Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of boundary waters between the United States and Canada

by International Joint Commission

The city of Grand Rapids is located upon both sides of Grand River: its population in April, 1909, when the bill was filed, was upward of 110,000; its sewage is carried into the Grand River through sewers, which aggregate upward of 171 miles in length, without purification of any character. In addition to this the night soil from the outlying houses which have no sewer connection is collected in barrels and dumped into the Present Street sewer, and flows into the river. The township of Wyoming is located south of the city of Grand Rapids; the river, after passing through the city, flows southerly and westerly between the townships of Wyoming and Walker. On the south bank of the river, at a point where it turns abruptly to the west, and about 7 miles below the city of Grand Rapids, is located the village of Grandville, with about 750 inhabitants. Considerable area in Grandville is low; there is a ridge of high ground along the river bank, which is 5 or 6 feet higher than the low ground behind it.

It appears that the river overflows its banks once or twice a year; at these times of overflow a large area in Grandville is flooded, and the river becomes very much wider than it is ordinarily and the current increases rapidly. As the river goes down and after the water ceases to flow back into the river a pond of about 20 acres is left in the edge of the village, the escape of the water back into the river by flowage being prevented by the higher ground next to the river. The water left in this pond is from 4 to 6 feet deep, and gradually disappears through evaporation and seepage into the soil.

It is the claim of the complainants that the emptying of the large amount of sewage produced in Grand Rapids into the river contaminates its waters and fills them with impurities which are carried down the stream as it flows to, and into, or through the village; that, as the water goes down, the substances and impurities which are in it, due to the sewage, whether visible or invisible, are left upon the surface of the ground, and there decomposition creates such odors as to constitute a public nuisance in the village. The most of the houses in Grandville surround the flooded area, and there are four houses and eight privies within the area covered by water in ordinary flood. There are many more houses and privies covered by the highest water known in Grandville.

Now, you have identically the same situation here that they had. You have the towns below us here of Wyandotte, Trenton, and others that abut on the Detroit River. They occupy the same position with regard to the city of Detroit as did this town of Grandville with regard to the city of Grand Rapids, and, inasmuch as the city of Detroit sooner or later is going to be confronted with the question of whether or not they must take care of the sewage as between those towns and it, just so the question might as well be disposed of by Federal legislation.

Mr. Powell. In the absence of any special statutes on the part of your State, your common laws are precisely the same as the Canadian common law of Ontario, and the principle is very clear. I do not think there is any necessity of citing any authority on it. Every lower party is entitled to have the water flow to him in its crystal purity.

Mr. Sloman. There is no denying that proposition. This case is only interesting, gentlemen, with reference to the fact that it involves the inquiry as to what could or might be done to overcome the difficulty. In that respect it applies here very strongly. That is why I read portions of this authority at this time:

The bill of complaint, among other things, states that the system of sewers in the city of Grand Rapids does not cover the entire city, there being about one-quarter of the inhabitants of said city who do not discharge their refuse, of the character ordinarily discharged into and carried away by sewers, into the sewers of the city, but who discharge and deposit their filthy and unhealthy refuse into vaults and cesspools; that in the past such refuse, night soil, and unhealthy substances have been, and were at the time of filing the bill, collected by scavengers for said city and carried into the country, outside of said city, where the same was buried in deep beds, without creating any nuisance and without injury to the health of the surrounding neighbors; that there was, at the time of the filing of the bill, under contemplation by the said city of Grand Rapids, and its said authorities had recommended and intended and threatened to put into operation, a plan whereby the said refuse and night soil, then collected by its scavengers, would be carried to and emptied into the said Prescott Street sewer in said city; that the authorities had voted and determined to dispose this refuse and night soil, and they were about to commence the emptying of said sewage and night soil into the said sewer and were at the time taking steps, or about to take steps, through the expenditure of public money, for the emptying of said refuse and night soil into the said sewer.

The bill states that the night soil so collected amounted at that time to from 150 to 180 barrels a day, and if emptied into the said sewer would be carried into the Grand River and would greatly add to the pollution and contamination of its waters, and that the same would create a public nuisance in the rendering of the waters of said river injurious to users thereof; and by the overflows of said river and through deposits along the banks thereof of deleterious, unhealthful, and noxious substances and through the creation of noisome and unhealthful odors arising from the waters of said river so contaminated an additional public nuisance would be created; that the township board of health of the township of Wyoming had taken action in the matter, in accordance with the statute, and had published this action, in which it protested against the emptying of sewage and night soil into said sewer, as contemplated by the city, and had declared the same to be a nuisance and a source of filth and cause of sickness in said township, and injurious to the health of the people thereof. * * *

The bill further claims that the use of the waters of said Grand River by the said city in the manner which was then contemplated would be improper, unwarranted, and unlawful, and would constitute a daily menace to the lives, health, and comfort of the persons residing along said river and in the township of Wyoming and in the village of Grandville and would fill the air with noisome and noxious odors and pollute the air in the neighborhood and render it unfit to breathe; and that the said city could satisfactorily and economically dispose of its refuse matter, night soil, and sewage in any other manner or through different methods than were then contemplated, without injury to the health or lives of persons and without creating a public nuisance.

The bill prays that a permanent injunction be granted against the city of Grand Rapids and its said boards, officers, and agencies, restraining and preventing it, or them, from continuing to discharge the sewage which it then discharged into Grand River and requiring it to abate the nuisance which it then maintained in the pollution of the waters of said river. It also prayed that an injunction issue restraining said city and its said officers and agencies from carrying into effect their threatened and contemplated plan of emptying into said sewer the refuse matter and night soil then being collected by the scavengers of said city for the purpose of conveying the same into the Grand River, and that they be restrained and prohibited from taking any action or in any manner ordering the performance of any act on the part of any of its officers or boards having the tendency to carry into effect the said threatened action, which would result in said nuisance.