Table 3.—Sewage Disposal Facilities in Some South-central Kansas Communities.
| Community | Status on February 5, 1957 | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Cowley County: | ||
| Arkansas City | Discharging raw sewage | Adequate plant in design stage. |
| Geuda Springs | Discharging raw sewage | |
| Winfield | Inadequate | |
| State training school | Adequate | |
| Udall | Adequate | |
| Chautauqua County: | ||
| Cedar Vale | Inadequate | |
| Sedan | Adequate | In operation 30 days. |
| Elgin | Adequate | |
| Elk County: | ||
| Moline | Inadequate | |
| Howard | Adequate | |
| Sumner County: | ||
| Belle Plaine | Discharging raw sewage | Adequate plant under construction. |
| Mulvane | Discharging raw sewage | Adequate plant under construction. |
| Oxford | Discharging raw sewage | Construction on adequate plant to start soon. |
| Butler County: | ||
| Augusta | Adequate | |
| El Dorado | Discharging raw sewage | Adequate plant under construction. |
| Douglass | Discharging raw sewage | Adequate plant to go into operation within 30 days. |
Pollution by petroleum wastes from refineries has also affected the streams studied. The only refinery within the area is at Arkansas City. In Butler County there are four refineries on the Walnut watershed upstream from the area surveyed. Metzler (1952) noted that "fish-kills" occurred from the mid-1940's until 1952 in connection with wastes periodically discharged from these refineries. However, the largest kill, in 1944, was attributed to excessive brine pollution.
In Arkansas City a meat-packing plant, a large railroad workshop, two flour mills, two milk plants, and several small manufacturing plants contribute wastes which may figure in industrial pollution. There are milk plants and small poultry processing plants at Winfield. In Chautauqua and Elk Counties there is little industrial activity.
CONSERVATION
In recent years several measures have been implemented or proposed to conserve the water and land resources of the Arkansas River Basin. Droughts and floods have focused public attention on such conservation. Less spectacular, but nevertheless important, problems confronting conservationists include streambank erosion, channel deterioration, silting, recreational demands for water, and irrigation needs.
Congress has authorized the U. S. Corps of Engineers (by the Flood Control Act of 1941) to construct six dam and reservoir projects in the Verdigris watershed. Two of these—Hulah Reservoir in Osage County, Oklahoma, on Big Caney River, and Fall River Reservoir in Greenwood County, Kansas—have been completed. Other reservoirs authorized in the Verdigris watershed include Toronto, Neodesha, and Elk City (Table Mound) in Kansas and Oologah in Oklahoma. Construction is underway on the Toronto Reservoir and some planning has been accomplished on the Neodesha and Elk City projects.
The possibilities of irrigation projects in the Verdigris and Walnut River basins are under investigation by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Foley, et al., 1955:F18).