The court in this case enters very largely into a discussion of the expert testimony that was given with regard to the relative situation of the town, the amount of filth that was deposited in these waters, the extent of the pollution, the size of the city, and the means and ways whereby this pollution might be overcome. It gives the testimony of the experts, and one of them I have particularly in mind was a witness named George S. Pierson.
The witness, George S. Pierson, called by the complainant, testified that he was a civil engineer and had made a specialty of sanitary engineering for 25 or 30 years; that his work in a large measure required the supervision of plants for water purification and installation of septic tanks; that he had supervised sewage purification plants at Hermosa, Cal.; El Paso, Tex.; Marshalltown, Iowa; Fond du Lac, Wis.; Jackson, Durand, Ithaca, Bay View, Charlevoix, and Lake Cora, Mich., and quite a number of smaller installations; that he had visited most of the plants in operation in Massachusetts, including those in Worcester, Amherst, Andover, Gardner, Framingham, Natick, Brockton, Lawrence, and others; that those plants were in successful operation when he visited them; that he had experience in estimating the cost of erection and maintenance of such plants. The witness described modern methods of sewage disposal, including septic tanks, and that the septic tank is almost universally used in this country in the first and even in the final stage of the process; that this accomplishes sufficient purification of the sewage so that it can be emptied into a stream without damage or creating a nuisance; that the septic-tank process is in successful operation in cities the size of Grand Rapids; that the recent tendency had been to relieve streams from pollution by purifying the sewage; that a sewage purification plant of a city the size of Grand Rapids is feasible; that the cost of operation of a septic tank is nominal, only an occasional cleaning, at periods varying from three months to six years; that the water consumption of a city is an indication of the amount of its sewage, because practically the entire water consumption finds its way into the sewers; this may be increased by rains carrying with them the street washings; that in providing a septic tank to ascertain its size we ascertain the daily total flow.
The witness further testified that he had made a general estimate which would be sufficiently large to cover the cost of a sewage-disposal plant for Grand Rapids, and he could positively say the cost would not exceed his estimate; the approximate cost would be $1 per capita; for a city the size of Grand Rapids it would be about $100,000; this is based upon separate septic tanks without the cost of connecting the sewers; that the cost would not vary much whether one or more tanks were used; that if a separate tank were installed at each sewer outlet the cost would be slightly more, probably not more than 25 or 50 per cent; that there is a slight odor from a septic tank, not materially different from the odor of any sewer discharge; if the tank discharges below the water level the odor is masked; the septic tank alone reduces the amount of organic matter in the sewage and the number of disease germs and brings it into such condition that upon discharge it is rapidly purified; that the odor would not last long after the discharge; it would be very much minimized from the sewage being put into the water and the duration of the odor would be less, and it would disappear within a very few hours; that in his judgment the sewage of Grand Rapids in Grand River would not purify itself before it reached Grandville; that unless the stream has a very rapid flow there is immediate sedimentation when sewage is discharged into a watercourse; that it continues until a good part of the solids are lodged on the bottom of the stream; that if there is a considerable sedimentation between Grand Rapids and Grandville the effect of high water would be to dislodge it and carry it on; that the pollution of the stream at that time would be much increased from what it would be if the current did not take up this discharge; that the increased pollution of the water caused by this would be apt to leave deposits at Grandville that would increase the smells.
On cross-examination the witness testified that his statement as regards the sediment on the bottom of the river was not based on actual tests in Grand Rapids; that it depended to a considerable extent on the rapidity of the flow; that material settling to the bottom of the stream would not cease to be contaminating for quite a long time and would never become pure with additional material from day to day; that he was not familiar with the river between Grand Rapids and Grandville; that sewage odor from a stream within clearly defined banks would not be particularly noticeable for a great distance, it might for 5 miles, but would be reduced; that he had made no test between Grand Rapids and Grandville to see what settled to the bottom of the river; that his statement was general from what he supposed, and that he did not know the velocity of the stream between the two points; that while there is no great amount of purification in a sluggish stream in a distance of 6 or 7 miles, the faster a stream flows the farther the impurities are carried in a given time; that it might be said it was the general rule in Michigan for cities having sewer systems to carry the sewage into streams; that Grand River at Jackson is smaller than at Grand Rapids, and that Jackson has the largest municipal sewage-reduction plant that he knows of in this State; that the sewage there is purified by filtration; that the largest plant he ever established is at Auburn, N. Y. (50,000 to 75,000 inhabitants); that Worcester, Mass., with a population of 125,000 to 150,000, has such a tank; that the contaminating influences of the sewage of the city the size of Grand Rapids would not be as great if the sewage were not carried out into the river by artificial means, as there would be purification of the organic matter by the soil; and if it were not for the sewers there would be very little contaminating influence upon the waters of the river.
And they then proceed to discuss the judgment of other experts, who are referred to in the opinion. The opinion is somewhat at length, and I do not care to take up the time of the commission by reading it, but will be very glad to leave the book with you during your visit, or you can take it along with you and return it to me.
Mr. Mignault. What was the order?
Mr. Sloman. Requiring them to proceed to establish a septic tank, and at a later time the court gave the city a year in which to do it. That same situation presents itself with regard to Detroit. Every one of these towns and cities abutting on the river are in identically the same position as the city was when it filed the bill.
Mr. Powell. Why did the owners not file a bill before?
Mr. Sloman. I think they were guilty of doing the very same thing as the city of Detroit was. If you gentlemen had a large farm and a lake upon it, and anybody filled it with excreta, you would not drink the water, but we are drinking from a pond in which millions, I might say, deposit their filth and excreta. I took this matter up, when my daughter took ill, first with the city board of health. Mr. Keefer was the health officer, and he attributed the typhoid to the milk supply rather than the water, but was willing to cooperate in any measure that would bring about a change in the conditions that existed. I then took it up with the State board of health, and finally with Washington, and shortly afterwards it was found that there was an arrangement between Great Britain and the United States for the appointment of an International Joint Commission, and finally your body was appointed. I got in touch with Chairman Tawney, giving him some data in regard to this matter, and I had hoped to be present at the former meeting of the commission, but was unavoidably called from the city, which made it impossible for me to appear before you. Upon the land we take care of our sewage through cesspools, which consist of practically a large dry-goods box, made of 2-inch boards, rather than of the thin material of which dry-goods boxes are made, inverted, with the opening off, so that the opening is right under the soil and the sewer pipes are connected with it. The soil is of a sandy, gravelly character, which carries off the impurities.
Mr. Tawney. How deep are your cesspools?