Mr. Perkins. The city of Milwaukee is aerating the water by putting compressed air through tanks, and that is one of the sewage-treatment propositions adopted recently. The Imhoff tank requires all kinds of arrangements; but they claim that the compressed air and activated sludge system is a far better scheme, using the free oxygen in the air to oxidize the impurities of the water. So that if Buffalo can give all these cities drinking water, and if they can also get it on the Canadian side from the lake, it would seem as though it would largely obviate the difficulty.
Dr. Sy. Years ago I used to take the water below the Falls, and there is practically no purification by aeration.
Mr. Powell. That statement is borne out by the report. The aeration is not sufficient. It does not purify it by going over the Falls.
Mr. Perkins. Just one statement in reference to that Milwaukee sterilization plant. It is stated that they have the free oxygen of the compressed air for the oxidation of it. But here is the proposition: Chicago is taking care of the sewage without any treatment whatever through a drainage canal of 250,000 cubic feet per minute, and we have in Niagara River a natural drainage-canal proposition of 60 times the value of that drainage canal for diluting the water, with many, many times greater swiftness of current, or 25,000 cubic feet per second. The drainage canal at Chicago moves so slowly you can hardly see it. Why is it necessary to throw away the advantages of this tremendous Niagara River drainage canal which we have now, when it is not affecting the water, as far as the health of either American or Canadian citizens from typhoid is concerned?
Mr. Tawney. To what extent is the drainage canal of Chicago used for sanitary or domestic purposes?
Mr. Perkins. It is simply a power and drainage canal; it is not supposed to be used at all for drinking purposes. If you can not use Lake Erie water, and if Niagara River must be used for drinking only after treatment, then I will acknowledge it is absolutely necessary to do something in reference to this pollution, but if it is possible to use the Lake Erie water in Canadian towns without this expense, it seems to me it is wise to do it; at least, for the immediate situation. When a great city is found on the Canadian side and they must draw their water from the Niagara River for drinking purposes, then it is time to take action. It would seem to be a tremendously expensive experiment to make with very little return.
Mr. Tawney. I want to read a paragraph from the report of our sanitary expert, the best that could be obtained in both countries. He says:
The examination of samples taken from cross section below Buckhorn and Navy Islands showed undiminished pollution on the United States side. On the Canadian side, the water, though less polluted, was still dangerous, and should not be used without a most careful treatment; otherwise its use is liable to give rise to periodic epidemics of intestinal diseases.
The results from the examination of samples collected in the gorge just below the two Falls demonstrate that the pollution coming over is more uniformly distributed. There is a popular impression that the action of the Falls tends to purify sewage. It does not remove it or its dangers. It simply mixes it more thoroughly with the water. The pollution below the Falls is gross.
Mr. Perkins. Do you think your commission will recommend, even with the expenditure of $100,000,000 instead of $3,000,000 on the river for sewage treatment, the use of that water for drinking purposes?