There are about 20 tanneries and leather dressing establishments in Johnstown employing about 1,200 people. About 6,000,000 pounds of hides are handled each year. It was estimated that about 6,400,000 pounds of salt, lime, alum, logwood and various other dyes, fish oils, egg yolks, acids and many other chemicals are used each year. About half of the above materials and chemicals eventually finds its way into the sewer system or directly into the creek. Settling tanks have been installed at most of the factories to remove the settleable solid matter before the wastes are discharged into the city sewers.

There are four large mills not yet connected to the sewer system, namely, Johnstown, Mocha Mills, Argetsinger Mills, Kings Mills, and the Johnstown Glue Company plant. The wastes from the first two mills can readily be discharged into the city sewers while the last two are some distance from any existing sewers. The City Board of Health has ordered that settling tanks be constructed at all mills to remove the readily settling solids from the wastes before the discharge of the wastes into the creek or into the city sewers, The city plumbing inspector visits the different mills each week to observe the condition of the settling tanks and the amount of sludge removed from the tanks. The tanks are cleaned out about once a month and on an average of about 4 or 5 cubic yards of sludge are removed at each cleaning.

General conditions of Cayadutta creek at time of inspection

At the time of the inspection the weather was clear, with a slight wind, temperature about 45 and the humidity was low. In the upper part of the city the creek water was somewhat colored, apparently due to the coloring matter in the trade wastes from the city of Gloversville.

In the lower part of the city and above the discharge of the sewage from the main intercepting sewer the water was colored due to the trade wastes and much sludge could be seen in portions of the creek apparently due to trade wastes which are discharged directly into the creek.

At the iron bridge one mile below the main discharge of sewage, the water was quite turbid and considerably darker than above the discharge of the sewage. Considerable sludge was seen in the quieter parts of the creek and gas could be seen rising to the surface. Odors were quite noticeable near

the creek.

In the pond above the dam which is about 4 of a mile below the iron bridge, the water was dark and gas bubbles could be seen rising to the surface from the sludge. Much of the pond was filled with sludge and Mr. Brown, chief engineer at the electric generator station of the Fulton Gas and Electric Company, stated that, "Odors were very bad at times and that during the 22 years he had been at the plant the pond formed by the dam for water power purposes had become nearly filled with sludge. At first they could draw the pond down 10 feet while now it can be lowered only about 5 feet since this draft leaves only a narrow channel through the pond." Odors of septic sewage were noticed near the creek.

At Sammonsville the water had cleared up somewhat due to the removal of some of the solids in the ponds above and to the almost constant aeration the water receives. Some odors were however noticeable, and the residents of the village stated that at time the odors were very unpleasant.

At the highway bridge 2 miles below Sammonsville the water had cleared considerably and odors of sewage were hardly noticeable at the time of inspection. The appearance of the bed of the creek was also much better.

At a point about 1 mile above the Mohawk river the creek water was comparatively clear and no odors of sewage were noticeable.

In order to determine the actual condition of pollution of Cayadutta creek, samples of the creek water were collected above and below the discharge of trade wastes and sewage and analyzed. These analyses included temperature of the water and of tests for turbidity, oxygen consumed, dissolved oxygen, chlorine, putrescibility and bacteria and the results are shown in the following table:

RESULTS OF ANALYSES OF SEWAGE AND CREEK WASTE ABOVE AND BELOW THE DISCHARGE OF TRADE Wastes and SewAGE FROM CITY OF JOHNSTOWN, OCTOBER 27, 1916.

While one set of analyses cannot be considered as showing necessarily the average conditions of the sewage and of the creek water above and below the city yet they do show the conditions at the time of the inspection which were as follows:

The raw sewage appeared to be somewhat stronger than that of the average sewage of a city of the size of Johnstown and this is probably due to the large amount of trade wastes which are discharged into the sewer system. The high amount of chlorine shown in the analyses is undoubtedly due to the trade wastes. The sample was putrescible in 2 day and the total count of bacteria was about the same as that of an average raw sewage.

The creek water taken at a point 4 mile below the boundary line between Gloversville and Johnstown was somewhat turbid. The high oxygen consumed value and the high chlorine are undoubtedly due to the trade wastes from the factories in Gloversville and to the effluent from the disposal plant of Gloversville. The total count of bacteria in the sample tested was 66,000 per c.c.

The sample collected at the lower part of Johnstown and just above the discharge of sewage from the intercepting sewer showed that the brook water had received some additional pollution as it passed through the city. Part of this, however, had apparently been somewhat reduced due to the added dilutions received by the waters of the various streams which enter the main creek in Johnstown. This sample showed a very high count of bacteria and was putrescible in 5 days which indicated that if it was not for the large amount of aeration the creek water receives the present amount of trade wastes discharged into the creek would very soon cause a nuisance. The sample collected near the iron bridge about 1 mile below the discharge of the sewage from the main intercepting sewer had a turbidity considerably higher than that of the creek water above the discharge of the sewage. The oxygen consumed and the chlorine test also plainly indicated the presence of the sewage. The sample was putrescible in one day and showed conditions but little better than that of the raw sewage. The total count of bacteria was somewhat less than that of the creek water above and of the raw sewage.

A sample taken about one mile below the iron bridge and a short distance below the mill dam at the electric light station showed a considerable reduction in turbidity and oxygen consumed. This sample was putrescible

in 22 days and gave a total count of bacteria of nearly 4,500,000 per c.c. The reduction in oxygen consumed and turbidity was undoubtedly due largely to the sedimentation the sewage and wastes received in the mill pond above, while the increase in bacteria was undoubtedly due to the fact that opportunity has been provided for the growth of bacteria in the water.

The sample collected at Sammonsville gave about the same results as that 1 mile below the iron bridge, although the number of bacteria had been reduced about 45 per cent. This sample was putrescible in 2 days and indicated that a nuisance would very readily be created if the waters were not receiving almost constant aeration.

The sample collected at a bridge about 2 miles below Sammonsville showed further reduction in oxygen consumed and bacteria and this is due to the additional dilution received to sedimentation in the various mill ponds and to the oxidation of part of the organic matter.

The sample taken at a point about 1 mile above the Mohawk river showed a still further reduction in oxygen consumed, chlorine and bacteria. These last results indicated that the waters were also in a much better shape and in fact a large part of the conditions of pollution which are apt to cause a nuisance had been eliminated from the creek water by natural processes of purification and by dilution.

Summary and conclusions

As a result of this investigation and after a careful consideration of the condition of the stream above and below the points of pollution in the city of Johnstown and of the amount of flow necessary to properly care for the quantity of sewage and trade wastes discharged into Cayadutta Creek at Johnstown the following summary and conclusions are presented:

1. That the discharge of raw sewage and trade wastes from the city of Johnstown creates a considerable nuisance. The existence of this nuisance is fully corroborated by the results of the chemical analyses and is evidenced by the putrefactive condition of the sludge deposited in the various ponds and deeper portions of the creek and by the odors resulting therefrom. This condition of nuisance while distinctly apparent during the inspection must be considerably worse during the times of low flow of the creek at which time the flow, it is estimated, is about 2 of the flow as found during the inspection.

2. That there are four factories not yet provided with settling tanks nor connected with the sewer system. Two of these factories may readily be connected to the sewer system, while it is impossible to connect the other two to the sewer system without considerable expense in the construction of additional sewers.

3. That the flow of the creek varies considerably due to the storage from the various dams in and above and below Johnstown and, therefore, the condition of nuisance would be much greater when the natural flow of water is being stored in these ponds.

4. The condition of nuisance was very noticeable from Johnstown to Sammonsville while from Sammonsville to the Mohawk river the condition gradually became better due to the natural purification the sewage was receiving and to additional dilutions from the various streams entering the main creek.

Recommendations

In view of the above conclusions I would make the following recommendations:

1. That the city of Johnstown proceed immediately to obtain satis factory plans for a disposal plant to treat the sanitary sewage and such trade wastes as are discharged into the sewer system and that these plans be submitted within a reasonable time to this Department for

approval and after their approval that the city proceed to the construction of such portions of the disposal plant as the Commissioner of Health deems necessary.

2. That all factories which can be readily connected to the sewer system be provided with settling tanks and the settled trade wastes from these tanks be discharged into the city sewers.

3. That those factories which cannot readily be connected to the sewer system be required to construct satisfactory disposal plants for the treatment of the wastes and the plans for these works should be submitted to this Department for approval.

Respectfully submitted,

ALBANY, N. Y., March 26, 1917

THEODORE HORTON,
Chief Engineer

Copies of this report were transmitted to the village authorities and local boards of health, urging them to carry out the recommendations of the report.

POUGHKEEPSIE

HERMANN M. BIGGS, M.D., State Commissioner of Health:

I beg to submit the following report on an investigation of sewerage conditions in the city of Poughkeepsie made by Mr. C. M. Baker, Assistant Engineer, on October 3, 1917.

The matter of sewerage in Poughkeepsie has previously been under consideration by this Department on numerous occasions, the last of which was in 1913 when plans for a complete system including an intercepting sewer and disposal plant were approved. The plans will be briefly discussed later in this report.

The present sewer system consists of combined sewers which discharge without treatment into the Hudson river through three outlets located respectively 1, 1 and 13⁄4 miles below the intake of the city waterworks. Although this system covers the greater portion of the city there are certain outlying districts and a few streets near the central portion of the city which are not provided with sewers. These unsewered sections are indicated on the accompanying map by the shaded areas, the four principal instances being designated by the letters A, B, C and D.

Section A is a well built up residential section without sewers in the southwestern part of the city which cannot be sewered into the present system without pumping. The sewage from this area, however, can be conducted by gravity to the proposed disposal plant mentioned above, or may be conveyed directly to the Hudson river by a separate gravity system. The sanitary conditions in this section are not satisfactory, there being numerous privies which are not maintained in proper sanitary condition.

Section B is a well built-up unsewered residential section in the southeastern part of the city from which it will probably be necessary to pump the sewage into the present system, as is proposed in the plans mentioned above, or for which it will be necessary to provide an independent system and disposal plant. The sanitary conditions in this section are quite satisfactory, there being few privies, the sewage from the houses being satisfactorily cared for in most cases by cesspools.

Section C is a well built unsewered residential section in the eastern part of the city to which the present system could be readily extended. The sewage and excretal wastes within this area are now mostly disposed of in cesspools, there being few privies. The sanitary conditions are generally satisfactory.

In Section D, which is a low area adjacent to the river, there are some 10

or 12 houses which are somewhat isolated and are not tributary to the present system. It was stated, however, that this land has been bought by a nearby factory which will probably extend its boundaries to include this territory and that the buildings will then be removed. Sanitary conditions in this section are unsatisfactory.

In order to present more fully the situation with respect to sewerage it seems well to briefly discuss the plans that have been approved by this Department for the sewerage of Poughkeepsie. Although these plans deal principally with disposal of the sewage, which only indirectly affects the internal sewerage of the city, they nevertheless have some bearing upon the sewerage of the unsewered outlying districts mentioned above.

Complying with previous requirements of this Department plans for sewage disposal were submitted by the city of Poughkeepsie for approval, on June 10, 1913. These plans were approved and a permit issued allowing discharge of the effluent from the disposal plant into the Hudson river, on November 10 of the same year. (See page 453, 1913 Annual Report).

The plans provide for an intercepting sewer with storm water overflow regulators extending along the east side of the New York Central Railroad, parallel to the Hudson river, to collect and convey the sewage to a disposal plant to be located near the river just southwest of the city. The preliminary treatment works are to consist of 4 Imhoff tanks and an auxiliary sludge bed for the disposal of the sludge. The general plans for more complete treatment in connection with future development include 4 additional Imhoff tanks, 41⁄2 acres of sprinkling filters, final settling tanks and an extension of the sludge drying bed. These larger works would care for a population of 90,000 people. In connection with these plans, however, it is proposed to pump the sewage from certain sections of the city, namely; an area of about 59 acres in the northwestern section of the city in the vicinity of Spruce street, an area of about 169 acres in the southeastern section of the city (section B on appended map and referred to above), also certain portions lying west of the proposed intercepting sewer or between it and the river. A section of about 83 acres (section “A” on appended map) in the southwestern section of the city, not tributary to the present system, is to be sewered by gravity to the proposed disposal plant. It is apparent from the above that the districts now unsewered are provided for in the proposed future development.

While not bearing directly upon the lack of sewers, it should be pointed out at this time that in certain sections of the city, where sewers are provided unsatisfactory conditions exist due to the lack of connections with the sewers and the existence of numerous insanitary privies. West of the line extending north and south through Washington and Market streets, as indicated on the map there were, at the beginning of the year 1917, 223 privies, while east of this line there were 35, thus making a total of 258 privies in the city. Prior to September 1, 127 of these privies had been removed, in addition to which orders have been issued for 164 sewer connections. The majority of the remaining privies are located in a thickly populated section of the city lying west of Washington and Market streets. This territory is populated by foreigners who do not maintain satisfactory sanitary conditions.

The permit issued in connection with the approval of the above plans provided that both the intercepting sewers and the sewage disposal works (referring to preliminary treatment works mentioned above) when constructed shall be in complete conformity with the plans; also that no storm or surface water be admitted to the proposed sewer extensions. Furthermore, it was provided that whenever required by the State Commissioner of Health detailed plans of the complete disposal works should be submitted for approval by the city and that subsequent to approval the additional disposal works be constructed at such times as designated by said commissioner. No notice to construct these works, as provided for by previous permit issued, has, as yet, been served upon the city authorities.

A matter of prime importance in connection with sewerage developments in Poughkeepsie is the protection from contamination of the public water supply