Abel Wolman

Flood Protection in the Kansas River Basin

Sept. 20, 1952, the Kansas Industrial Development Commission engaged the services of a board of engineers, consisting of the authors, to review and analyze plans for the reduction of flood discharges in the Kansas River Basin, as promulgated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; the board was also authorized to prepare and submit flood protection plans for engineering and economic consideration. In compliance with an agreement made at the time the contract was

The Complexities of a National Water Policy

It may surprise some people to know that less than a quarter of a century ago the problems of water development appeared relatively simple and certainly less confusing than today. One important explanation for this change in both the number and the complexity of issues is that, until about 1930, water projects were dominantly local or regional in character, were fewer in number, and were largely single purpose in function. With the exception of the Colorado River development and the flood protection program in the lower Mississippi Valley, federal interest in such undertakings was largely restricted to developments under the general Reclamation Act of 1902.

The Sanitary Engineer Looks Forward.

It is hardly an exaggeration to sum marize the history of four hundred years by saying that the leading idea of a con quering nation in relation to the con quered was, in 1600 to change their re ligion; in 1700 to change their laws; in 1800 to change their trade; and in 1900 to change their drainage. May we not say that on the prow of the conquering ship in these four hundred years first stood the priest, then the lawyer, then the merchant, and finally the physician? Status of Sanitation

The Hughes Report on the Great Lakes Levels Controversy

Somewhat over forty years ago, the City of Chicago, with a population at that time of approximately 800,000, contemplated a stupendous enterprise looking toward the protection of its public water supply and the disposal of its wastes. This enterprise included, as its primary unit, the construction of a drainage canal from Lake Michigan to the tributaries of the Illinois River. More than a decade ago the main drainage canal was completed. Uninterruptedly from that time to the present day, the engineering implications of this undertaking have been before the public of two continents, with increasing degrees of complications from an engineering, political, public health and psychological aspect. The program of the City of Chicago, initiated in 1886, has been the subject of much legislation, long legal controversies, international discussions, detailed engineering reviews, congressional acts and United States Supreme Court decisions. The engineering program developed originally for sanitary purposes has since given rise to controversies regarding the effect of diversion of Lake Michigan water on the levels of the Great Lakes with resultant contests involving navigation and commercial interests, engineering remedies and public health necessities. Even a fairly brief review of the various negotiations and studies carried out during the past quarter of a century would consume hundreds of pages. Their importance at this time is renewed through the issuance in October, 1927, of a report of the Special Master, Charles E. Hughes, to the Supreme Court of the United States, dealing with the problems of the diversion of water from Lake Michigan by the Sanitary District of Chicago. Inasmuch as this report involves a situationalready concerning the United States and Canada, and, in the particular case at hand, the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri,

Sanitary Inspection—A Review

In a rapid survey of the field of sanitary inspection, the author suggests shifting the emphasis by health officers from the legal and technical to the human aspects of the problem. By outlining the status of each he concludes that the technology receives more attention than do the people from many public health workers. It should be kept in mind that permanent health improvement must be predicated on the awakening of a sanitary conscience.

The Quality of Water and Confirmatory Tests for B. Coli

The reliability of the presumptive test as an index of the presence of B. coli in water in the light of recent investigation, has been seriously questioned. The United States Hygienic Laboratory in its Potomac River report finds that the presumptive test varies in its importance as a measure of pollution, with the degree of pollution itself. Dr. Frost, in the Ohio River investigation,2 concludes that the error in the presumptive test is greatest in the examination of treated waters. A. H. Creel8 and Edward Bartow,4 working on waters of similar character, that is, on drinking water from railroad trains, obtained results entirely at variance. The former, for instance, confirmed only 21 per cent of positive tests for gas formation, while the latter isolated B. coli in 83 per cent of the tubes showing gas formation. Graf and Nolte5 conclude, on the other hand, that the bile test is a better index of the presence of B. coli the more polluted the water. The author, having at hand analyses of various types of waters in the State of Maryland, made during periods in 1915 and 1916, thought it would be of interest to tabulate the results obtained in colon determinations and to attempt to draw possible conclusions regarding the efficacy of presumptive tests as an index of the presence of B. coli. In Table 1 the results for the raw waters and plant effluents of three filtration plants have been tabulated. The raw waters of all three are from surface streams, the pollution of the watersheds of each varying in intensity according to the rating given in the table. This rating has been based upon a knowledge of sanitary conditions resulting from a study of the three watersheds. It is of striking interest to note that the percentage of tubes con-

STANDARDS OF MECHANICAL FILTRATION PLANT PERFORMANCE

The standards suggested in this paper are the result of a study of the operation of filtration plants in Maryland upon which the writer was detailed under the general direction of Mr. R. B. Morse, Chief Engineer, Maryland State Department of Health. Acknowledgment is given here both to him and the writers brother, Dr. Leo Wolman, for helpful criticism of the various statistical problems involved in the discussion.