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NE GT TOR FT LER OID oe TEAS OSE TL LOND, OTe OT NT ME ME ty eS February, 1914 American shore and Fighting Island the pollution is enormous. The chan- nel east of...Fighting Island shows gross pollution but very much less than in the American channel. The report says: "From Fighting Island to the mouth of the Detroit river the water is gross- ly 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 most careful supervision. Un- fortunately Wyandotte, Trenton and Amherstburg are taking their water supply from this part of the river. An extensive investigation. was made of the ,area at the mouth of the De- troit..river and the western end of Lake, Erie to Put-in-Bay. The exam- ination of the large number of sam- ples.taken over this area indicates the .existence of such gross pollution that the--:water in: this. part 'of the lake is unquestionably a very dan- gerous oné, especially to crews and passengers of vessels using water pumped from this region. In our opin- ion there is no point from the lower end of Lake Huron to the islands which separate the western end from the remainder of Lake Erie from which a safe supply of water could be taken for even a portion of the 365 days -in -the. year. Phe lehit<ot the western end of Lake Erie pollution is probably in the vicinity of the isl- ands which separate this portion from the remainder." "Lake Superior Water Concerning the water of Lake Su- perior, the report. says: "The bulk of the water of Lake Superior is pure, about the only possible source of pol- lution being from the vessels plying upon it. The population upon the drainage area of Whitefish Bay is practically nil, but the lake traffic pass- ing through this part of the river is enormous. Samples in the ship chan- nel along the first cross section ex- tending from Gros Cap to a point above Bay Mills, showed average pol- lution greater than that existing be- tween the ship canal and the shore. Obviously this pollution is due to boat traffic. Inshore samples show some pollution, probably due to drift from the boat channel. The cross section between Brush Point and Point Aux Pins show in this narrow channel concentration of the pollution found higher up. The third cross section just above the waterworks intake of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., showed practically the same degree of pollution as the previous one. The water of this vi- cinity ought not to be furnished by THE MARINE REVIEW the municipality without adequate treatment of some kind. The pollu- tion of the water shown here explains the continued excessive typhoid rate of that city. The samples from the points above the Canadian ship canal showed great increase of pollution, much of which is probably due to the concentration of shipping at this point. The use of water from such a source is extremely dangerous. Un- fortunately the waterworks intake of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is just below this section of the river. Acute out- breaks of typhoid must always be expected from such seriously polluted water. The typhoid rates of this town have been excessively high for many years. : "Samples. taken from cross sections below the towns show gross pollution continuously. This pollution was found to extend practically undimin- ished to Neebish Island... This whole section of the river is a very unsafe place from which to take water for ships, The, pollution is general through- out the river in both channels. The fact that pollution was found to be St. Mary's River Water Unsafe The pollution of St. Mary's river was found to extend practically un- diminished to Neebish island. This whole section of the river 1s a very unsafe place from which to take water for ships. common to both channels is of im- portance to summer residents who fre- quently use this polluted water." Concerning Lake Huron, the report says: "Examination of samples in the lower end of Lake Huron showed that this water would be practically pure were it not for the continuous pollution due to boat traffic. That portion within a radius of 3 miles from Point Edward light shows a slight though definite pollution. The slight general pollution in this portion of Lake Huron, while due in part to the large summer population and seasonal effect of streams, may be accounted for chiefly by the enormous boat traf- fic through the middle of this area." Regarding the waters of St. Clair river, the report says: "The cross section at the head of the river shows a slight increase in pollution over the water of the lake, probably due to the concentration of boat traffic. The next cross section above the mouth of the Black river shows a continued increase of pollution due to the sewage dis- charged by Port Huron above this point and undoubtedly affected by the back currents from Sarnia Bay. The 63 two cross sections taken below the mouth of this river show an enormous increase in pollution in the St. Clair on the United States side. This sec- tion is below the principal sewer of the town of Sarnia. The cross section just below the site of the international tunnel continues to show marked pol- lution along both shores, illustrating vertical stratification. The two cross sections above Stag Island showed gross pollution extending a little far- ther towards the center of the stream, while the two below the island showed a gross pollution extended over the entire width of the river. The water of the river St. Clair from its head to Lake St. Clair is unsafe as a source of water supply without careful and unremitting purification. The several cross sections from St. Clair to Algo- nac show gross pollution of the river more marked .on the United States than on the Canadian side, owing to the fact that the discharge of sewage was chiefly from the United States side, the Canadian municipalities be- low Sarnia not being sewered. "The cross sections taken across the branches of the delta where the river discharges into Lake St. Clair showed the main ship channel to be the least polluted, the bulk of the pollution ex- isting on each side having passed through the chenal ecarte and north channel respectively." Lake St. Clair Concerning Lake St. Clair,, the, te- port adds: "The bulk of the eastern portion of Lake St. Clair was found to be comparatively pure. Samples taken from the lake near the points where the Thames and Clinton rivers discharge indicate that these rivers do not affect the general character of the lake water beyond a very short dis- tance from their mouths. The exam- inations were made in July and Au- gust and it is quite probable that when these streams are in flood, for instance in April, the pollution would extend further out in the lake. Excluding the tributary streams, the largest of which, the Thames and Clinton, were shown to have no appreciable 'effect at this season, there remains to be considered the pollution from the St. Clair river and the sewage discharge from vessels. It will be remembered that the cross sections at the delta - of the St. Clair river showed that the -bulk of pollution left the rivers by the right hand or north channel, and the chenal ecarte. The purer water, with a relatively slight pollution, en- ters the lake by the southwest, that is, the main ship channel. "The conditions in Anchor Bay and that very shallow portion of the lake