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Show Pollution not only tends to increase capital invest- ment anc3 operating costs in the 209 municipalities; it also places a heavy load on treatment plants. Safety is lessened with increased concentrations of pollution. In numerous localities, containing more than 2 million people, the bacteriological content of river vuater greatly exceeded recognized standards of quality. Omaha, Council Bluffs, Leavenworth, Atchison-, Kansas City, St. Joseph, and St. Louis are exairmples of cities that treat and use water pol- luted by cities above them and, in turn, discharge raw sew.age into the stream. Industrial wastes contain substances causing taste and odor problems which a:re difficult to control and expensive to correct. The use of sewage-laden waters to irrigate truck crops lilcewise presents a health hazard. In the South Platte Basin, fully or partially treated sew- age at tioies constitutes the major part of the stream flow used for irrigation. The irrigated crops in- clude vegetables normally eaten raw, which are shipped all over the country. Although clear-cut evidence is lacking, the Public Health Service be- lieves that such situations may account for some of the otherwise unexplained incidence of gastrointes- tinal disorders in widely separated areas. These conditions raise an economic as well as a health hazard. Large sums have been invested in irrigation projects, and they would be jeopardized by evidences of contamination in the vegetables shipped out. Industrial water quality is impaired by pollu- tion, of which sediment is an important cause. Costly treatment is necessary for a variety of indus- trial uses. Also, pollution can increase maintenance and operation costs for navigation and hydroelec- tric power. Recreational uses of water resources have been curtailed by pollution at numerous places. The South PLatte, the North Platte, and the lower Yel- lowstone; Rivers and their important tributaries, once the habitat of trout and other game fish, are practicaLly devoid of fish life over much of their length. Untreated or insufficiently treated indus- trial and municipal wastes have destroyed a large part of a. valuable natural resource. Stock -waters have been impaired in some places, particularly downstream from industrial plants whose wastes include toxic material. Resources development programs tend to con- serve an.d regulate water flows, aggravating the damage clone by pollution. For example, pollution of the South Platte River would be less serious if irrigation had not reduced stream flow, thus con- centrating the waste. Below Golden, Greeley, and Denver, inadequately treated sewage constitutes a major percentage of flow in the stream at important diversion points, particularly since upstream diver- sions had previously depleted the stream flow. State laws in the Missouri Basin relating to pol- lution are generally weak and ineffective. Missouri and Nebraska do not have basic laws. In Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, only that pollution which directly affects public health is subject to abatement proceedings. In Colorado, industrial pollution is largely uncontrolled. In Kansas, fairly effective legislation has existed for many years except as related to financing abate- ment works. In Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana the laws on financing abatement works are considered inadequate by the Public Health Service. Only in Minnesota and Iowa is there reasonably adequate legislation, and these States are only a small part of the basin. Under the Water Pollution Control Act of 1948,10 the Federal Government can recommend action to State pollution control agencies where interstate streams are being polluted. In the basin such streams include: the main stem of the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa, to Kansas City, Kans., inclusive; the North Platte River from Torrington, Wyo., to the Nebraska line; and the Big Sioux River as it divides South Dakota and Iowa. If the pollu- tion continues, a long series of actions is available, culminating in a request to the Attorney General to institute suit, if the State pollution control agency agrees. Available data indicate that new installations are needed by no fewer than 358 municipal and 70 industrial plants, and that improved abatement facilities are necessary at 234 municipal and 16 industrial outlets. The cost of these improvements is estimated at 94 million dollars. In addition, the needs of 150 municipal and industrial outlets have not been determined. The over-all capital cost of abatement is therefore indicated to be in excess of 100 million dollars. The Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 authorizes, for the whole country, 22.5 million dollars a year, for 5 years, to be loaned to States or local agencies for construction of sewage- treatment works. Some abatement may be had through stream regulation which, incidentally to other purposes, 10 Act of June 30, 1948, § 2, 62 Stat. 1155, 33 U. S. G. 466a. 205 |