalities and communities on the United States side of the 
 Niagara Eiver to carry off their sewage and storm flows, which are 
 now discharged into Lake Erie and the Niagara River, provided each 
 city or town make its own connection with the canal without expense 
 to the company. The company applied to the Secretary of 
 War for the United States by application dated April 23, 1912, for 
 permission to divert for its purposes 6,000 second- feet of water from 
 Lake Erie and the Niagara River. The necessary authority for 
 the diversion of this water was denied by the Government of the 
 United States, but the company desired to secure from the commis- 
 sion an approval of the canal as a feasible solution of the pollution 
 problem in the Niagara River. Opportunities were afforded the 
 company to appear before the commission on several occasions. The 
 company's president, Mr. Millard F. Bowen, its counsel, Mr. George 
 Clinton, and others on its behalf made at the different sittings able 
 and lengthy arguments, and briefs were submitted to the commis- 
 sion containing statements of fact and arguments from Messrs. 
 Randolph, Clinton, Bowen, and Shiras in support of the scheme. 
 Quite a large amount of evidence was taken, as will appear on ref- 
 erence to the records of the commission. 1 The financial and sanitary 
 features of the project did not, however, appear to have been suffi- 
 ciently investigated. The plans and data submitted were conse- 
 quently referred to the consulting engineer for further investiga- 
 tion and report. His report was decidedly adverse to the under- 
 taking for two principal reasons: (1) It proposes to receive sewage 
 in its raw condition into the canal, thus creating a large open sewer. 
 A condition of serious menace would therefore obtain throughout 
 its length ; and if the sewage were allowed to pass into Lake Ontario, 
 conditions there would be at least no less objectionable than they 
 are at present. (2) The treatment required to prevent nuisance 
 in such a canal would necessarily be more complete and correspond- 
 ingly more expensive than treatment required for the protection of 
 the Niagara River a result due to the comparatively small volume 
 of diluting water available in the canal and the consequent neces- 
 sity for thorough treatment of the sewage by expensive oxidizing 
 methods. These reasons would apply with much greater force in 
 the future. Buffalo and the towns below are rapidly growing. 
 Should their combined population reach a total of 1,000,000, the 
 diluting power of the diverted water would be so inadequate that 
 
 1 Preliminary report of committee having general supervision of the investigation relat- 
 ing to the pollution of boundary waters, with documents * * * relating to the peti- 
 tions of the Erie & Ontario Sanitary Canal Co. for permission to divert 6,000 second- 
 feet from Lake Erie, 1913. 
 
48 FINAL KEPOET INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 during the summer months the waters of the canal would be devoid 
 of oxygen, dark in color, and foul smelling. One nuisance would 
 be abated by the creation of a much greater nuisance, which could 
 only be corrected by the most intense sewage purification. The 
 commission, after full consideration of all the features of the project, 
 is of the opinion that besides being objectionable on other grounds 
 it is inadvisable as a sanitary measure. 
 
 On the general question of drainage canals as a method of sewage 
 disposal the commission is unable to express any opinion, as each 
 case must be decided upon its merits. Consideration of any scheme 
 involves a study of the amount of water available for diversion, the 
 water-carrying capacity of the canal, the amount of raw sewage to 
 be discharged into it, the character and cost of treatment of the 
 sewage to be carried, and the consequent interference with the many 
 other interests which may be affected, all of which elements vary 
 according to local circumstances and conditions. 
 
 In the discussion of sewage standards and purification and other 
 
 matters in this report it was recommended that 
 
 poSon al SSI" be' the y be dealt with by some authority which should 
 
 considered and con- be clothed with the necessary power. In view of 
 
 8ti tnS anth0rltyC011 " what has been said unde r th e heading of "Trans- 
 boundary effect of pollution," the commission is of 
 the opinion that to the extent that is consistent with a proper degree 
 of autonomy by the urban communities interested, all boundary 
 waters, so far as pollution is concerned, should be subject to the 
 regulations prescribed by this authority. If, during the investiga- 
 tion, one thing impressed itself more than another upon the atten- 
 tion of the commission, it was the view that while pollution which 
 has a transboundary effect must in consequence of the obligation 
 resting on both countries under the treaty be distinguished from 
 pollution which has not such an effect, the distinction is, from a prac- 
 tical standpoint, highly technical and artificial. The question of 
 pollution, if a narrow construction be placed upon the treaty and 
 reference, is but a part of the larger question of pollution in boundary 
 waters generally, in the solution of which both countries are, as has 
 been shown, vitally interested. The present international situation 
 is not the result of any desire on the part of the inhabitants of either 
 country to ignore international obligations either of comity or of 
 law, but is the outcome of the failure on the part of the urban com- 
 munities in each country, respectively, to recognize from a sanitary 
 standpoint any right in other communities to river waters, especially 
 communities on their own side of the boundary line. Every border 
 community in the United States and Canada has in the matter of 
 sanitation considered its own immediate interests exclusively. The 
 result is that while those communities have been tolerably successful 
 
POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATEES. 49 
 
 
 
 in the management of sanitary affairs within their own territorial 
 limits and have installed water and sewerage systems fairly ample 
 for their own present needs, they have recognized no responsibility 
 whatever resting upon themselves with regard to their sewage efflu- 
 ents, and by discharging, them untreated into river waters they have 
 compelled their neighbors to submit to intolerable conditions. The 
 present practice of discharging sewage in this manner must be re- 
 stricted until an equilibrium, so to speak, of the rights of all com- 
 munities in the waters of the boundary rivers is established, in which 
 each may discharge its sewage into these waters, but only to such 
 an extent and of such a degree of purification as shall not interfere 
 with the reasonable enjoyment by other communities of their rights. 
 
 The situation on the boundary waters is not unique; many like 
 it exist elsewhere, although not on so large a scale. A close parallel 
 exists in the case of the boundary waters between England and Scot- 
 land. By act of the British Parliament passed in 1898 the local 
 government board for England and the secretary for Scotland may, 
 on certain steps being taken, " together constitute a joint committee 
 representing all or any of the countries through or by which such 
 river or any specified portion or tributary thereof passes; and such 
 committee may have all the powers of a sanitary authority with 
 respect to pollution in such waters." 
 
 In this connection reference may be made to the views of the 
 British royal commissions already mentioned whose extensive and 
 exhaustive investigations into river pollution, most scientifically con- 
 ducted for a lengthened period, entitle their opinion to great weight. 
 Their reports, especially the reports of the last commission, repeat- 
 edly emphasize the great necessity for sanitary purposes of having 
 a river, as a whole, under one management. 
 
 Under existing sanitary laws and their administration the pollu- 
 tion evil has been steadily growing along the boundary. The indif- 
 ference to injury done others, the financial interests of the different 
 communities, and the practical difficulties in arriving at concerted 
 action are so hard to overcome that the only assurance of betterment 
 lies in the constitution of some authority which shall have jurisdic- 
 tion over boundary waters and be clothed with ample power to 
 prevent their being unduly polluted. Consistently with the exercise 
 of its powers by such an authority, the installation of remedial works 
 and the expenditures in connection therewith would all be in the 
 hands of the local authorities. The only interference with the lat- 
 ter on the part of the suggested authority would be to prescribe 
 the necessary capacity of the sewage-purification works and the 
 degree of efficiency with which they should be operated. From the 
 international standpoint this capacity and degree of efficiency need 
 8787318 4 
 
50 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 not exceed those which should prevail for the protection among 
 themselves of the communities on either side of the boundary line. 
 As has been remarked, the question of the pollution of those 
 waters generally is a matter of great international moment.. In 
 view of this fact and of the variety and possible conflict of national, 
 State, provincial, and municipal authorities, it is too obvious to 
 require discussion that the recommended authority should be jointly 
 created by the high contracting parties. As the International Joint 
 Commission is under the treaty clothed with jurisdiction over the 
 use, obstruction, and diversion of boundary waters, together with 
 jurisdiction over other international matters, it is recommended that 
 the necessary jurisdiction and authority in respect of the pollution 
 of boundary waters and waters crossing the boundary be conferred 
 upon it; and for the purpose of giving effect to the jurisdiction and 
 authority so conferred that the commission be authorized to make 
 such rules, regulations, directions, and orders as in its judgment may 
 be deemed necessary ; and that power be also given to the commission 
 to appoint such engineers and employees as it may consider advisable. 
 
VIII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 
 The following is a summary of the conclusions the commission 
 has arrived at, and of the recommendations it submits to the two 
 Governments : 
 
 1. The Great Lakes beyond their shore waters and their polluted 
 areas at the mouths of the rivers which flow into them are, except 
 so far as they are affected by vessel pollution, in a state of almost 
 absolute purity. With the exception of these pure areas, the entire 
 stretch of boundary waters, including Rainy River, St. Marys 
 River, St. Clair River, Detroit River, Niagara River, St. Lawrence 
 River from Lake Ontario to Cornwall, and the St. John River from 
 Grand Falls to Edmundston, New Brunswick, is polluted to an 
 extent which renders the water in its unpurified state unfit for drink- 
 ing purposes. This pollution has its origin chiefly in the sewage and 
 storm flows from the riparian cities and towns and the sewage from 
 vessels. It is very intense along the shores of the Detroit and 
 Niagara Rivers and in the contaminated areas in the Lakes. Through- 
 out the whole length of the boundary waters where sewage is dis- 
 charged from the sewerage works of cities and towns the pollution 
 is most concentrated in the shore waters on the side of the boundary 
 on which it originates. These shore waters, besides being in places 
 unsightly, malodorous, and absolutely unfit for domestic purposes, 
 are a source of serious danger to summer residents, bathers, and 
 others who frequent the localities. So foul are they in many places 
 that municipal ordinances have been passed prohibiting bathing in 
 them. 
 
 2. In the Detroit and Niagara Rivers conditions exist which im- 
 peril the health and welfare of the citizens of both countries in direct 
 contravention of the treaty. This is true, though in a less marked 
 degree, of the Rainy and St. John Rivers. 
 
 3. In the St. Marys, St. Clair, and St. Lawrence Rivers pollution 
 exists which is in substantial contravention of the spirit of the 
 treaty, and unless these conditions are improved, and the rivers 
 placed under the control of competent authority, the resulting in- 
 jury will be much more pronounced as population increases. 
 
 4. Vessel pollution in certain parts of boundary waters exists to 
 an extent which causes substantial injury to health and property. 
 It is derived from two soufces, sewage waste from vessels and 
 "water ballast" which is taken in by lake vessels at their ports of 
 departure and emptied into these waters at or near their ports of 
 destination. Vessel pollution is distinctly traceable in boundary 
 waters in lanes and channels which vessels traverse in navigating 
 
 51 
 
52 FINAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION. 
 
 them, their waters being thereby rendered unfit for drinking pur- 
 poses. 
 
 5. In some cases sawmill and other mill wastes, garbage, offal, car- 
 cases, and other refuse matters are discharged into boundary waters. 
 This practice results generally in a contravention of the treaty. 
 
 6. It is feasible and practicable, without imposing an unreasonable 
 burden upon the offending communities, to prevent or remedy pol- 
 lution, both in the case of boundary waters and waters crossing the 
 boundary. 
 
 (a) In the case of city sewage, this can best be accomplished by 
 the installation of suitable collecting and treatment works, the latter 
 having special reference to the removal of bacteria and matters in 
 suspension. 
 
 (5) In the case of vessel sewage, a feasible and inexpensive remedy 
 lies in the employment of recognized methods of disinfection before 
 it is discharged. In the case of water ballast suitable rules and 
 regulations should be prescribed with a view of protecting the water 
 intakes. 
 
 (c) The discharge of garbage and sawmill waste into boundary 
 waters should be prohibited, and industrial and other wastes, which 
 are causing appreciable injury, should be discharged subject to such 
 restrictions as may be prescribed. 
 
 7. In order to remedy and prevent the pollution of boundary 
 waters and to render them sanitary and suitable for domestic pur- 
 poses and other uses, and to secure adequate protection and develop- 
 ment of all interests involved on both sides of the boundary, and to 
 fulfill the obligations undertaken in Article IV of the treaty, it is 
 advisable to confer upon the International Joint Commission ample 
 jurisdiction to regulate and prohibit this pollution of boundary 
 waters and waters crossing the boundary. 
 
 Hereto annexed is a schedule showing the reports made to and by 
 
 the commission, and of the minutes of its sittings, which have already 
 
 been printed, or which the commission contemplates having printed. 
 
 Dated at Atlantic City, N. J., this 12th day of August, A. D. 1918. 
 
 CHARLES A. MAGRATH. 
 
 OBADIAH GARDNER. 
 
 HENRY A. POWELL. 
 
 JAMES A. TAWNEY. 
 
 P. B. MIGNAULT. 
 
 R % B. GLENN. 
 
SCHEDULE. 
 
 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION RELA- 
 TIVE TO THE POLLUTION OF BOUNDARY WATERS. 
 
 1. Preliminary report of the committee having general supervision of the 
 Investigation relating to the pollution of boundary waters, with documents on 
 file in the United States War Department relating to the petitions of the Erie 
 & Ontario Sanitary Canal Co. for permission to divert 6,000 second-feet from 
 Lake Erie for the purpose of remedying the existing pollution of Niagara River. 
 Washington, 1913. 
 
 2. Progress report of the International Joint Commission on the reference by 
 the United States and Canada in re the pollution of boundary waters, whether 
 or not such pollution extends across the boundary in contravention of the treaty 
 of January 11, 1909, and, if so, in what manner or by what means is it possible 
 to prevent the same, including report of the sanitary experts. Washington. 
 1914. 
 
 3. Pollution of boundary waters. Conference with sanitary engineers at New 
 York City, May 26 and 27, 1914. Washington, 1914. 
 
 4. Resume of testimony of consulting sanitary engineers in the matter of the 
 pollution of boundary waters. Conference at New York City, May 26-27, 1914. 
 Washington, 1914. 
 
 5. Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the 
 pollution of boundary waters between the United States and Canada, held at 
 Niagara Falls, Ontario, Buffalo, N. Y., Detroit, Mich., Windsor, Ontario, Port 
 Huron, Mich., and Sarnia, Ontario, September 25 to October 2, inclusive; De- 
 troit, Mich., November 10 and 11 ; and Washington, D. C., December 14 and 16. 
 1914. Washington, 1914. 
 
 6. Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the 
 pollution of boundary waters between the United States and Canada, being pub- 
 lic hearings held at Buffalo, N. Y., and Detroit, Mich., June 21-27, 1916, and 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y., August 25, 1916. Washington, 1917. 
 
 7. Report of the consulting sanitary engineer upon remedial measures. March 
 8, 1916. Washington, 1918. 
 
 8. Final report of the International Joint Commission 'in the matter of the 
 reference by the United States and the Dominion of Canada relative to the pol- 
 lution of boundary waters. Washington, 1918. 
 
 53 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Activated sludge process, 41, 44. 
 
 Algonac, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Amherstburg, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Amyot, Dr. John A., attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9 ; employed as sanitary ex- 
 pert, 10. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bacteriological investigation, 10. 
 
 Bartow, Dr. Edward, attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Biochemical oxidation, 41. 
 
 Boundary waters, definition of, 5-6. 
 
 Bowen, Millard F., re Erie & Ontario Sani- 
 tary Canal Co., 47. 
 
 Bridgeburg, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Buffalo, conference at, 9 ; cost of remedial 
 works, 42. 
 
 By-products of sewage, 44. 
 
 C. 
 
 Chippawa, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Clark, Dr. Edward, attends conference at 
 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 Clinton, George, attends conference at 
 
 Buffalo, 9 ; re Erie & Ontario Sanitary 
 
 Canal Co., 47. 
 
 Commerce of Great Lakes, value of, 7. 
 Conclusions and recommendations, 51-52. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dallyn, F. A., attends conference at Buf- 
 falo, 9 ; employed as sanitary expert, 10 ; 
 as advisory engineer, 13 ; re'sume' of tes- 
 timony of, 13-15. 
 
 Detroit, cost of sewage treatment works, 
 40, 42. 
 
 Detroit River, pollution, 20-21 ; trans- 
 boundary effects, 25 ; tentative standard 
 adopted, 38. 
 
 Dilution method, 35. 
 
 Drainage canals, 4648. 
 
 E. 
 
 Ecorse, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Engineering investigations, 15 ; scope of, 
 
 15 ; cooperation of communities, 15-10. 
 Erie & Ontario Sanitary Canal project, 
 
 46-47. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fisheries endangered by pollution, 23. 
 Ford City, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Fort Erie, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Fronczak, Dr. Francis E., 9. 
 Fuller, George W., employed as advisory 
 
 engineer, 13 ; re'sume' of testimony ol, 
 
 13-15. 
 
 G. 
 
 Garbage pollution, 45, 52. 
 
 Great Lakes, value of industries, 7 ; canals, 
 
 7; value of mines, 7; lake shipping, 7; 
 
 pleasure resorts, 7 ; water powers, 8 ; 
 
 transboundary effect of pollution, 27 ; 
 
 purity of waters, 51. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hatton, T. Chalkley, re sewage treatment 
 at Milwaukee, 44. 
 
 Hearings of 1914 and 1916, 13, 17. 
 
 Hill, John W., attends conference at Buf- 
 falo, 9. 
 
 Hodgetts, Charles A., attends conference 
 at Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Horton, Theodore, attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Hubbell, Clarence W., appointed by Detroit 
 as sanitary engineer, 16 ; extract from 
 report, 39-40. 
 
 I. 
 
 Injury, definition of, 3 , 34 ; complexity 
 of question, 32 ; from two standpoints, 
 33 ; to summer residents, 33 ; in Detroit 
 and Niagara rivers, 34 ; in Rainy and 
 St. John rivers, 34 ; in other boundary 
 rivers, 34. 
 
 International authority recommended, 48- 
 50, 52. 
 
 International situation, 28-29. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kenmore, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Knox, P. C., defines scope of investiga- 
 tion, 6. 
 
 I/. 
 
 Laboratories, location of, 11. 
 
 Lackawanna, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Lafreniere, Theodore J., attends conference 
 at Buffalo, 9 ; employed as advisory en- 
 gineer, 13 ; re'sume' of testimony of, 
 13-15. 
 
 Lake Erie, pollution, 21. 
 
 Lake Huron, pollution, 20. 
 
 Lake of the Woods, pollution, 18-19. 
 
 Lake Ontario, pollution, 22. 
 
 Lake St. Clair, pollution, 20. 
 
 Lasalle, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Lea, W. S., employed as advisory engineer, 
 13 ; re'sume" of testimony of, 13-15. 
 
 Lewiston, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Limit of bacterial pollution, 36-37, 40. 
 
 M. 
 
 McCullough, Dr. J. W. S., attends confer- 
 ence at Buffalo, 9 ; employed as sanitary 
 
 55 
 
56 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 expert, 10. 
 
 McLaughlin, Dr. Allan J., attends con- 
 ference at Buffalo, 9, 10 ; employed as 
 chief sanitary expert, 10. 
 
 .vlacnaghten, on rights in streams, 30-31. 
 
 Maps prepared, 12. 
 
 Marine City, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Mills, W. M., attends conference at Buf- 
 falo, 9. 
 
 Montizambert, Dr. Frederick, attends con- 
 ference at Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Alunicipalities, attitude of, 39. 
 
 N. 
 
 New York conference, 13. 
 
 Niagara Falls, N. Y., cost of remedial 
 
 works, 43. 
 Niagara Falls, Ont., cost of remedial 
 
 work, 43. 
 Niagara River, pollution, 21-22 ; trans- 
 
 boundary effects, 26 ; tentative standard 
 
 adopted, 38. 
 North Tonawanda, cost of remedial works, 
 
 43. 
 Norton, George H., attends conference at 
 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 P. 
 
 Palmer, Dr. W. G., attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Paterson, Edward A., re sludge treat- 
 ment, 44. 
 
 Phelps, Earle B., employed as advisory en- 
 gineer, 13 ; resume of testimony of, 
 13-15 ; employed as consulting sanitary 
 engineer, 15 ; summary of report re 
 Buffalo and Detroit, 42. 
 
 Physical pollution, 40. 
 
 Plans for treatment works, 16. 
 
 Points of investigation, 10. 
 
 Pollution reference, text of, 5 ; scope of, 
 6 ; rivers crossing boundary, 6 ; interests 
 affected, 7 ; sources and extent of, 18, 
 51 ; from vessels, 22-23 ; from sawmills, 
 23 ; transboundary effects of, 25. 
 
 Port Huron, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Powell, H. A., takes evidence at Buffalo, 
 12-13. 
 
 Provincial health authorities, cooperation 
 of, 16. 
 
 Pruyn, Irving L., attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Public health conservation, 32. 
 
 Pumping station plants, 17. 
 
 Qucenston, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 R. 
 
 Rainy Lake, pollution, 18. 
 
 Rainy River, pollution, 18, 42, 43 ; trans- 
 
 boundary effects of, 26. 
 Randolph, Isham, re Erie & Ontario Sani- 
 
 tary Canal, 47. 
 
 Raw sewage, discharge of, 35. 
 Remedial works, 39-46. 
 Resume' of New York testimony, 13-15. 
 Rights in streams, 30-31 ; common law 
 
 inadequate, 31. 
 
 River Rouge, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Royal Commissions on sewage disposal, 32, 
 
 49. 
 
 S. 
 
 St. Clair, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 St. Clair River, pollution, 20, 42. 
 
 St. Croix River, pollution, 23, 42, 43. 
 
 St. John River, pollution, 22, 42 ; trans- 
 boundary effects, 26. 
 
 St. Lawrence River, pollution, 22, 42-43. 
 
 St. Marys River, pollution, 19, 42-43; 
 transboundary effects, 26. 
 
 Sampling points, 11. 
 
 Sanitary experts employed, 9. 
 
 Sarnia, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Sawmill and industrial wastes, 23, 46, 52. 
 
 Screening, 41. 
 
 Sedimentation, 41. 
 
 Seymour, A. H., attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9, 10. 
 
 State health authorities, cooperation of, 16. 
 
 Streeter, Frank S., takes evidence at Buf- 
 falo, 12-13. 
 
 T. 
 
 Temperature observations. 12. 
 
 Tentative standard, 37-38. 
 
 Thompson, John, attends conference at 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Thunder Bay, pollution, 19. 
 
 Tonawanda, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Transboundary effects of pollution, 25 ; in 
 Detroit River, 25 ; in Niagara River, 26 ; 
 in Rainy River, 26 ; in St. Marys River, 
 26 ; in St. John River, 26 ; other bound- 
 ary rivers, 26-27 ; in Great Lakes, 27 ; 
 vessel pollution, 28. 
 
 Trenton, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Trunk line interceptors, 17. 
 
 Typhoid fever statistics, 23-24, 29. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vessel pollution, 22-23, 51 ; transboundary 
 effect of, 28 ; treatment, 45. 
 
 W. 
 
 Water and sewage works, cost of, 42. 
 Water supplies, protection of, 35. 
 Whipple, George C., employed as advisory 
 
 engineer, 13 ; re"sum< of testimony of, 
 
 13-15. 
 
 Whitefish Bay, pollution, 19. 
 Whittaker, H. A., attends conference at 
 
 Buffalo, 9. 
 
 Windsor, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 Wyandotte, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Youngstown, cost of remedial works, 43. 
 
 o 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
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 FEB131963 
 
 1 1971 
 FEB 2 5 RECTI 
 
 ID LIBRARY 
 
 MAY 2 l 1971 
 MAY17RHTD 
 
 . ^> M 
 
 DUE DEC 20 1969 
 
 )UE JUN 8 1971 
 
 9 REC'D 
 
 , UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS 
 
 Book Slip-70m-9,'65(F7151s4)458 
 
N 452644 
 
 TDU25 
 
 International Joint 16 
 Commission (U.S. and 1918 
 Canada) 1909- 
 
 Final report of the 
 International joint commission 
 on the pollution of boundary 
 waters reference. 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 DAVIS