LAKE ONTARIO and St. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
DIVISION OF PUKE WATERS
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WATER POLLUTION PROBLEMS AND IMPROVEMENT NEEDS
LAKE ONTARIO AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
June 1968
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
Great Lakes Region Chicago, Illinois
and
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Division of Pure Waters
Albany, New York
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
1 INTRODUCTION 2
2 DESCRIPTION OF BASIN 3
Population. 3
Economy 3
Water Resources 6
Water Uses 7
Lake Currents 10
3 WATER POLLUTION PROBLEMS 15
Lake Ontario 15
Niagara River Basin 18
Genesee River Basin 24
Oswego River Basin. 28
Black-U. S. St. Lawrence River Basins 38
Minor Tributary Subbasins 45
Wastes from Watercraft 51
Oil Pol I ution 52
Disposal of Dredged Material 53
Pesti c i des 55
Land Runoff 55
Therma I Po II ution 57
4 IMPROVEMENT NEEDS 61
Water Quality Standards 61
Municipal and Industrial Waste 62
Advanced Waste Treatment.. 103
Nutrient Control 103
Flow Regulation 103
Combined Sewers 106
Federal Installations 106
Research and Development 108
5 COSTS AND BENEFITS M0
Cost of Waste Treatment 110
Benef i ts 113
6 CONCLUSIONS 116
7 RECOMMENDATIONS 119
Immediate Needs 119
Long-Range Needs 122
Research Needs 123
REFERENCES 124
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FIGURES
NUMBER PAGE
1 Lake Ontario Basin I
2 Lake Ontario Basin—Population Distribution 4
3 Summer (Stratified) Net Surface Circulation—
Lake Ontario 14
4 Principal Zones of Water Quality Impairment—
Niagara River Basin 21
5 Principal Zones of Water Quality Impairment—
Genesee River Basin 25
6 Total Municipal and Industrial Wastes, Present
and Projected—Genesee River Basin 26
7 Principal Zones of Water Quality Impairment--
Oswego River Basin 29
8 Total Municipal and Industrial Wastes, Present
and Projected--Oswego River Basin 30
9 Pollution Problems in Onondaga Lake 31
10 Annual Phosphate Contributions to Oneida Lake 36
11 Principal Zones of Water Quality Impairment--BIack-
St. Lawrence River Basins 39
12 Total Municipal and Industrial Wastes, Present
and Projected—Black-U.S. St. Lawrence River
Bas ins 41
13 Principal Zones of Water Quality Impairment—Minor
Tributary Area 48
14 Locations of Thermal Power Plants and Industrial
Cooling Water Discharges 58
15 Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment Needs—
Niagara River Basin 67
16 Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment Needs—
Genesee River Basin 73
17 Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment Needs—
Oswego River Basin 86
18 Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment Needs—
Black-St. Lawrence River Basins 93
19 Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment Needs—
Minor Tributary Area 102
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TABLES
NUMBER PAGE
1 Present and Projected Population of the
Lake Ontario Basin 3
2 Stream-flow Records of the Major Tributaries to
Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River 8
3 Water Quality Data - St. Lawrence River, 1955-1966... 44
4 Lake Ontario and U.S. St. Lawrence River Basins—
Summary of Municipal and Industrial Waste Treatment
Needs 63
5 Niagara River Basin--Municipa I and Industrial Waste
Treatment Needs 64
6 Genesee River Basin—Municipal and Industrial Waste
Treatment Needs 68
7 Oswego River Basin—Municipal and Industrial Waste
Treatment Needs 74
8 Black-U.S. St. Lawrence River Basins—Municipal and
Industrial Waste Treatment Needs 87
9 Minor Tributary Basins—Municipal and Industrial
Waste Treatment Needs 94
10 Low Flow Augmentation Needs in Lake Ontario Basin....105
11 Federal Installations Waste Treatment Needs 107
12 Estimated Cost of Municipal Waste Treatment Ill
13 Estimated Cost of Industrial Waste Treatment 112
14 Estimated Cost of Municipal and Industrial Waste
Treatment for Phosphate Reduction 113
15 Influence of Water Quality on Swimming at Public
Beaches in the Lake Ontario Basin, 1965 115
PLATES
PLATE PAGE
1 Robert Moses State Park at Massena II
2 Sewage Treatment Plant discharge into Lake Onondaga
at Syracuse 33
3 Debris littering southeast shore of Lake Onondaga.... 35
4 Untreated wastes from paper mills discharging into
BI ack Ri ver 42
5 Webster Beach east of Rochester 47
6 Waste from Hammermill Paper Company entering Lake
Ontario east of Oswego, New York 50
7 Badly oiled duck climbing onto ice floe 54
8 Corps of Engineers dredge dumping Genesee River
dredgings in Lake Ontario 56
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LAKE ONTARIO
LAKE ONTARIO BASIN ||
O Niagara River Basin
O Genesee River Basin
O Oswego River Basin
O Slack US. St. Lawrence River Basins
© Minor Tributary Area
NEW YORK
Strife
PENNSYLVANIA
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
This report summarizes the water pollution problems of the
United States waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River and
their tributaries. It identifies the causes of these problems or
sources of pollution, discusses the improvements needed, and presents
a program of recommended actions. Figure I shows the area covered.
The report is based on extensive field and office studies,
initiated in 1964 and still continuing, by the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration's Rochester Program Office; and on information
of the New York State Department of Health.
Additional details are available in separate reports concerning
water pollution control programs for each of four principal subbasin
areas. These areas are: Genesee River Basin (I)*; Oswego River Basin
(2); Black-St. Lawrence River Basins (3); and Minor Tributary Basins
and shoreline zones of Lake Ontario (4).
The program presented herein is the result of partnership effort
between the two agencies having primary responsibility for water pollu-
tion control at Federal and State levels—the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration and the New York State Health Department. The
area covered lies entirely within the State of New York, except for a
small portion of the headwaters of the Genesee River in Pennsylvania.
Other State, local and Federal agencies provided cooperation and support
appropriate to their particular interests and responsibilities. The New
York State Conservation Department, County Health Departments, and numer-
ous cities and towns orovided information and assistance. Industries
extended their full cooperation in surveys of waste discharges. The
Federal agencies which actively aided the study included: the Depart-
ments of Commerce (Weather Bureau), Interior (Fish and Wildlife Service,
Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, and Geological Survey), Agriculture (Soil
Conservation Service), and Army (Corps of Engineers).
Although the studies did not include identification of sources
of wastes originating in Canadian territory, the collection of water
quality data and related information was carried out in all of the
main body of Lake Ontario. This reflects the long-standing amicable
relations between the two nations, under which both Canadian and United
States survey teams conduct scientific investigations throughout the
Lake without restriction at the international boundary.
The cooperation of all who rendered assistance and information
is gratefully acknowledged.
*Numbers in parentheses refer to references listed at end of report.
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Chapter 2
DESCRIPTION OF BASIN
Population
Three Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas are located
largely within the Basin, centered at Buffalo, Rochester and
Syracuse. Their combined population is about 79 percent of the
total Basin population (Figure 2). Additional population pressure
is exerted by the southeastern fringe of the Basin, thus completing
what sociologists predict will some day be the initial link of the
Great Lakes Megalopolitic Chain.
TABLE I
PRESENT AND PROJECTED POPULATION OF THE LAKE ONTARIO BASIN
1960 1990 2020
Total Basin Population 2,973,000 4,303,000 5,972,000
Estimated Municipal
Population 2,259,000 4,472,000 5,128,000
Percent of Total Population
that is Municipal 76 81 86
Note: These figures do not include the city of Buffalo.
These projections are based on an expected 45 percent increase
in population by 1990, and 100 percent increase by 2020 over the I960
population. Figures available from consulting engineering firms
studying the water needs of Monroe and Onondaga counties show that
the populations of these particular counties have already increased
about 25 percent in the eight-year period since I960.
Economy
Manufacturing employment is concentrated in five counties of
the Basin, Erie, Niagara, Monroe, Onondaga and Oneida. Value added
by manufacture in the Basin in 1963 totaled greater than 6.1 billion
dollars and 85 percent of the amount was accounted for by Industry
in the five counties noted above. Industries within the counties of
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OSWEGO,
SYRACUSE
SMSA
BUFFALO
SMSA
LEGEND
II! 500,000 on4 Ov«r
250,000-500,000
100,000-250,000
'// 50,000 - tOO,000
¦'?;i Und*r 50,000
LAKE ONTARIO BASIN
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
ROME-UTICA
SMSA
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Monroe and Onondaga, the hubs of the Rochester and Syracuse metro-
poli+an areas respectively, employ roughly 40 percent of the Basin's
total workforce. Since 1963 there have been indications of a definite
upsurge of industrial activity within the Basin. For example, unem-
ployment figures for the past three years in the Rochester area rank
among the lowest in the nation.
The more significant elements of the economy which depend upon
and affect the water resources of the Basin are agriculture, manufac-
turing, commerce and tourism.
Agri cul ture
An estimated 40 percent of the land area of the Basin supports
some form of agricultural production. An extensive food processing
industry throughout the Basin depends on agricultural production of
vegetables and fruits and poultry and dairy farming. There are over
130 food processors, largely located in the plains area along Lake
Ontario and the Finger Lakes area. Processing of dairy products is
the dominant activity. The total sales of agricultural products in
1959 is estimated at $335 million. There were 900,000 cattle and
calves on farms in 1964. During that year approximately 235,000
tons of fertilizer were used.
Manufacturing
An integral part of the Basin economy is the papermaking
industry, which is centered in the Niagara FalIs, Watertown, Syra-
cuse and St. Lawrence County areas. More than 20 mills producing
pulp, paper, board and paper containers are located in these areas.
Three of these mills employ more than 500 persons In each.
The chemical industry is located chiefly in the Lockport,
Rochester and Syracuse areas. The largest soda ash-caustic soda
plant in the world is operated by the Solvay Division of Allied
Chemical on the shores of Onondaga Lake. A concentration of large
chemical producers including Hooker Chemical, 01in-Mathleson, DuPont,
Stauffer Chemical and Carborundum are located on the Niagara River.
The Eastman Kodak Company, one of the largest producers of organic
chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as of photographic chemicals,
is located in Rochester.
Production of primary metals also contributes significantly
to the economy of the Basin. Three aluminum producing and process-
ing plants employing more than 500 are located in the Massena area.
Extensive mtning operations, including the largest talc mines in
the country, are carried on in central St. Lawrence County.
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Commerce
The three United States ports of Lake Ontario handled some
three million tons of cargo in 1965. Most of this cargo consisted
of such bulk materials as cement, coal, salt, potash and petroleum
products. The trend in commercial shipping at the lake port is for
minor increases each year, with marked increase in the interlake ship-
ments of potash to the fertilizer manufacturers in the Syracuse area.
Canal shipping has declined sharply in recent years, especially
in the western sector between Syracuse and Buffalo. Shipments of
petroleum products constitute the bulk of the present canal tonnage.
Tourism
The Lake Ontario Basin attracts 2.5 million vacationists annu-
ally who spend about $142 million. About 5 percent of the land area
in the Basin is utilized for recreation. Of the three major recrea-
tion areas in New York State, two are in the Lake Ontario Drainage
Basin, the Finger Lakes region and the Adirondack Park region. The
Barge Canal, another very important recreation facility, traverses
the Basin and the northern part of the Finger Lakes region.
Water Resources
The watershed tributary to Lake Ontario has a drainage area
of 34,800 square miles. This includes the Lake proper, the United
States portion of the watershed tributary to the Lake, including the
Niagara River Watershed, and the United States portion of the St.
Lawrence River Watershed. Except for a small part of the Genesee
River Basin, this entire area is located in New York State. (Figure I
is a map of the report area.)
Lake Ontario is 190 miles long and 53 miles wide. Its greatest
depth is 840 feet; the average depth is 300 feet. The surface area of
the Lake is 7,600 square miles, and its surface elevation is 245 feet
above sea level. The volume of the Lake is estimated to be about 391
cubic miles, which is about 7.7 times the annual volume of outflow.
The natural outlet from Lake Ontario is the St. Lawrence River,
whose flow at Ogdensburg, New York, has averaged 239,000 cfs during a
century of record. The Niagara River is by far the largest contribut-
ing source of inflow, averaging 202,000 cfs over the long-term record.
Inflows to the Lake from Lake Erie actually come by three routes: the
Niagara River, the Wei land Canal and the New York State Barge Canal.
The water that flows through the Wei land Canal Is used principally
for two purposes, operation of the Canal locks and hydroelectric power
generation. In the recent period from 1950 to 1965, flows through the
Wei land Canal have averaged about 7,000 cfs (5). Flows on the order
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of 1,000 cfs are diverted from Lake Erie through the New York State
Barge Canal System, reaching Lake Ontario by diverse routes through
connected tributaries. In all, the smaller rivers and streams trib-
utary to Lake Ontario contribute about 34,000 cfs. On an annual basis,
direct precipitation in the form of rain and snowfall on Lake Ontario
is approximately equal to evaporation from the Lake surface.
The vast storage volumes of the Great Lakes constitute a char-
acteristic feature unique to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system.
Large variations in supplies to the Lakes are absorbed and modulated
to maintain flow rates in the outlet rivers which are remarkably steady
in comparison with the range of flows observed in other large rivers
(5). For example, flow in the St. Lawrence River, which, as previously
noted, averages 239,000 cfs, has been 200,000 cfs or greater throughout
90 percent of the time in the period of record. On the high-flow side,
St. Lawrence River flows have exceeded 282,000 cfs only 10 percent of
the time.
Most of the major United States tributaries have steep gradients
at their headwaters and decreasing slopes as they approach Lake Ontario.
There are about 28,000 miles of rivers and streams in the Basin. Table
2 is a I ist of the most significant streams and their flow character-
istics.
The Lake Ontario Basin is well endowed with natural lakes. There
are 331,520 acres of inland lakes in the Basin. The most spectacular
of these are the Finger Lakes, which occupy a series of nearly paral-
lel troughs in the south central portion of the Basin.
Water Uses
Municipal Water Supply
Present total use by municipal water supply systems is approxi-
mately 300 million gallons daily and the population served by these
systems is about 2 million. Lake Ontario is by far the largest source
for municipal water supply with over I 10 mi I I ion gal Ions drawn daily,
mostly by the cities of Rochester, Syracuse and Oswego. Syracuse is
expected to double its consumption of Lake Ontario water by 1974. The
Rochester area is also expected to place a larger demand on Ontario
water, since its supplemental supply from Canadice and Hemlock Lakes
is limited. The cities of Niagara Falls and Lockport draw over 70
MGD from the Niagara River. In addition, the Finger Lakes are exten-
sively used for water supply. The projected basin-wide municipal
water supply demand is 460 MGD in 1985 and 800 MGD in 2020.
Industrial Water Supply
The water use by industries that have private supplies is
estimated to be approximately 2 billion gallons per day. Of this
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TABLE 2
STREAMFLOW RECORDS OF THE MAJOR U. S. TRIBUTARIES TO
LAKE ONTARIO AND THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
Name of Stream Gaged Drainage 7 Day I-in-10 Annual Mean Years of
Gage Location Area (sq. mi.) Low Flow (cfs) Flow (cfs) Record
BIack Ri ver I,876
Watertown
Moose River 365
McKeever
Beaver River 294
Croghan
Oswegatchie River 973
HeuveI ton
St. Lawrence River 295,200
Ogdensburg
Grass River 335
Py ri tes
Raquette Ri ver 1,131
RaymondviIle
Genesee River 2,467
Rochester
Niagara River 260,400
Buffa Io
Eighteenmile Creek 89
Burt
Clyde River 847
Lock #25
Onei da Ri ver 1,377
Caughdenoy
Seneca River 3,015
Cayuga Lake Outlet
Lock #\
Oswego Ri ver 5,121
Lock #7, Oswego
830
100
205
280
69
470
370
90
05
52
900
3,828
81 I
563
I ,659
238,900
587
I ,898
2,726
202,000
94
I ,030
2,438
I ,537
6,200
45
60
35
49
05
44
106
25
24
28
39
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total approximately 1.5 billion gallons is used by steam generating
electric power utilities, 0.8 billion gallons of which is drawn from
Lake Ontario. Of the remain ing 0.5 biI I ion gaI Ions on Iy 30 MGD is
drawn from Lake Ontario. Other sources of industrial water supplies
are the Niagara River (170 MGD by a variety of chemical, paper, and
metals producers), Cayuga Lake (270 MGD used mostly for thermal elec-
tric generation), Seneca Lake (about 200 MGD for thermal electric
generation and salt refining), Onondaga Lake (about 100 MGD by a
chemicals and steel producer), the Black River (about 75 MGD by
pulp and paper mills) and the St. Lawrence River (about 35 MGD by
a paper mill and three aluminum processing plants).
It is anticipated that the demand for industrial water will
increase about twofold by the year 2020. Much of this increase is
the projected demand of nuclear power plants. Twofold growth is
projected despite a much larger growth in gross industrial output,
because increased efficiency and reuse of water in manufacturing
processes is anticipated.
Hydroelectric Power
Eighty-eight hydroeIectric plants with a capacity of over
3,600,000 KW are located on streams through the Lake Ontario Basin.
About'85 percent of this total capacity, or about 3,100,000 KW, is
available at the two New York Power Authority sites, one each on the
Niagara River and the St. Lawrence River.
Recreation
The natural resources of the Lake Ontario Basin and the United
States St. Lawrence River Basin are unexcelled for recreational use
and development. The area has cool summers, beautiful inland lakes,
sandy beaches, inland watercourses, glens and waterfalls, mountains
and forests, making it one of the most popular outdoor recreation
areas of the country. The Adirondacks Preserve, the Barge Canal
System, the Finger Lakes region, and the Thousand Islands are recrea-
tional attractions of wide renown. The United States Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation report "Water Oriented Outdoor Recreation - Lake Ontario"
presents a thorough discussion of the facilities available, the
developing problems, and the need for action to preserve and enhance
this important water use. (6)
The current annual recreation demand is an estimated 35 million
recreation days. By the year 2000 this amount should more than triple
and by 2020 a fivefold increase can be anticipated. There are more
than one-third of a million acres of water and land available for
outdoor recreation at over 358 areas in the Basin. About 80 percent
of these areas have watei dependent facilities.
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The Finger Lakes region is the most widely used recreation
region in the Basin, followed by the area along the Lake Ontario
shoreline. There are 130 public and private recreation areas
totaI i ng 121,000 acres in th i s reg i on. There were 2.5 m iI Ii on
visitors to the Finger Lakes region in 1965. The Finger Lakes offer
good fishing for lake trout, rainbow trout, pike, walleye, black
bass and pan fish. Naples Creek, a small tributary to Canandaigua
Lake, is crowded elbow to elbow in the spring for the rainbow spawn-
ing run. Two thousand fishermen have been seen fishing on the lower
2 to 3 miIes of this stream at one time. Boating is extremely popu-
lar on these lakes especially Cayuga and Seneca which are linked to
the Barge CanaI.
The Lake Ontario shoreline, which is second in recreation demand
and will probably serve a large role in the future development of rec-
reation facilities in the Basin, has fourteen public beaches located
rather uniformly along 150 miles of United States shoreline. The best
sand beaches are located on the eastern end of the Lake around Mexico
Bay. Numerous bays and coves provide excellent areas for small boat
harbors, fishing and water skiing.
The St. Lawrence region also is a popular recreation attraction.
Robert Moses State Park had 185,000 visitors in 1965. The St. Lawrence
River, especially in the Thousand Islands area, is famous for its
muskelunge and northern pike fishing. The Adirondack Forest Preserve
encompasses about two-thirds of the Black-United States St. Lawrence
River Basin and boasts hundreds of lakes and mountain streams. Fish-
ing, hunting, and hiking are most popular here. (Plate I)
The State Barge Canal System is another of the Basin's valuable
recreational assets. Over 100 small boat marinas are established along
the canal system. Pleasure boating has more than quadrupled in the
last fifteen years, as indicated by the number of permits issued for
lockage. The State Department of Public Works reported issuing 2,000
such permits in 1952 and over 10,000 in 1965. An estimated additional
30,000 craft use the canal system between the locks.
Lake Currents
Waterborne wastes reaching Lake Ontario are dispersed into the
main water mass by three means: molecular diffusion, turbulent mixing,
and lake currents. Considering the Lake as a whole, currents are the
predominant mechanism for the movement and subsequent dispersion of
these wastes into the Lake's water mass.
Four principal factors govern currents in Lake Ontario: winds,
water temperature, barometric pressure, and inflow from the Niagara
River. Of these four, the dominant factor is usually the speed and
direction of the wind.
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PLATE NO. I - Robert Moses State Park at Massena.
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In the summer, Lake Ontario water becomes divided into an upper
layer of warm readily circulating water called the epilimnion and a
lower layer of cold and relatively undisturbed water called the hypo-
llmnion. The layer separating the epilimnion and hypolimnion, a region
of rapid temperature change, is called the thermocline. When the Lake
is thus stratified, the waters in the hypolimnion are physically and
chemically isolated. As a result little oxygen replacement takes
place in this zone during this period and any chemical or biological
system must operate on a reserve supply. Fortunately in the case of
Lake Ontario, 85 percent of the Lake's volume is in the hypolImnion,
providing a large reserve. This is not the case in shallow water
lakes, such as Lake Erie, where less than 20 percent of the total
volume is contained in the hypol imnion and serious oxygen depletion
of the hypolimnion is common.
During the summer stratification, the volume of water with which
a pollutant could mix is greatly reduced. What might be considered a
safe input in the winter months when the Lake is essentially isothermal
may in summer months be critical to water quality, particularly in
embayments during periods of quiescence.
In the winter months the Lake again becomes stratified; strat-
ification is not so stable nor so pronounced as in summer and for
practical purposes the Lake can be considered to be essentially
i sothermaI.
The thermocline begins to develop In late May, reaching its
maximum development and depth of approximately 70 feet by August.
From September the epilimnion begins to cool until the stratification
becomes unstable and overturn occurs, usually In conjunction with a
storm. This fall overturn can occur as early as late October. How-
ever, it usually occurs some time in November. A point to remember
here is that while the Lake is cooling and the temperature of the
epilimnion becomes less, the depth to the thermocline tends to
become greater because of Increased mixing.
In early spring and sometimes in the fall, when the main body
of lake water is essentially isothermal, a horizontal stratification
occurs along the shoreline. In the spring, the water of the rivers
entering the Lake is warmer than the Lake water. This, in conjunc-
tion with more rapid heating of the inshore waters, causes a strong
density Interface, the "thermal bar," to develop at the 4°C isotherm
or temperature of maximum density. Development of the thermal bar
begins in local embayments and areas of stream inflow. At times,
depending on wind conditions, the thermal bar may encircle the Lake,
separating the main body of the Lake water from Inshore waters. In
the fall the thermal bar is not as extensive or as well developed as
the one that occurs In the spring. Pollutants discharged into the
inshore side of the thermal bar can buildup to high levels. For
example in the Rochester area during the spring several water intakes,
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sani+ary ou+falIs discharging poorly treated waste, and the polluted
Genesee River outflows are at times restricted to the same limited
water mass. The thermal bar phenomenon Is also a mechanism whereby
enriched waters may be held in the inshore growing area at the begin-
ning of the growing season, when nutrient demands by the biota are
highest.
The surface waters of Lake Ontario respond very rapidly to a
change in wind stress. A current change less than six hours after a
wind shift is common in mid-lake. In the inshore area the response
is even more rapid. The net circulation, which on a long-term basis
can be considered the circulation pattern of the Lake, actually exists
for only short periods of time. One week would be considered a long
time for the net circulation pattern to be operating. Whenever the
net circulation pattern is not operating, the circulation of the Lake
is principally dependent on the winds; hence a variety of patterns can
develop, some of whose relation to winds are not readily apparent.
Two distinct seasonal surface circulations occur in Lake
Ontario. When the water mass is stratified, the net surface flow
(Figure 3) including the Niagara River discharge is strong toward
the east along the southern shore. The waters of the epilimnlon are
well mixed during this period. Generally the Niagara River water is
completely dispersed by the time it reaches Rochester. However,
under some conditions of flow the Niagara River water will hold
tightly inshore for a much longer period of time. This is partic-
ularly true if a major thermal bar has developed. Also, the Niagara
River flow will at times be directed toward the Hamilton-Toronto
area. A return flow to the west originates east of Scotch Bonnet
Shoal.
In the eastern end of the Lake, flows are generally toward
the northeast and are less sharply defined than In the western end
of the Lake. Major eddies tend to develop In the area of Mexico
Bay, Scotch Bonnet Shoal and Rochester. There is a suggestion of a
particularly large eddy developing at times in the western end of
the Lake. If this eddy occurs as suspected, retention times for
pollutants would be longer and some buildup could occur.
In the fall, usually November, the Lake becomes Isothermal
and the whole water mass is influenced by the winds. Also, the
direction of the prevailing winds shifts and increases In speed so
that the winds are now principally from the west-northwest. As a
result, the whole net surface flow Is eastward and a bottom return
flow is developed westward. During this period of net circulation
the water of Lake Ontario Is completely mixed from surface to bottom.
The major net flow Is still, however, along the southern shore as It
Is in summer.
13
ol"° 91
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Per mo nent Current
Metering Stotiofl
N!AG**A «Ui9
TOUOWTO ,
Temporary Current
Metering Station
Wind Direction
NEW
SUMMER (STRATIFIED) NET
SURFACE CIRCULATION
LAKE ONTARIO
Buffalo
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Chapter 3
WATER POLLUTION PROBLEMS
The first part of this chapter summarizes the major problems
in each of six geographic subdivisions of the study area, starting
with Lake Ontario itself. The last part of the chapter discusses
certain general problems which by their nature are more readily
categorized by type than by area of occurrence.
Lake Ontario
Every lake undergoes a biological aging process which leads—
in time measured on a geologic scale—to its destruction. This process,
called eutrophication, is characterized by a buildup of nutrients in
the lake environment. A biologically healthy lake contains a myriad
of living organisms, ranging from elemental one-cell life forms upward
through successively more complex forms to fish. A balanced aquatic
life system can be visualized as a pyramid, in which each successive
level forms a link in the food chain that sustains the higher levels.
At the base of this pyramid are one-celled plants called algae, which
are microscopic in individual size but visible when clustered in col-
onies. Algae and other elemental organisms are capable, through photo-
synthesis, of utilizing inorganic (non-living) elements in support of
growth. Many inorganic elements are required for algal cell growth,
Including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and iron—as well
as certain organic substances, required in minute quantities. (7)
Lake Ontario, as well as other Great Lakes and many smaller
lakes in the Basin, Is being oversupplied with nutrients, and hence
the naturally slow process of eutrophication has been greatly accel-
erated. Apart from the natural background supply, the source of
this oversupply of nutrients can be traced to the activities of man.
Nutritional material, especially phosphorus (one of the essential
growth elements), comes from agricultural runoff and the waste-
waters of cities and industries.
Over-enrichment of the Lake has led to over-production of algae
upsetting the natural balance in the food chain and interfering with *
many water uses.
Probably the major and most perplexing water pollution problem
In Lake Ontario Is the yearly crop of Cladophora, a form of filamentous
green algae. In suitable environments these plants attach to any firm
object In the water and grow, by cell division, Into strings which
will vary In length, from a fraction of an Inch where nutrients are
scarce, to several feet in nutrient-rich waters. Cladophora growth
begins In early spring with a fringe-like growth and develops rapidly
into strands 15 Inches or so In length by late June.
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These strands break away from their attachment surfaces, drift
up onto the shore, decompose, and cause strong odors and unsightly
conditions. During the early summer months it is a common occurrence
at beaches to see no swimmers in the water and lifeguards raking and
shoveling Cladophora onto trucks.
Prolific growths of Cladophora have been reported in Lake
Ontario as far back as 1932. (8) Their distribution appears to be
governed by water movements, growth being more abundant where currents
keep the supply of nutrients replenished. Light penetration governs
the depths to which Cladophora (and other algae) grow; growth occurs
in Lake Ontario from the surface to depths of 30 feet and more.
The largest single source by far of nutrient inputs to Lake
Ontario is the Niagara River—reflecting the fact that this Lake, being
downstream from the other four Great Lakes, suffers the consequences
of what happens above it in the Basin. Fortunately for the health of
Lake Ontario, a major part of the nutrients known to be going into
upstream Lake Erie is retained in that Lake and not carried out by
the Niagara River. Nevertheless, the threat of eutrophication in
Lake Ontario makes more urgent the need for action now getting under-
way to reduce the nutrient inputs upstream from it.
Lake Ontario has not thus far exhibited one of the symptoms
of advanced eutrophication found in Lake Erie, that of severe oxygen
depletion in its deep waters. This phenomenon in Lake Erie is attrib-
uted to an indirect effect of over-production of planktonic algae,, i.e.,
algae that grow freely suspended in the water, not attached to bottom
surfaces. As these colonies of algae flourish, die, and slowly set-
tle to the bottom, their decomposition exerts a demand on the dis-
solved oxygen resources in the water. The drain on oxygen reserves
is most severe in the hypolimnion during periods of stratification In
which replenishment of oxygen from upper waters, and from the air
above the Lake, is inhibited. Lake Ontario differs from Lake Erie
in two important respects: I) the observed growth of planktonic algae
in open waters of the Lake has not been as intense, and 2) Lake Ontario's
greater depth makes the volume of water in the hypolimnion much greater
than it is in Lake Erie. As a result, the lowest value of dissolved
oxygen observed in the hypolimnion of Lake Ontario in lakewide surveys
was about 70 percent of saturation. While this is not, as yet, a
serious depletion it is another subtle warning sign of advancing
eutrophI cation.
Another dramatic example of an upset in the balance of nature
is the invasion of the Great Lakes by the alewtfe. These little fish,
descendants of a species which has migrated into the Lakes from the
ocean and adapted itself to the fresh-water environment, have become
pests mindful of the great locust plagues recorded in history in some
land areas of the world. The Great Lakes alewife is a useless fish.
16
-------
They are not good to eat, and there is no sport to catching them.
Efforts to find a commercial market for them, as animal food, have
been only partially successful. By competing for food supply, they
crowd out other and more desirable species. Worst of all, they die
in enormous numbers within a short period during each summer and the
dead fish drift onto the shores, adding their stench to the windrows
of rotting Cladophora on beaches.
Ontario was the first of the Great Lakes to be invaded by the
alewife, and the massive die-off has become an annual event in the
Lake. There is no evidence that water pollution contributes to their
deaths, but the dead alewives are themselves a form of water pollution
because of obvious Interference with water uses. The Interior Depart-
ment's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries is spearheading the search for
further answers to the alewife problem, including ways to bring the
alewife population into balance with other aquatic life.
In addition to the buildup in nutritional compounds, Lake
Ontario waters have deteriorated in chemical quality, measured by
such parameters as the sulfate and chloride ions and total dissolved
solids. Data collected at selected points around the Lake such as
water intakes show that chemical quality was changing very gradually
during the half-century prior to about 1910. Indicative of sharp
increase in chemical constituents since that time, sulfate concen-
tration has gone from 15 to 30 parts per million (ppm) and chloride
from 7 to 26 ppm. As previously noted, the chemical quality of
Lake Ontario water is determined mainly by the quality of water
coming down to it from the upstream watershed. In particular, the
chloride increase has been attributed to a parallel buildup in Lake
Erie, and this in turn to the growth of salt mining and related chem-
ical industries on the watershed, concentrated mainly in two areas,
the Detroit-Windsor area at the western end of Lake Erie, and north-
eastern Ohio. (9)
As the concentration of a persistent substance, such as the
chloride ion, builds up in a lake, so does the quantity removed by
transport in the outflowing water. This points up a significant
difference between a lake which has an outlet, such as the St.
Lawrence River flowing out of Lake Ontario, and one like the Great
Salt Lake wbich has no outlet, inflowing water being removed from
the lake by evaporation. The outlet has a natural arresting effect
upon buildup of chemicals within the Lake. Although the threefold
increase in chloride in Lake Ontario has quite understandably caused
concern, the present level of concentration is well below that which
would cause significant impairment to water uses. Nor does there
appear to be cause for concern about future increases, but this Is
not to be construed as condoning the dumping of chloride or any other
substance into these waters where reasonable steps can be taken to
exclude it.
17
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Niagara River Basin
The Niagara Drainage Basin with the world renowned Niagara
Falls separates Lakes Erie and Ontario. Some 1.3 million people live
in the United States portion of the Metropolitan Buffalo-Niagara area
and the area contiguous to the Basin. The sewage from these people
finds its way into the Niagara River although only a portion of the
1.3 mi I I ion people actuaIly Ii ve in the Niagara Ri ver Basin. The
metropolitan area is highly industrialized and supports the major
source of electrical power for the eastern Great Lakes. Less than
10 percent of the contributing area is considered to be rural.
The Niagara River has an average flow of about 202,000 cfs.
For all practical purposes all of the "flow comes from Lake Erie.
Minimal flows from the Buffalo River and Tonawanda Creek have little
effect on volume of the Niagara River. The Tonawanda Creek effect
is reduced to nil when the Barge Canal is in operation. At that
time Niagara River and Tonawanda Creek water, up to 1,300 cfs, flow
east through the canal.
Buffalo River
The Buffalo River, while not in the Niagara River Basin, does
have considerable effect on the water quality of l"he Niagara River.
Low flow in the Buffalo River itseIf creates about a 70-day detention
time in the lower River. The industrial reuse of this water concen-
trates the waste. In 1967 industry constructed its own pipeline to
Lake Erie. The once used water is now discharged directly to the
Buffalo River to provide a minimum flow of 100 MGD. Periodic flushes
of the river water cause slugs of highly concentrated industrial waste
and oil to be discharned to the Niagara River. These flushes have
serious temporary delrimental effects on the Niagara River. High
phenols give taste to drinking water, oil and dyes cause esthetic
problems, and sewage causes high bacterial counts. At times the
dissolved oxygen in the Buffalo River is depressed to zero. Another
factor that indicates the condition of the Buffalo River and its
effect on the Niagara River is the total absence of biological
organisms in the lower Buffalo River. Although no fish kills have
been experienced in the river since 1951, the shock load of the
Buffalo River "slugs of waste" on the Niagara River must make
immediate local demands on the Niagara River dissolved oxygen.
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is about 101 miles long, has an average flow
of about 390 cfs and has 31 tributaries in its drainage basin. In
comparison to the 202,000 cfs flow of the Niagara River the creek
exerts little pollution pressure on the river. However, when the
Barge Canal is open,.the creek could have a marked effect on the
quality of the canal waters.
18
-------
The upper reach of the creek above the Barge Canal with a
few exceptions has relatively good water. Waste from Attica Prison,
sewage from Attica, toxic waste from the National Lead Company at
Batavia, enrichment from the well operated Batavia Sewage Treatment
Plant, and sewage from Akron on Murder Creek caused polluted condi-
tions for short distances ba>low the noted outfal Is. The creek
recovers sufficiently, however, to be in good condition by the time
it reaches the canal.
Near its mouth Tonawanda Creek is joined by EI I Icott Creek,
a highly enriched stream. The enrichment is caused by sewage from
Alden and the Erie County Home and Penitentiary, septic tank dis-
charges, and sewage from Amherst. The enrichment causes algal
growth and dissolved oxygen depletion in the creek as it passes
through Eliicott Creek Park, and is carried into Tonawanda Creek
and the Niagara River.
Minor Streams
Scajaquada Creek watershed between the Buffalo River and
Tonawanda Creek is degraded to a variable degree throughout its
length. The effluent from the Westinghouse Manufacturing Plant in
Cheektowaga is essentially the flow in the creek except in wet weather.
The entire flow of the stream enters a Buffalo Sewer Authority inter-
cepting sewer for eventual primary treatment except In wet weather,
when flows in excess of 700 cfs are bypassed. Normal flow in the
creek is about 28 cfs.
Storm water overflow from the City of Buffalo, the bypassed wet
weather flow and industrial waste are augmented by Buffalo City water
(in the summer) to make up the flow In lower Scajaquada Creek. Even
with the city water the lower stream remains grossly polluted, with
periodic oil films. It discharges directly to the Niagara River.
Another small creek, Two Mile Creek, also receives storm and
sanitary waste which make stream conditions objectionable. While a
good portion of the creek is in conduit below ground, an open section
of this polluted stream runs through a park and golf course.
Gill Creek is above the Falls and traverses part of the City
of Niagara Falls. DuPont Company and 01in-Mathieson Company discharge
waste to the stream; DuPont discharges 32 MGD, or 95 percent of the
dry weather flow in the creek. The outflow from Gill Creek contrib-
utes considerable quantities of dissolved solids, chlorides, and
wastes high in chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Cayuga Creek In Niagara County Is a small stream that drains
an area north of Niagara Falls. The main source of pollution is a
flow of 80,000 gallons per day from the Niagara Municipal Air Base
Group, a federal Installation. Partially treated sewage from the
19
-------
base, the City of Niagara Falls and the area outside Niagara Falls,
cause dissolved oxygen depletion, algae growths and disagreeable odors
in the lower portion of the creek.
Niagara River
The nutrient-laden waters of Lake Erie, wastes from the heavy
industrial complex along the Buffalo River, and direct waste discharges
from municipalities and industries constitute the major pollution load
to the Niagara River.
Because of the large volume of Lake Erie water in the river,
the effect of most of the pollutants in the discharged wastes is
masked by the tremendous dilution ratio. However, certain indicators
of pollution such as phenols, oil and coliform bacteria are still
evident. (See Figure 4.)
Excessive growths of Cladophora in the Niagara River, along
with algae from Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River tributaries,
form large accumulations below the Falls. The decay of large masses
of these plants in the area of the Maid of the Mist docks on the
Canadian shore contributes to the obnoxious odor problem being
experienced in the lower Niagara River.
The Buffalo River pollution tends to hug the east bank of the
Niagara River for about six miles before mixing throughout the river.
The polluted portion of the river also receives waste from the Buffalo
Sewer Authority and Scajaquada Creek, respectively 3 and 4 miles down-
stream of the Buffalo River. The Buffalo Sewer Authority discharges
about 143 MGD of primary treated waste to the river.
Phenols found ir the upper six miles of the Niagara River are
associated with the waste discharges from the Mobil Oil Refinery
(reportedly planning to discontinue refinery operation in 1968),
Donner-Hanna Coke Plant, and the Buffalo Dye Plants on the Buffalo
River. Other industries and the municipal sewage treatment plants
discharging oil from facilities on the upper river also add to the
potential phenol taste and odor problem. These sources of phenols,
along with several waste sources above the falls, are a potential
cause of taste and odor problems at municipal water supply intakes
on the river. On one occasion in 1967 phenols of 28 micrograms per
liter were found at the confluence of the Niagara River and Lake
Erie. Although no known phenol problems have been reported on the
Upper Niagara River in the past few years, it should be noted that
it is routine practice by the Canadians to treat for taste and odors
due to phenols at Niagara-on-the-Lake, located near the mouth of the
Ri ver.
The Buffalo River adds an unpleasant dark color to the Niagara
River. The discoloration in the Buffalo River is caused by a mixture
20
-------
Fort Niagara
Youngjtown
LocKport
Tooawondo
rv North
Tonawonda
Grand
Island
6 Akron
Amherst
Botavia
Tonayyando,
BUFFALO
FtiVf
Attica ofm
ERIE
Zones of significant water
quality impairment
Zones of moderate water
quality impairment
^ Significant untreated or inadequately
treated municipal waste
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated industrial waste
PRINCIPAL ZONES OF
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENT
NIAGARA RIVER BASIN
21
Figure 4
-------
of oils, dyes, and other industrial wastes, municipal waste, and
septic conditions in the lower river. Allied Chemical-Buffalo Dye,
Republic Steel and Symington Wayne all contribute color to the Buffalo
River. National Lead at Batavia on Tonawanda Creek causes a local
color problem, which disappears a short distance downstream.
Contributions of waste from the Buffalo River through storm
and combined sewer overflows and septic tank and sewage treatment
plant effluents affect the coliform levels on the east shore of the
Niagara River. The Buffalo Sewer Authority effluent and combined
sewer overflow also add to the coliform count in the river. In 1967
samples collected by the International Joint Commission (IJ C) near
the east shore indicated median coliform counts to be 6700/100 ml
and 3600/100 ml about 2 and 4 miles respectively downstream of the
Buffalo River. Midstream samples at these mile points strongly
reflect Lake Erie water and are consistently low. These are median
counts and do not reflect the maximum levels, and they are suffi-
ciently high to demonstrate the hazard of swimming in the Grand Island
area, and to point out the vigilance required by waterworks operators
to guard against contaminated water.
The reach of the Niagara River from south of Grand Island to
the fal Is receives about 50 percent of the industrial waste and 10
percent of the sewage in the Basin. About 175 MGD of industrial
waste is discharged directly to the Niagara River or Tonawanda Creek.
The Industrial wastes are quite varied, containing oil, solids, phenols,
color, toxic metals, acids and alkalies, and exerting high biochemical
and chemical oxygen demands. Seven sewage plants in this sector dis-
charge about 30 MGD of primary treated waste.
In viewing this sector of the river it is significant that
waste discharged to the lower reaches of Ellicott or Tonawanda Creeks
or to the Niagara River upstream of Tonawanda Creek is transported up
Tonawanda Creek to the Barge Canal when the Canal is in operation.
In view of the subsequent uses of canal water, the waters directed to
the canal should be of good qual ity.
Oil discharged by Ashland Oil and Refinery Company also tends
to hug the east shore of the Niagara River for several miles downstream.
When the oil does not flow into Tonawanda Creek it flows to the lower
Niagara River, and accumulates to the detriment of wildlife.
Some 36 MGD of waste containing phenols are discharged to this
section of the Niagara River. Allied Chemical - Semet Solvay and
Ashland Oil Company at the 29 mile point contribute 33 MGD to the
river. The phenols are carried down the river along the United States
shore for about three miles before they are dispersed.
Discharge from the Hooker Chemical - Durez Plastics Company at
the 24.6 mile point is one-tenth of Allied Chemical and Ashland Oil
22
-------
Company discharge, but more potent. In (961 Hooker Chemical was known
to discharge some 1,000 pounds per day of phenols to the river. in
recent years phenol concentrations up to 200 micrograms per liter and
averaging 100 micrograms per liter have been found below Hooker Chemi-
cal's discharge. Some of these phenols enter the New York Power Author-
ity intake at mile point 18.0 and subsequently enter the lower Niagara
River at the power plant discharge at mile point 9.0, thus bypassing
the falls and adding some residue to the lower Niagara River. Recent
data also indicates that at times phenol from the Hooker Chemical -
Durez Plastic Company does reach the mouth of the Niagara in the vicin-
ity of the municipal water plant intake of the town of Niagara-on-the-
Lake in Canada.
Color in the reach of the river between the south end of Grand
Island and the Falls is mainly caused by four industries. Spaulding
Fiber, Continental Can and International Paper discharge about 16 MGD
of varicolored paper waste to the Niagara River in the vicinity of
Tonawanda Creek. The color is carried downstream a very short dis-
tance before being dispersed. Union Carbide, located at the 18 mile
point downstream of the New York Power intake, discharges about 21
MGD of waste to the river. Some 5,000 pounds per day of calcium are
discharged about 400 feet off the United States shore. The waste
creates a plume 100 feet wide and is carried downstream for about two
miles. The color then disappears from view in the turbulent waters
above the falls. The calcium forms an insoluble carbonate in the
river.
The IJC study (10) of the river shows a buildup of coliform from
3600/100 ml at the 34.3 miie point to 6800/100 ml at the 23.6 mile point
just below the North Tonawanda primary sewage treatment plant. Sewage
from septic tanks illegally connected to storm sewers and sanitary sewer
overflows in Cayuga Creek (Niagara County) area have caused coliform
counts to rise sharply to 20,000/100 ml at the 20 mile point. The
increase from 3600 to 6800 per 100 ml takes place in the area of the
water supply intakes for Lockport, North Tonawanda and Tonawanda. The
20,000 per 100 ml count at the Niagara River and Cayuga Creek conflu-
ence, while not a distinct threat to the City of Niagara Fails and
Niagara County Water Authority intakes across the river, is a definite
threat to the Niagara Falls 6mergency intake two miles downstream.
The Niagara River immediately below the Falls acts as a collec-
tion basin for a good part of the upstream waste. The mechanics of
river flow tend to concentrate floating material at various locations
along the lower river. While the largest share of waste load to the
river comes from above the falls, the lower river is not without its
own waste sources. The City of Niagara Falls discharges 71 MGD of
sewage to the lower river, with virtually no treatment except screen-
ing. Few industries discharge waste directly to the river but a diver-
sion sewer around the falls does carry about 30 MGD from a number of
industries just above the falls. The wastes from these Industries
23
-------
contain color, solids, oil, and acid. Another product of the diver-
sion sewer is obnoxious odors that fill the lower river in the vicinity
of the fa I Is.
The industries on the diversion sewer Include a considerable
amount of cooling water in the approximately 30 MGD of waste they
discharge. Oil and phenols are present in limited amounts. The
lower river has a tendency to release floating oil films. These films
are dangerous and often deadly to waterfowl. Phenols also build up in
the lower river. This buildup causes problems of taste and odor for
Niagara-on-the-Lake water supply. (10)
Color is a definite problem on the lower river. The diversion
sewer discharges near the falls and in full view of the Rainbow Bridge
and the New York State Observation Tower. The color and floating scum
detract from the beauty of the falls. Perhaps the most significant
reminder of the plight of the falls and a constant irritant to local
residents and the millions of people who visit the area is the obnox-
ious odor from the diversion sewer and from decaying algae.
In summary, pollution of the waters of the Niagara area con-
stitutes a health hazard, creates problems in control of taste and
odor in municipal water supplies, periodically destroys waterfowl,
and detracts from the esthetic values of one of the world's most
famous scenic attractions. This pollution is the more regrettable
because it is so needless; with reasonable attention to the treatment
of wastes from cities and industry, the tremendous flow of the Niagara
River is capable of assimilating treated wastewaters without percep-
tible effects.
Genesee River Basin
The major areas of water quality impairments in the Genesee
River Basin are shown in Figure 5. Sectors on the lower and central
part of the main stem and on Honeoye, Keshequa, Wolf, Oatka, Black,
Wllkins, Conesus and Canaseraga Creeks are the most serious.
Separately-discharging Industries are currently contributing
about 90 percent of the total 94,000 lbs/day of 5-day BOD that Is
reaching the surface waters of the Genesee River and Its tributaries.
The total loading is the result of about 45 percent treatment by
municipalities and 30 percent treatment by Industries.
Figure 6 presents a summary of present and projected municipal
and industrial wastes. As shown, raw waste production by separately-
discharging industries is projected to increase nearly 40 percent by
1985 and nearly 110 percent by the year 2020. Municipal waste produc-
tion is projected to Increase 300 and 500 percent respectively, for
1985 and 2020. With 90 percent treatment anticipated by 1985 the
24
-------
I A K £
ONTARIO
CATTARAUGUS
IftONDEQUO J T
BAY
York Stat•
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CHURWVtL
^r<
l
MONEQ
FALLS
)
LAKEVIU.E
T A rI
LAKE
StL VERflShtpr
CAN AD ICE
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&
DANSV/lLLE
PORTAGE VL IE#
7
PENNSYLVANIA
-N-
SCALE IN MILES
LEGEND
Zones of significant water
quality impairment.
Zones of moderate water
quality impairment.
Untreated or inadequately
treated municipal waste.
Untreated or inadequately
treated industrial waste.
PRINCIPAL ZONES OF
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENT
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
25
Figure 5
-------
LEGEND
_ Percent Treatment
Effected
Raw Waste
production
- Effluent
500
CM
rO
CD
500
CL UJ
m
1965
1985
2020
TOTAL MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES
PRESENT AND PROJECTED
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
Figure 6
26
-------
combined municipal and industrial discharge is projected to be 22
percent of the present loading to the basin waters, in the year
2020 the projection is for 33 percent.
In the last five to six miles, the Genesee River is in its most
serious state of degradation. Studies in the summer and fall of 1965
revealed that the entire lower reach is almost completely depleted of
dissolved oxygen. Five-day BOD concentrations were generally greater
than 20 mg/l. Concurrent biological studies showed the bottom fauna
consisted almost exclusively of sludgeworms. The numbers of these
organisms ranged from 8,000 to 43,000 per square meter.
The discharge from the Eastman Kodak Company's primary treat-
ment plant is the principal cause of this condition. Kodak has
secondary treatment facilities in the initial stages of construction,
which should greatly reduce the present effluent loading of over
320,000 PE to the river. Contributing to the poor quality of this
lower five to six mile sector are intermittent discharges of untreated
waste from the thirty combined sewer overflows of the City of Rochester
and the latent oxygen demand of the extensive sludge deposits.
Three other reaches on the main stem experience significant
impairment of water quality. These are below Curtice-Burns (Mount
Morris); the Village of Avon and General Foods, Birdseye Division;
and the Gates-ChiI i-Ogden discharges. At Mount Morris the river
receives relatively large quantities of untreated wastes from a
cannery, Curtice-Burns, Inc., during the months of low flow. A 40
percent depletion of DO has been observed below the plant's untreated
discharge of over 50,000 PE, in terms of BOD.
The reach below the Village of Avon and Birdseye Division dis-
charges is often seriously depleted of DO, grossly discolored, and
choked with pollution-stimulated weed and algal growth. Fish kills
have often occurred in this stretch; one of massive proportions was
reported in 1959. The 5-day BOD from the Birdseye Division Cannery
has been estimated at over 17,000 pounds per day during the canning
season of June to December. The river recovers gradually in the
sluggish reach below Avon, but receives the large Gates-ChiIi-Ogden
primary treatment discharge before being mixed with the Barge Canal
waters above Rochester. This municipal plant serves about 30,000
and its effluent causes a moderate depletion In dissolved oxygen.
Among the more seriously degraded reaches on the tributaries
to the Genesee River are Honeoye Creek below Honeoye Falls, and Oatka
Creek below Warsaw. The stream flow in Honeoye Creek is commonly very
low in the summer months because of limited releases from its three
headwater lakes of Honeoye, Canadice and Hemlock. In addition, the
Honeoye Falls secondary treatment plant does not reduce organic
materials sufficiently. The village is presently taking measures to
reduce its effluent BOD in order to correct gross pollution conditions—
27
-------
an extremely low DO and high bacterial counts. Processing waste
from a dairy products manufacturer presently overloads the plant.
Studies of Oatka Creek below Warsaw in 1965 revealed a polluted
condition existed in the stream for many miles. Less than I mg/l of
DO was found for miles below the village's primary treatment plant and
the Ainsbrook knitting mill discharges. Stream BOD's increased more
than 25 mg/l as a result of these discharges. The downstream trout
fishery at Wyoming is often damaged when low streamflows extend the
polluted conditions at Warsaw.
Oswego River Basin
The Oswego River Basin has many areas of serious water quality
impairment. Figure 7 is a display of the areas where the major pollu-
tion problems exist. Approximately 60 percent of the BOD waste load
reaching the streams of the Oswego River Basin is a result of muni-
cipal discharges, while the remaining 40 percent is attributed mostly
to industries. (See Figure 8.) The major pollution problems include
those on Onondaga Lake, the Oswego River near Fulton, the Seneca River
in the Waterloo-Seneca Fails area, the Clyde River (Barge Canal) below
Newark and others on the outlet of the Finger Lakes.
Syracuse-Onondaga Lake Areas
The Syracuse area is located in the heart of Onondaga County.
A majority of the subbasin population and approximately 60 major
industries are located in the Syracuse Metropolitan area. This
large concentration of population and industry has given rise to water
quality problems of equal magnitude. Waste discharges to Onondaga Lake
contain large quantities of inorganic and organic materials. Analysis
of samples taken during the summer of 1965 from the lake indicated a
zone almost devoid of oxygen below the 25 foot depth; conductivities
that ranged between 5,000 and 8,000 micromhos/cm; chlorides that range
between 1,300 and 3,000 mg/l and five-day BOD's that averaged about
15 mg/l. Biological investigations in July revealed that there was
little or no bottom fauna, but there was a large population of pollution-
tolerant types of algae ranging up to 100,000 organisms per milliliter.
Lake bottom cores revealed layers of sludge, along with sodium and
calcium carbonate deposits.
The water quality problems of Onondaga Lake stem from several
different sources. (See Figure 9.)
I. Raw or partially treated domestic and industrial wastes
are discharged directly to the lake and its tributaries. Major waste
contributors discharging directly to the lake are the Metropolitan
Treatment Plant and Crucible Steel.
28
-------
t
LEGEND
SCALE « MtLCS
5 5 «
Zones of significant water quality
impairment
Zones of moderate wafer qualify
impairment
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated municipal watte
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated industrial waste
PRINCIPAL ZONES OF
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENT
Oswego River Basin
-------
LEGEND
2500
_ Percent Treatment
Effected
Raw Waste
Production
2000
- Effluent
>. 1500
1000
500
1965
1985
2020
TOTAL MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES,
PRESENT AND PROJECTED
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
30
F i g u re 8
-------
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL
COMPOSITION
(averages from summer 1965)
Shoreline littered
V with refuse .
Secchi Disk-2.4 ft. ^
Phytoplankton -61,000 to98,000
per 100ml. Mostly Euglena,
p diatoms, filamentous blue-greens,
and green coccoids.
Relatively little bottom
founo.
An input or return of Seneca
River water occurs and greatly
reduces the flushing action
of the lake.
NOTE:
The waste flow from the Ley Creek
and Metro, treatment plants a-
mounts to approximately 20,000
MG a year or one-half the volume
of Onondaga Lake.
Carbonate deposits
create unesfhetic delta
of solids. Allied Chemi-
cal Corp. is presently
dredging lake to
remove delta.
Allied Chemical Corp.
Solvey Process Div. toiling
pond effluent to Ninemile
Creek contributes an esti
mated 3,100 tons/day of
Chlorides, 3,600 tons/day
dissolved solids and 300
tons/day suspended solids.
DO near complete depletion
below 25 ft depth.
Chlorides-2,130 mg/l.
Conductivity-6,820 p mhos/cm.-
P04- P~ 1.58 mg/l.
Ca. -720 mg/|.
BODq -13.6 mg/l.
itrogens(total)-3.52 mg/l.
Iron-0.28 mg/l.
Ley Creek Treatment
Plant extremely overloaded',
effecting only primary type
treatment efficiency with
secondary units. County
planning on transferring
effluent to upgraded metro
plant.
Crucible Steel dis-
charges 300 lbs/day
Iron, 150 lbs/day of_
Chromium, 8,200
lbs/day suspended
solids.
Allied Chemical Corp.-
Solvey Process Div. east
flume discharge of 80MGD.
Syracuse Metro. Treatment Plant-
less thon 50% removal of influent
(260,000 PE). County planning to
upgrade plant to secondary.
67 possible stormwater overflow
points from combined sewers.
POLLUTION PROBLEMS IN
ONONDAGA LAKE
" 3! c, —
Figure g
-------
2. tt was reported in 1961 that wet weather overflows from
the city's combined sewer system occurred on the average of 48 times
a year. These periodic overflows carried large quantities of untreated
sewage to the lake.
3. There have been large accumulations of both organic and
inorganic sediments during the past century. Effluents from Allied
Chemical Company's Solvay Division contain mostly inorganic wastes
consisting of calcium compounds (chlorides, sulfates, hydroxides and
carbonates) and sodium chlorides. Precipitates of these white mate-
rials have built up a delta at the confluence of Ninemile Creek and
Onondaga Lake. (See Plate 2.) Recently, Solvay joined Onondaga County
in dredging these wastes which will be used for lowland fill along the
lake.
4. The natural hydrologic phenomenon of the lake presents an
additional problem. An analysis of the outlet indicates that the flows
are relatively small and that there appeared to be an occasional return
of Seneca River water in the upper layers. Apparently little flushing
action is achieved which, in turn, greatly reduces the assimilative
capacity of the lake.
Onondaga Lake receives more nutrients than any other lake in
the Basin. Despite high concentrations of chlorides and suspended
solids, the lake is clogged with heavy growths of algae. Light pene-
tration is less than three feet. All of these factors reflect a
severely degraded environment. (See Plate 3.)
Oneida Lake
Oneida Lake is in a highly advanced state of eutrophication,
resulting partly from the input of large quantities of nutrients from
poorly treated municipal and industrial wastes.
The nutrients, along with ideal physiographic features, promote
prolific algal blooms which decay into fouI-smeI I ing masses and eventu-
al ly wash ashore. These repugnant conditions are a deterrent to most
water uses. Major tributaries receiving large waste loads are Chit-
tenango Creek, including Limestone and Butternut Creeks, and Oneida
Creek, including Sconondoa Creek and Canaseraga Creek. In addition,
a larger portion of the nutrients apparently is due to natural runoff
which includes that portion attributable to agricultural activity.
There are many direct discharges from cottages, plus vessel wastes
from the Barge Canal traffic and a large number of pleasure craft.
Results of the 1965 survey revealed that Oneida Lake has indeed
reached an over-enriched state conducive to prolific plant growth.
Phosphate levels were found to be consistently high. Other indica-
tions of Oneida Lake's deteriorated condition are its limited trans-
parency, and increasing alkalinity.
32
-------
PLATE NO. 2 - Sewage treatment plant discharge into
Lake Onondaga at Syracuse.
33
-------
A summary of the estimated sources of phosphate to Oneida Lake
is shown in Figure 10. For the Basin as a whole approximately 40 per-
cent of the total phosphate loading is the result of municipal and
industrial waste discharges direct to the lake or its tributaries.
Also shown in Figure 10 is the relative fraction of the total input
from each tributary stream.
Finger Lakes Region
The Finger Lakes have large volumes and controlled outlet flows,
so that seasonal variations in precipitation do not radically affect
them. The large lake volumes also provide considerable dilution for
waste inputs and the eventual assimilation of most wastes. Further,
these large natural storage reservoirs permit a more gradual release
of water to the outlets, preventing extremely low flows in the outlets.
There are areas of localized pollution at Ithaca, Geneva, Dres-
den and on the lake outlets. The two areas of poor quality on Seneca
Lake are at Dresden, where the pollution-laden Keuka Outlet adversely
affects the lake, and on the north shore at Geneva, where the city has
had to restrict swimming. This area is principally affected by the
discharge from the city's primary treatment plant but also by some
industrial discharges to tributaries and city storm sewers.
On Cayuga Lake, the beaches in the Ithaca area have had to be
closed because of bacterial pollution and because dense growths of
plankton make the local waters hazardous to swim in by limiting
transparency.
The two Finger Lakes outlet streams most seriously degraded are
Skaneateles Creek and Owasco Outlet. The flow in Owasco Outlet is reg-
ulated to preserve the storage in Owasco Lake for water supply. Only
a nominal amount is allowed for dilution of domestic wastes. Odors are
common during low flows. Skaneateles Creek is also regulated closely,
since the lake presently is the major source of water supply for the
City of Syracuse. There is bacterial contamination throughout
Skaneateles Creek and in some reaches, high pH, turbidity and color
result from poorly treated industrial wastes, especially in and below
Skaneateles FalIs.
Wineries on both Keuka Inlet and Naples Creek (Canandaigua
Inlet) impose sizeable organic loads on those streams. Particularly
at Hammondsport on Keuka Inlet, both chemical and biological data
reflected the additional loading imposed by the wineries in the fall.
The Seneca and Cayuga Lake Outlets together form a part of the
Cayuga-Seneca section of the Barge Canal System; this 13 mile reach
is extremely polluted. Many fish kills have been reported below
Waterloo and Seneca Falls; of note were the extensive fish kills
reported in October 1961, September 1962, and October 1963.
34
-------
PLATE NO. 3 Debris littering southeast shore
of Lake Onondaga.
35
-------
ANNUAL PHOSPHATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ONEIDA LAKE
SHOWING FRACTIONS OF DOMESTIC
AND LAND RUNOFF FOR EACH SOURCE*
700r
CUMULATIVE PHOSPHATE INPUT.
Estimoted 40% of total (681,500
ibs./yr. as Phosphorus) from do-
mestic and industrial sources. Re-
mainder mostly due to natural and
artifieal land runoff.
600
o
o
o
a:
us 500
>-
(£
UJ
a.
in
3
a 400-
i/i
o
-C
a
<
z
Q.
CO
o
X
a.
(10) Percent contributed of
total input to lake
Land Runoff
Domestic Source
cn
a
z
3
o
a.
0
COTTAGES
AND
BOATS
CANASERA6A
CREEK
ONEIDA
CREEK
CHITTENANGO SCRIBA FISH
CREEK CREEK CREEK
*Based on 1960-1965 data.
36
Figure 10
-------
The cause of this degradation is principally industrial wastes,
and to a lesser extent the poorly treated municipal waste of the Vil-
lages of Waterloo and Seneca Falls. Sylvania Electric discharges an
untreated waste of about 6,000 PE that is high in fluorides. Evans
Chemetics and Seneca Knitting Mills discharge significant quantities
of untreated waste. Evans' discharges include large quantities of
dissolved solids containing soluble sulfides and sulfates, along with
intermittent discharges which include high organic loadings and quan-
tities of zinc. A cannery severely overloads the Waterloo Sewage
Treatment Plant in the summer and fall months, raising the strength
of the influent to between 10 and 20 times the normal 5,000 PE received
at the plant. The river is grossly discolored by cannery waste for
several miles below the outfall.
Flows from Seneca and Cayuga Lakes are regulated for both
hydropower and Barge Canal navigation. Unfortunately, other purposes,
including low-flow augmentation receive only minor consideration.
Average 24-hour flows to meet peak power demands have varied from 60
to 1,000 cfs. Because of the wide fluctuation of flows into the Seneca
River, Geneva's waste discharges to Seneca Lake appear on occasion to
flow directly into the river with little dispersion. This is of par-
ticular importance to the City of Waterloo, whose water supply intake
is only a short distance downstream. Also because of this, wastes are
frequently carried downstream in slugs, contributing to the conditions
causing fish kills.
Over-fertilization is a problem on the Finger Lakes. The aquatic
weed problems found primarily on the northern end of Seneca Lake and the
substantial plankton blooms which occur at the southern end of Cayuga
Lake are indications of this.
Barge Canal
The Barge Canal reach from Newark to Lyons has excessive organic
loadings which result in a serious depletion of dissolved oxygen. The
flow in the Canal is diverted to Ganargua Creek above Newark and does
not re-enter until nine miles downstream at Lyons, complicating the
si tuatIon.
The Barge Canal in the immediate area of Newark is subjected to
two large industrial wastes from Perfection Canning and Edgett and
Burnham Cannery, having a combined population equivalent of 28,000.
Fish kills were reported in this area in August 1961, October 1963
and November 1964. At Lyons, the National Biscuit Company discharges
an untreated PE of over 20,000 which is reflected by a slight decrease
in water qua I ity. At Clyde, the Canal experiences moderate deteriora-
tion in quality from the Village's primary effluent. The sampling
station near Clyde also reflects high concentrations of dissolved and
suspended solids in addition to high bacteria counts.
37
-------
Two main tributaries to this section of the Canal, Mud Creek
near Macedon and Canandaigua Outlet below Newark, apparently contrib-
ute large quantities of dissolved and suspended solids.
Oswego - Fulton Area
The Oswego River from Three Rivers to Lake Ontario is a
polIution-Iaden stream that discharges nearly 6,300 cfs to Lake
Ontario. The river is high In dissolved and suspended organics at
its headwaters and receives untreated domestic sewage from three
communities and untreated industrial wastes from six large and many
smalI industries.
At Fulton, the canalized section between two locks is extremely
polluted. Discharged to the river above and in this section are the
raw wastes of the town's 14,000 residents,* a large General Foods-
Birdseye Division food-processing plant, the Nestle Company, Seal right
Container Corporation, and North End Paper. Together, these industries
contribute an organic loading equivalent to a population of more than
77,000.
Just two miles downstream of Fulton, Armstrong Cork adds another
untreated loading of 44,100 PE. Its discharge has created an unsightly
delta of deposits in the river below the outfall. Farther downstream,
bottom deposits are resuspended by passing tugs, making the river a
dark unsightly color as It passes Battle Island State Park. Finally
before entering Lake Ontario, the river receives a raw waste discharge
from the City of Oswego, which has nearly 31,000 people.
Black-United States St. Lawrence River Basins
The Black-United States St. Lawrence River Basins have many
areas of serious water quality impairment despite the fact that the
streamflows are generally large. There are many headwater lakes that
could be regulated for water quality control.
Figure II contains a display of the major problem areas. The
central and lower sections of the Black River are the most seriously
affected reaches. Sectors on the upper and lower Oswegatchie River,
the lower Grass, and the lower Raquette also have serious pollution
problems. The St. Lawrence River, in the 114-mlle stretch between
Lake Ontario and Massena covered in this report, exhibits localized
pollution at Ogdensburg and Massena.
Over 90 percent of the total organic loading of 900,000 PE, In
terms of BOD, to the waters of the Black-United States St. Lawrence
River Basins is contributed by pulp and paper manufacturers. Of lesser
significance but still a cause of water quality degradation are waste
discharges from aluminum processing plants, dairy products plants, and
*Treatment plant completed by Fulton In 1968.
38
-------
La
VC
CO
C
"J
o
<=>
'WOhOViLtE
POTSOAi
&0UVEHHEU*
«»iERCE
¦ HMRiSvulE
"CAPE VINCENT
LOWVILl
IVILLE
LEGEND
Zones of significant water quality
Impairment.
Zones of moderate water quality
Impairment
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated municipal waste.
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated industrial waste.
PRINCIPAL ZONES OF
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENT
Black -St. Lawrence River Basins
-------
mining operations. Little or no treatment is provided by industries.
Municipalities are also causing pollution problems due to inadequate
treatment. Only about 30 percent reduction of BOD is provided through
existing municipal treatment facilities. Figure II also shows the
location of the major municipal and industrial discharges.
Figure 12 surrmarizes the present and projected municipal and
industrial waste loadings to the Basin waters. As shown, raw waste
production by separately-discharging industries is projected to
increase nearly 15 percent by 1985 and about 45 percent by the year
2020. Municipal waste production is projected to increase about 20
percent and 70 percent by the years 1985 and 2020. With 90 percent
treatment anticipated to be in effect by 1985 the combined municipal
and industrial loading to the Basin waters is projected to be 20 per-
cent of the present in 1985, and 45 percent of the present in 2020.
Black River Area
The Black River is in a severely polluted condition; the cause
Is primarily the numerous untreated waste discharges of pulp and paper
mills. The area affected covers the lower half of the Basin or more
than 80 miles of river. The stream sectors below Lyons Falls, Beaver
Falls, Carthage and Watertown are the most critically affected.
Pollution in the Black River is primarily in the form of exces-
sive organic loadings and related dissolved oxygen depletions, gross
discoloration and fouling of the water surface with multi-colored
foams and floating debris, and the buildup of vast deposits of paper
fibers, wood chips, and other oxygen consuming materials on the stream-
bed. Dissolved oxygen profiles of the Black River made by the National
Council for Stream Improvement in 1965 revealed that the entire 40 mile
sector from the Georgia Pacific pulp and paper mill to Carthage had less
than 4 mg/l and less than 2 mg/l for ten miles of this reach. This was
at a time when the streamflow was about 600 cfs below Lyons Falls or
more than three times the critical Idw flow for this reach. The Georgia
Pacific mill at Lyons Falls discharges an untreated waste of between
37,000 and 50,000 lbs/day 5-day BOD and this was reflected in the stream
by a three- to fourfold increase in BOD. Suspended solids from this mill
were measured at nearly 70,000 lbs/day. Huge rafts of floating scum and
white foam have been observed completely covering the river for over a
mile downstream. (See Plate 4.)
Another serious problem exists below the Carthage-Deferiet area.
St. Regis, Crown Zellerback and Carthage Paper Makers were found dis-
charging without treatment over 60,000 lbs/day 5-day BOD to this reach
in a Federal Water Pollution Control Administration survey in 1965.
Downstream of this loading, of which 70 percent is from St. Regis'
pulp and paper mill, the DO was recorded as low as 2.7 mg/l during
moderate flows. Calculations of DO concentrations during periods of
low streamflow show expected levels to be less than I mg/l. The
40
-------
LEGEND
Raw Waste
Production
_ Percent Treatment
Effected
- Effluent
1,500
o
o
CD
>S
O
TJ
I
1,000
o
o
*o
II
500
ro
.o
2020
1985
1965
TOTAL MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES,
PRESENT AND PROJECTED
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
41
Figure |
-------
PLATE NO. 4 - Untreated wastes from paper mills discharging into
Black River at: Lyons Falls (upper) and Carthage (lower).
42
-------
s+reambed below the St. Regis mill was observed having a decaying
fibrous mat I to 2 feet in depth as far downstream as Camp Drum, a
distance of nearly 3 miles. Numerous outcroppings or islands of this
material were also observed immediately downstream of this mill.
Other areas of the Black River and its tributaries, notably
below Watertown and Beaver Falls, have serious water pollution prob-
lems. The total discharge to the Black River and its tributaries
from pulp and paper mi Ms is about 700,000 PE and from municipalities
about 50,000 PE. The City of Watertown, the largest municipality in
the Basin, has primary treatment for a population of approximately
40,000.
St. Lawrence Area
The St. Lawrence River, with its enormous flow averaging over
240,000 cfs, is relatively unaffected by either direct waste inputs
or the tributary inputs, but does experience areas of localized pollu-
tion. In the approximately 115 miles of river between Lake Ontario
and the point above Massena where the International boundary departs
from the river, there are two locations that receive wastes in quan-
tities significant enough to cause serious degradation in quality. At
Massena, wastes from the General Motors-Chevrolet Division aluminum
casting plant and the Reynolds metals aluminum reduction plants cause
a milky, oily appearance to the river.
At Ogdensburg, the Diamond National paper plant discharges raw
wastes, including nearly 7,000 lbs/day of 5-day BOD, floating fibers,
wood chips and rafts of white foam. An unsightly discoloration is
caused along the shoreline, despite the paper mill's efforts to trap
and remove the larger suspended material with a floating barrier.
Municipalities that have discharges to the St. Lawrence, with the
exception of Ogdensburg and Waddington which have primary treatment,
discharge their waste to the river untreated.
The chemistry of the St. Lawrence River, as shown in Table 3
which summarizes the available data for the past decade, reveals little
change i n qual ity.
The major tributaries of the St. Lawrence River, the Raquette,
Grass and Oswegatchie Rivers, all have localized areas of pollution.
The quality of the reach between Potsdam and Raymondville on the
Raquette River is often degraded with oxygen deficiencies and gross
discoloration. Improper streamflow regulation by upstream hydropower
interests compounds the pollution problems created by industrial and
municipal waste discharges. Upstream river flows have been completely
interrupted for periods up to 14 hours at times, disallowing any dilu-
tion for water quality control. Two large paper mills, Nekoosa-Edwards
and Northland have a combined discharge untreated, of about 60,000 PE.
In addition the Villages of Potsdam, Unionville, and Norwood all dis-
charge their waste, about 16,000 PE, untreated to the river.
43
-------
TABLE 3
WATER QUALITY DATA - ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, 1955-1966
(Results are Averages in mg/l Unless Otherwise Stated)
"—
o
E
\
— 1
O
>¦
-1-
CJ
CD
O
-H
c
<3-
O
cn
in
5- O
+- \
— CO
> o
(N|
U) -~-
o
•—
0)
+- ZD
Q_
.—
— _C
E E
in
c ^
•—
~
+- E
*+— (D
-------
The only reaches significantly deteriorated in quality on the
Grass River are below Canton and Massena. Sources of pollution in
the Canton area include untreated discharges by a Kraft Foods cheese
plant—about 7,500 PE in terms of BOD, several dairies, and poorly
treated effluents from the Village of Canton's primary treatment
plants. An unsightly milky discoloration often exists in the river
in and below Canton. The major sources of the moderate pollution
found at Massena are the primary treated effluent from the Massena
sewage treatment plant (connected population of about 16,000) and the
industrial waste discharge of Alcoa. The latter is a 20 MGD effluent
from a settling and oil separation lagoon that gives an oily appearance
to the river on occasion and causes a buildup of sludge deposits in the
streambed.
The quality of the Oswegatchie River is similar to the other
major river systems in the St. Lawrence area; it is good except in
localized areas which receive untreated or poorly treated municipal
and industrial wastes. Stream studies in I960 and 1965 below Newton
Falls revealed high organic loadings and related dissolved oxygen
depletions. However, the Newton Falls Paper Company has recently
installed extensive treatment facilities to correct the pollution
problem. Erratic and insufficient releases from Cranberry Lake often
provide inadequate streamflows for proper water quality control.
In and below Gouverneur the river receives about 50,000 PE of
organic loading. No treatment is provided by either Borden's (20,000
PE), Vanity Fair Paper (25,000 PE) or the Village (5,000 PE). Severe
discoloration was observed downstream of the paper mill as well as
great quantities of fibrous, oxygen-consuming sludge deposits on the
streambed.
At Heuvelton or about twelve miles before the Oswegatchie River
enters the St. Lawrence River it is again subjected to a slug of untreated
industrial waste. The Aiello Dairy Farms cheese plant is the major waste
contributor. In July 1965 an extensive fish kill occurred in a two-mile
sector below Heuvelton.
Minor Tributary Subbasins
The minor tributary area to Lake Ontario covered in this
section extends along a strip of shoreline from the Black River to
the Niagara River, is about 200 miles long, and averages about 12
miles wide. The area supports a population of 825,000 In ten
counties, with the major portion of the people living in the indus-
trialized counties of Monroe and Niagara. The other eight counties
are predominantly rural and support agricultural related industries.
Perhaps the most important single body of water in the Minor
Tributary study area is a part of Lake Ontario itself but, for the
45
GPO 81 1—825—5
-------
purpose of this report, is called the Rochester Embayment. The
embayment includes the Monroe County shoreline including Irondequoit
Bay and Creek. Eighteenmile Creek and the Barge Canal are two other
significant watercourses in the study area.
Rochester Embayment
The main pollution problem in this study area is centered
around the Rochester Embayment. It involves the beaches, sewer
outfalls and water intakes. Partially treated domestic sewage with
a population equivalent of over a million is discharged to the embay-
ment. Municipal and industrial wastes from a rapidly growing metro-
politan area have complicated water uses in the embayment area. High
bacterial counts from metropolitan sewage have caused the main public
beaches on the embayment to be closed. The expanding Rochester metro-
politan area population with its domestic waste and nutrient load is
fast making Irondequoit Bay a highly fertilized waste treatment unit.
Algal blooms in the bay attest to this fact. (See Plate 5.)
By far the worst offender in degrading the waters of the
Rochester embayment is the City of Rochester with its facilities.
Some 80 mill ion gal Ions a day of primary treated waste with a popu-
lation equivalent of over 700,000, is discharged through a single
7,000 foot outfalI to the embayment. The city's partially treated
and chlorinated sewage is discharged offshore from two of the city's
major public beaches. Current, wind and temperature are major factors
in the movement of the waste in and around the embayment in slugs or
dispersed masses. The waste Is a potential health hazard to swimmers
and to the metropolitan drinking water supplies. (See Figure 13.)
Metropolitan growth and population explosion have engulfed the
Irondequoit Bay and Creek basin. The Villages of East Rochester and
Fairport and the Towns of Brighton, Irondequoit and Penfield discharge
waste treatment effluents with an estimated population equivalent of
12,500 to the Irondequoit waters. This waste loading is also a detri-
ment to Irondequoit Bay. Good water and adequate flows from the canal
protect Irondequoit Creek and its two main tributaries from total
deterioration and flush the nutrients in the waste Into the bay. The
nutrients more or less become trapped In the bay, deposited on the bot-
tom or taken up in the life cycles of the biota. Industry also con-
tributes minor amounts of waste to the watershed but does not by any
degree approach the domestic sewage loadings. Lack of interchange or
dilution of Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay water, minimum flows in
Irondequoit Creek creating no flow through the bay, or inefficient
removal of nutrients at contributing sewage treatment plants In the
Irondequoit Basin means continued concentration of nutrients In the
bay.
46
-------
PLATE NO. 5 - Webster Beach east of Rochester. Mounds
of odorous decaying alga® pile up along the entire Lake
Ontario shoreline.
47
-------
WATERTOWN
PULASKI
iolcgtt
ALBION
SOOUS
trondti
NIAGARA
w FALLS
BUFFALO
LEGEND
Zones of significant water
quality impairment ^
0
Zones of moderate water ^
quality impairment ^ ^
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated municipal waste
Significant untreated or inadequately
treated industrial waste
SYRACUSE
PRINCIPAL ZONES OF
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENT
MINOR TRIBUTARY AREA
-------
Eighteennrile Creek and Barge Canal
The community of Lockport, and nearby industries on the Barge
Canal, pollute and degrade Eighteenmile Creek for almost its entire
length. Dams on the watercourse place further burdens on the oxygen
content of the creek waters, cause concentration of nutrients in the
ponded areas, and are a factor in algal blooms in the lower reaches.
Industries including Flintkote Company, United Board and Carton
and the City of Lockport, discharge partially treated waste with a '
population equivalent of approximately 73,000 to Eighteenmile Creek.
Small communities downstream add additional waste but this is insig-
nificant compared to the Lockport area loadings. Lessening the diver-
sion of canal water into the creek would create a major pollution prob-
lem in the creek from the canal to the mouth.
The Barge Canal, while not heavily polluted, is approaching a
stage where continued organic loading will destroy its usefulness as
a source of flow augmentation water for the many streams it normally
supplies in the study area. Such watercourses as Eighteenmile Creek,
Brockport Creek, Genesee River and Irondequoit Creek would suffer.
Continued waste loadings will not only result in lowering the water
quality of the canal itself, but will worsen pollution conditions in
most of the receiving streams.
The section of the Barge Canal west of the Genesee River obtains
most of its water from Lake Erie and discharges to streams along its 73
mile length. Industries in the western sector such as Upson Company at
Lockport, Hunt Foods at Albion, and Duffy-Mott Company, Inc., at Holley
contribute a waste with a population equivalent of 324,000. The commu-'
nities of Brighton, Henrietta, and Pittsford in Monroe County and
Gasport in Niagara County discharge partially treated waste with a pop-
ulation equivalent of 6,800. The industries and communites are, as a
result of inadequate treatment, steadily degrading canal water.
Inshore Waters and Small Streams
The inshore waters of Lake Ontario, except those areas surround-
ing stream and river mouths (Niagara River, Eighteenmile Creek, Genesee
River, Irondequoit Bay, Oswego River, Salmon River, etc.) are in good
bacterial condition. However, because of the high nutrient content,
in Lake Ontario and tributaries, inshore waters of the Lake contain
tremendous quantities of Cladophora. The algae eventually pile up on
the shore and cause untold damages, economically and esthetica11y.
Pollution of inshore waters is unaffected by lakeside commu-
nities and industry with two major exceptions. These are the City of
Rochester, already discussed, and the Hammermill Paper Company at
Oswego. The paper company discharges waste with a population equiva-
lent of 24,600 directly to Lake Ontario. (See Plate 6.) Foam and color
49
-------
LATE NO. 6 - Waste from HammermiI I Paper Company entering Lake
ntario easi of Oswego, New York. The point of discharge is the
top right-hand corner of the picture. The plume, extending in a
southwesterly direction, typifies the periodic reversals of cur-
rents along the southern lakeshore from the normal direction of
flow toward the north and east.
50
-------
from the paper mill are the causes of es+he+ically undesirable
conditions.
Some 27 food-processing plants discharge partially treated
wastes that adversely affect portions of many small streams in Orleans
and Wayne Counties. Some of the major known polluters are* the Dafrv
men's League Co-op. Association, Inc., Adams, discharging a waste whIk
a population equivalent of 3,000 to Sandy Creek; Borden's Dairy Farm
Products Co-op., Inc., Mexico, 13,800 PE to Little Salmon River- and
Duffy-Mott Company, Inc., Williamson, 61,800 PE to a tributarv nf
Salmon Creek (West).
Good water quality in streams receiving water from the Barqe
Canal cannot be maintained in some instances without water from the
Canal. The need for discharges from the Canal for flow augmentation
is evident, and will continue and Increase. Apportioning the avail-
able water In the Canal for other purposes may have a serious effect
on receiving streams if water for the increasing flow augmentation
needs is denied. Better waste treatment facilities on streams recel*
Ing canal water will lessen the need for canal water, but this w|N h
offset by increased population and industrial growth in the future.
Wastes from Watercraft
Watercraft of all types are contributing untreated or Inade-
quately treated wastes to the waters of the Lake Ontario Basin pmh
lems occur, or the potential therefor Is greatest, In the commercial
harbors and small boat marinas off the Lake, in the St. Lawrence
Seaway, In the Barge Canal and in the Finger Lakes area.
Some 7,000 commercial ship passages are made through the St
Lawrence Seaway and across Lake Ontario each year. About 1,000 of'
these enter New York State's commercial ports from Rochester to
Massena. About 750 commercial barges and their tugs use the Barae
Canal each season. y
Additional waste contribution from watercraft to Lake Ontario
and waters of the State comes from pleasure boaters. Approximate v
3,100 recreational watercraft can be accommodated at nine recreation .
harbors constructed by the Corps of Engineers along the lakeshore ?!
estimated private moorings exceed this figure. The widespread distriK,s
tlon of the waste is reflected In the freedom of access of boats to
most bodies of water In the Basin. There are some 65 publiclv-oD«ra+
boat ramps in the Basin, and many more under private care. The Barn*
Canal, for Instance, has been known to accommodate about 30,000 bon+f
In one season. Oneida Lake, it is reported, experienced some 5 000 rS
boats in one day. These two examples are duplicated In many areas r\*
the Basin. From sheer numbers It can tie visualized that boats can
create a water pollution problem or contribute In an overall manner
so as to upset nature's balance.
51
-------
New York State, recognizing the problem of watercraft pollutlon
passed a new law to deal with sewage and litter. When the law becomes
effective, watercraft must have toilets equipped with pollution control
devices to prevent the discharge of untreated human waste into the water.
The Ontario Water Commission of Canada has also enacted a similar law.
The United States Congress, if it adopts the recommendations of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration's report, will also pro-
vide an effective means of controlling pollution from watercraft. (II)
Oil Pollution
The lack of major oil producers or users other than in the
Niagara area has minimized the oil pollution problem in the Lake
Ontario Basin. However, with major shipping taking place on Lake
Ontario and in the Rochester Harbor, the Barge Canal being used as
a prime means of transporting oil, oil pipeltnes crisscrossing the
area, and the ever-increasing number of oil storage tank farms along
the Barge Canal there is always the possibility of a disastrous oil
sp i I I .
In the last few years minor spiI Is have been noted on the Barge
Canal, Genesee River and Irondequoit Bay. In 1963 the New York State
Department of Health in its study of the St. Lawrence River observed
the deleterious effect of oil on wildlife. The oil came from com-
mercial shipping and recreational boating. In 1961, ballast discharged
from tankers in the St. Lawrence Seaway also caused problems along the
shore, and on one occasion the temporary closing of Grassy Point Beach
near the Thousand Island Bridge.
In the Niagara area, one of the major problems results from the
accumulation of oil on the Buffalo River. Flushing action causes the
heavy accumulations of oil to be discharged periodically to the Niag-
ara River. Signlficanl sources of oil to the Niagara River, other than
that coming from the Buffalo River and the accidental spills, do not
immediately appear on the water surface, but are first noticed when
large oil films collect at various protected shore areas such as coves
and marinas. In many cases there is no apparent relationship between
the location of these oil concentrations and either the presence of
known oil waste discharges or observable oil films on the water Imme-
diately upstream. Also, municipal waste treatment plants in the area
do not seem to create observable oil films on the stream below their
outfalls. However, tests have shown that the quantity of oil or
extractables in the effluents of the sewage plants discharging directly
to the upper Niagara River is over 32,000 lbs/day. (10)
The quantity of extractables in industrial effluents discharged
in the Lackawanna-Buffalo area and direct to the Niagara River for
which current data are available, is approximately 38,000 lbs/day.
Discharges from some other industrial sources for which quantitative
data have not as yet been made available are estimated to contribute
an additional 5,000 lbs/day.
52
-------
Oils probably cause more obvious damage to current uses of
the Niagara River than any other single pollutant. Accidental spills
of oil which create unusually heavy oil films on the Niagara River do
occur, but improved precautionary measures have tended to reduce the
i nci dence of sucHi spi I I s.
The Buffalo River is nearly always coated with oil. The prin-
cipal known sources of these oils are the Pennsylvania Railroad shops
Mobil Oil Refinery, Donner-Hanna Coke plant and the Republic Steel
Corporation.
At times of major oil spills from United States sources or
flushouts of the Buffalo River, there may be an oil film along the
entire United States shoreline down to Niagara Falls. At the falls
it is mixed throughout the river creating a visible film over the
entire lower Niagara.
There is also an oil film present in a limited area out from
the Chevrolet plant at river mileage 32.0. Another observable oil
film is present for some distance along the United States shore down-
stream from the Ashland Oil Refinery outfall at mileage point 28.9.
In the case of large oil spills to the Niagara, the oils fre-
quently enter marinas in quantity, resulting in significant costs
for the cleaning of boats. They have also made a private beach area
on thp east shore of Grand Island unusable for swimming for periods
of time, as~wal I as creating disagreeable coatings along the shore
of other areas frequented by the public.
In addition to the damages of oil +o boating and other recrea-
tional uses, evidence Indicates that it is regularly killing ducks on
the river. The Niagara River is a wintering area for certain ducks
Including the diving ducks, such as greater scaup and canvasbacks.
These ducks usually come into this area early in December and remain
In the river except during the more mild and quiet weather periods
when they may go out into Lake Ontario. It appears that many of the
ducks swim into the pellets of congealed oil or grease. The resultant
oil or grease spot on their feathers breaks down their natural water-
proofing and they die of body exposure to cold water or drowning, the
presence of oil In the duck-inhabited areas and the incidence of oiled
ducks do not appear to be related to unusual oil spills to the river,
but to the waste oil and fat regularly discharged to the river.
(See Plate 7.)
Disposal of Dredged Material
Lake Ontario has three deep-draft harbors that are dredged annu-
al ly by the Corps of Engineers. These harbors at Rochester, Great Sodus
Bay and Oswego, accommodate about 1,000 ships each year.
53
-------
PLATE NO. 7 - Badly oiled duck climbing onto
ice floe. Bird died less than an hour after
being found. (Photo courtesy Mr. John Long.)
The Great Sodus Bay dredging operation involves some 6,000
feet of approach channel. The material in the channel is mostly
from the Lake, is clean and has not posed a pollution problem when
redeposited over a designated spoil area in the Lake.
The Rochester Harbor dredging operation involves about five
miles of channel and two turning basins. Soil erosion upstream on
the Genesee River tributaries contributes to silting of the harbor
area. Industrial wastes, combined sewer overflows, and municipal
waste combine with the silt to produce a highly organic bottom
material. Tubificid worm population in the dredged area ranges
from 6,500 to 29,000 per square meter. COD's of 1,330 to 4,200
mg/l have been found in the dredged material.
The overflow from the hydraulic dredge when in operation
continually upsets the balance in the river. The wastewater dis-
charged is high in organic matter and the fine suspended material
is relatively hard to settle out. This redistribut ion of the waste
in the confines of the river has an oxygen-demanding effect.
When the dredged material is deposited in the open area of
the embayment over a designated spoil area, aerial photographs show
the fine material is not readily settleable and is carried about the
embayment by the currents.
54
-------
A similar dredging operation in 1967 at Oswego Harbor of an
area not usually dredged produced samples with COD ranging from
9,200 to 24,000 mg/l. The dredged material was then redeposited
over a designated spoil area in Lake Ontario. (See Plate 8.)
Pesticides
Pesticides, improperly applied, ^an cause mass death of fish
and cause insidious damage to the reproduction capability of mammals,
fish and bi rds.
One of the best known ingredients of the synthetic organic
pesticides is DDT. It is part of the family of chlorinated hydro-
carbon chemicals which are stable, persistent and travel great dis-
tances. Residues from this type of pesticide, which has only seen
extensive use since World War II have been found in penguins and
crab seals as far away as Antarctica.
The danger from such pesticides lies not only in deaths directly
attributable to them, but in the more subtle or indirect effect which
may result from pesticide injection into the food chain. Food chains
in the aquatic environment are especially vulnerable because they are
exposed to land runoff carrying pesticides, in addition to those
sprayed on them directly.
Traces of DDT have been found in fish taken from Cayuga and
Skaneateles Lakes in the Oswego River Basin. The Lake Plain area
which parallels the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario is an extensive
fruit growing belt which utilizes enormous quantities of pesticides.
In 1965, a pesticide analysis indicated that trace amounts of DDE and
both Isomers of DDT (chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides) were present.
On both East Koy and Wiscoy Creeks In the Genesee River Basin,
there have been several incidents of large fish kills attributable to
an organic phosphate pesticide commonly used by potato growers in this
area. Sampling results showed the presence of pesticides with higher
concentrations present in the bottom samples. This was undoubtedly
due to the two-week time lapse between Interjection of the pesticide
and sample collection.
Further research is urgently needed on these synthetic pesti-
cides, their effect on plants and animals, and their ultimate impact
on man. Enough is known, however, to make clear the need for closer
control over pesticide usage. As a start, what is needed is a permit
and accountability system yielding information on the kinds, amounts,
and places of pesticide application.
Land Runoff
In addition to pollution from point sources, such as municipal
and industrial wastewater discharge points and watercraft, much
55
-------
PLATE NO. 8 - Corps of Engineers dredge dumping Genesee
River dredgings in Lake Ontario.
56
-------
detrimental material gets into streams and lakes from non-point sources
These sources include: the runoff from rural and urban land; erosion
products stemming from earth-moving work in the construction of sub-
divisions and highways; and residues from the application of chemicals
fertilizers, pesticides, and de-icing compounds used on streets. Run-'
off water will contain both dissolved impurities and suspended partic-
ulate matter, and both kinds have detrimental effects on the receiving
waters.
Suspended matter carried by flowing water will settle out in
more quiescent waters with obvious physical damages. Sedimentation
reduces the usable volume of water storage reservoirs; obstructs the
channels of commercial and recreational waterways; blankets fish
spawning beds in a manner that is frequently detrimental to propoga-
tion; and interferes with maintenance of the colonies of bottom-
dwelling organisms which form a part of the food chain in aquatic
life. The effects of sedimentation are almost, but not quite, all
bad. An exception is, the geologic sedimentation process is what
creates the wetlands which are a desirable habitat for waterfowl.
Not so obvious as physical damage are the chemical effects of
sedimentation. Phosphate compounds, unlike the other typical constit-
uents of fertilizer, are not easily leached out of soil, but rather
tend to cling to (be adsorbed on) soil particles. The same is true
for many types of pesticides, notably DDT and Dieldrin. It is in
this manner that pesticides are accumulating in stream sediments,
are taken up by the bottom-dwelling worms that ingest this mud, and
from there eventually reach the top of the food chain in fish—and
from there get to man. It will be seen that this whole chain of
events can be interrupted at the start by good soil erosion pre-
ventive practices.
Although much has been done to improve soil conservation, a
more intensified effort is needed—and the need is heightened by
trends in agricultural practice toward increased application of
fertilizers and pesticides. The soil conservationist and the water
quality manager thus have a common goal; the one to keep soil on
the land where it is beneficial, and the other to keep it out of
the water environment where it is harmful.
Thermal Pollution
Power plants and industries using large quantities of cooling
water are of concern to water qua I ity because of the enormous quan-
tities of waste heat they discharge to streams and lakes. The major-
ity of existing installations wasting large quantities of heat are
located on Lake Ontario and the inland lakes; the remaining signi-
ficant sources of thermal pollution are located on the St. Lawrence,
Oswego, Seneca, Genesee, and Niagara Rivers (see Figure 14). Nearing
57
-------
U1
00
CO
c
"1
CD
LEGEND
Completion
Capacity
NUCLEAR
Rochester Gas ft
Niagara Mohawk
New York Electric
FOSSIL-FUELED
(IOOO KW)
Electric 450
Niagara Mohawk
Rochester Gas 8 Electric
Rochester Gas St Electric
Niagaro Mohawk
New York Electric S Gas
Electric
SCALE IN MILES
O 20
WATERTOWN
Significant
Discharges
BUFFAL<\
Or/tco
Lam
PENNSYLVANIA
LOCATIONS OF THERMAL POWER
PLANTS AND INDUSTRIAL COOLING
WATER DISCHARGES
-------
completion or in the planning stage are the first three nuclear-
fueled power plants to be located in the Basin. Two are on Lake
Ontario (Rochester and Oswego) and the other on Cayuga Lake
(Lansi ng).
The effects of the present discharges of waste heat to Lakes
Ontario, Seneca, and Cayuga appear to be minimal. These large bodies
of water are better suited for dissipating large quantities of heat
than are stream sectors, FossiI-fueIed plants waste on the average
about 1.5 units of heat for each equivalent unit of useful energy
output; a nuclear-fueled power plant wastes, for a comparable output,
about 2.25 units of heat energy. Heat from industrial cooling varies
widely depending upon processes involved.
Heat added to a large lake produces two effects: I) it creates
a local zone of water warmer than the natural background temperature,
and 2) it may warm the whole body of lake water and the air above it.
Regarding the second effect, the critical body of water would be that
contained in the epilimnion (upper layer) of a lake and the critical
period would be in the summer months when water and air temperatures
are warmest and stratification inhibits the dispersal of the input
heat to a greater volume of lake water. In Lake Ontario the combined
effect of existing plants plus the proposed nuclear-fueled plants
was calculated to be imperceptible. In Cayuga and Seneca Lakes the
effect of waste heat from existing and proposed plants was estimated
to have little effect on the overall lake temperatures, and even this
minute increase in summer water temperature would be nullified during
the following winter. Onondaga Lake, however, with its relatively
small volume, has a limited capacity to dissipate heat and could not
be uti I ized to any great extent beyond the present total 100 MGD usagfe
by Allied Chemical Company and Crucible Steel.
The first effect cited—the creation of a local zone of warm
watei—can be a serious problem in that an over-growth of algae may
be stimulated in the vicinity of the outfall when other favorable con-
ditions, such as a suitable lake bottom and supply of nutrients, are
present. In a typical power plant installation, as the cooling water
flows through the plant, its temperature is increased 10 to 20 degrees
F. The local warm water zone may thus have a peak temperature some
10 to 20 degrees warmer than the background temperature. Some of the
plant's waste heat will be transmitted to the ambient air; the rest
will transfer into this local warm water zone by a combination of
dilution and convection until the local water temperature merges with
and becomes indistinguishable from that of neighboring waters. On
occasions the used cooling water could conceivably return to the Lake
at a colder temperature than the shoreline waters because of the exist-
ence of a sharp temperature gradient in the Lake between the points of
intake and discharge. In any case, proper engineering of intake and
outfall structures can insure that local warming effects will be
minimi zed.
59
-------
Streams do not have the capacity in general for dissipating
waste heat that larger lakes possess. The selection of sites for
future electric power plants is expected to depend heavily, not only
on whether there is a good supply of low-temperature water, but
whether the capacity of the receiving stream is adequate to dissipate
the waste heat generated.
60
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Chapter 4
IMPROVEMENT NEEDS
Water Quality Standards
A basic requirement for the successful management of water
quality is the description in measurable terms of the quality needed
to support desired water uses. In the waters covered by this report
the necessary quality has been established in accordance with Federal
and State statutes, and official standards, embodying appropriate
criteria, are a matter of public record.
All waters of the State of New York have been classified In
accordance with "Rules and Classifications and Standards of Quality
and Purity" which were promulgated and adopted in accordance with
Article 12 of the Public Health Law. Classification is based on a
system of best usage ranging from Class "AA" (source of supply for
drinking, culinary or food processing purposes and any other uses)
to Class "D" (agricultural, or source of industrial cooling or
process water supply and any other usage except for fishing, bathing
or as source of supply for drinking, culinary or food processing
purposes). Although lower classes were permitted in previous years,
recent re-classification proceedings have resulted in establishing
Class "D" as the lowest level of quality that is permitted at the
present time.
The Federal Water Quality Act of 1965 required development of
proposed water quality standards for the Niagara River, Lake Ontario,
the St. Lawrence River and the Genesee River. The State of New York
submitted proposed standards for these waters prior to July I, 1967.
The official state classifications were the basis of the proposal.
These were supplemented with additional criteria provisions to meet
the guidelines for Federal standards. The proposed standards as
modified, were approved in August 1967 by the Secretary of the
I nter ior.
Additional details on water uses, water quality goals and
standards are available in the separate program reports referred to
in Chapter I. Although the Federal-State standards for the interstate
waters and the state classifications for Intrastate waters are the
present legal basis for managing water quality, it should be recog-
nized there will be need for re-examination and possible revision of
standards to meet expanding and changing needs. Further, the lack
of adequate knowledge about quality requirements for various uses
has resulted in a very limited range of criteria in present standards.
As research finds more suitable and complete criteria, it becomes
essential for control agencies to modernize standards accordingly.
61
opo ai i-eas—a
-------
As an example, it is believed that quality requirements for Class
"D" waters provide for little or no enhancement of the quality or
value of waters. A desirable and realistic goal would be the
upgrading of alI waters to Class "C" or better within the next
few years, no later than ten years at the most.
Municipal and Industrial Waste
The most pressing Improvement need in the Lake Ontario Basin
is the construction of waste treatment facilities by both municipal-
ities and Industries. Municipal waste treatment must reach a minimum
level of seoondary treatment, generally regarded as 85 percent or
better reduction of biochemical oxygen demand. New York State has
undertaken an ambitious construction program that should bring most
municipal wastes up to this degree of treatment by 1972. With the
aid of a billion-dollar bond Issue voted In 1965, the State is cur-
rently financing 30 percent of the cost of new or remodeled sewage
treatment plants and Intercepting sewers. The State also prefi-
nances an additional 30 percent of the cost of these facilities
where projects are eligible for Federal grants but Federal money
Is not immediately available.
Table 4 summarizes the basin-wide treatment needs. The great-
est municipal treatment need is the construction of secondary facil-
ities where there are at present only primary plants. The total
number of communities in the Basin that must upgrade their treatment
to secondary or enlarge existing secondary plants is 88, but the
population served by these communities is about 2.1 million, or
85 percent of the total population served.
Industrial waste treatment needs are enormous. Only a few
dozen of the more than 200 industries known to have separate dis-
charges (not discharging to a municipal collection system) have
waste treatment facilities. Only one of 21 paper mills, Newton
Falls Paper Company, treats Its wastewater; only one of the more
than 20 Industries on the Niagara River, General Motors Chevrolet
Division, has abated pollution. Food processors throughout the
Basin urgently need to Install biological treatment facilities.
Tables 5 through 9 oontaln a listing of estimated treatment
needs for each Identified waste producer. However, as there is
considerable variation in the relative urgency of these, inclusion
in these lists is not an automatic indication of current intensive
action by the pollution control agencies. Each of these needs Is
Indexed to accompanying location maps, Figures 15 through 19.
62
-------
TABLE 4
LAKE ONTARIO AND U. S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
SUMMARY OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of J une I 968).
Type of Treatment Needed Total Population Served Number
MUNICIPAL
Primary and secondary
Upgrading to secondary or
enlargement of secondary
Advanced waste treatment
(high organic removal)
Totals
266,000
2,060,000
84,000
2,410,000
130
88
229
Type of Treatment Needed
Wasteflow (MGD)
Number
INDUSTRIAL
B i o I og i ca I
Non-biological
224
286
136
64
Totals
510
200
63
-------
TABLE 5
NIAGARA RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Community Est. Pop. Estimated Needs Map Index No.
or District Sewered Sewers PrI Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 15)
Akron
2,840
X
5
A1 den
2,040
X
8
Amherst S.D. #\
59,000
X
10
Att i ca
2,760
X
7
Batavia
18,200
X
6
Buffa 1o
600,000
X
12
Cheektowaga S.D. #5 65,000
(or connect to City of Buffalo Metropol
X
itan System
as
1 1
proposed)
Clarence
X
X X
5
Grand Island
3,500
X
4
Lew Iston
3,000
X
1
N1agara Fa 11s
90,800
X X
2
North Tonawanda
30,000
X
13
Tonawanda (T)
130,000
X
13
Tonawanda (City)
22,000
X
13
Youngstown
1,850
X
1
Key to Abbreviations
PrI - Primary
Sec - Secondary
Enlg - Enlargement
Adv - Advance
Biolog - Biological
64
-------
TABLE 5 (Continued)
NIAGARA RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Indus+ry
Location
Allied Chemical Corp.,
Semet-Solvay Division
Tonawanda
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
5.5
Reduction of
PhenoIs
Map
Index No.
<^9. 15)
Ash I and OiI Corp. 47.5
Tonawanda
Carborundum Corp. 2.4
N i agara Fa I I s
Carborundum Metals Climax 0.5
Akron
Columbus McKinnon Corp. 0.10
Tonawanda
Continental Can Co. 3.0
Tonawanda
£. I. duPont deNemours
Eiectrochemicals Div. 32.4
Niagara Fa I Is
FilmDIvision 8.3
Tonawanda
x
x
Enlg of treatment 13
for Phenols and oils
Neutralization o
Reduction of toxic
materials
Control of toxic
materials
x Reduction of oils;
neutrali zation
x Neutralization
5
13
2
13
Ford BalI Gum Co.
Akron
Hooker Chemical Corp.
Durez Division
North Tonawanda
Eiectrochemicals Div.
Niagara Fa I Is
International Paper Co.
North Tonawanda
3.3
23.6
9.4
not determined
x Reduction of oils
and Phenols
x Immed. control of
digest, liquors
3
3
65
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TABLE 5 (Continued)
NIAGARA RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
JNDUSTRIAL
Indus+ry
Locat ion
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
National Lead Corp.
Batav i a
01fn-Mathieson Chem. Corp.
Niagara Fa I Is
Pratt and Letchworth 0.03
Buffa Io
Spaulding Fibre Co. 4.4
Tonawanda
Stauffer Chemical Corp. 2.0
Lew i ston
Tonawanda Iron 14.4
North Tonawanda
Union Carbide & Carbon 31.7
Corp.
Niagara Fa I Is
Western Electric 1.2
Tonawanda
Westinghouse Corp. 1.4
Cheektowaga
WurlItzer Corp.
North Tonawanda
x
x
Control of toxic
materi a Is
Connect to Buffalo
System as proposed
Neutral ization
Neutral ization
Reduction of oils
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 15)
not determined
12
13
Reduction of phenols 9
14
66
-------
N
I
A R I 0
ONT *"
Seal* in Milts
Fort Niogaro
Youngttown
LocKport
Tonamonda \
Nioga
Falli ^ urn North
owanda
o Akron
Botavia^
BUFFALO
Attica
N9TE-
Number* correspond to mop Index
numbers In Table 5
MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL
WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
NIAGARA RIVER BASIN
(AS OF JUNE 1968)
67
Figure 15
-------
TABLE 6
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 16)
Andover
(1,250)
X
X
X
51
Arige 1 i ca
( 900)
X
X'
X
48
Avon
2,770
X
X
25
Bel fast
( 800)
X
X
X
47
Belmont
( 1 ,150)
X
X
X
49
Bergen
960
X
X
9
Caledoni a
( 1 ,900)
X
X
X
12
Canaseraga
( 730)
X
X
X
38
Caneadea
(1,900)
X
X
X
46
Castile
(1,240)
X
X
X
43
Cuylervi1le
( 500)
X
X
X
29
Churchvi1le
(1 ,000)
X
X
X
8
Dal ton
( 750)
X
X
X
41
Dansvi1le
5,460
X
35
East Avon
( 650)
X
X
X
24
Gates-Chi1i-
Ogden
25,000
X
7
Geneseo
3,280
X
30
Fi 1 Imore
( 520)
X
£Q
X
X
45
68
-------
TABLE 6 (Continued)
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. |6)
Friendship
(1
,200)
X
X
X
54
Hemlock
(
500)
X
X
X
22
Honoeye
(
560)
X
X
X
21
Honoeye Falls
2,800
X X
18
Houghton
(1
,200)
X
X
X
46
Lakevi11e
(1
,340)
X
X
X
26
LeRoy
4,800
X
13
LI von ia
1 ,050
X
27
Mt. Morris
3,200
X
32
Mumford
(
900)
X
X
X
1 1
Nunda
(1
,200)
X
X
X X
40
Pavi1 ion
(
540)
X
X
X
14
Perki nsvi1le
(
730)
X
X
X
36
Perry
4,500
X
X X
42
Rush
(
500)
X
X
X
17
Scio
(
600)
X
X
X
50
Scottsvi11e
2,000
X
X
10
S i1ver Lake
(
630)
X
X
X
42
Si 1ver Springs
(
725)
X
X
X
43
69
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TABLE 6 (Continued)
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of J une I 968)
MUNICIPAL
Community
or District
Est. Pop.
Sewered or
(Unsewered)
Estimated Needs
Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 16)
Sonyea
500
X
39
Warsaw
3,650
X
X
16
Way 1 and
(2,000)
X
X
X
X
37
Wei 1svi1le
6,000
X
52
W. Bloomfield
( 500)
X
X
X
20
Whi tesvi1le
( 600)
X
X
X
53
Wyomi ng
( 500)
X
X
X
15
York
300
(1,100)
X
X
X
28
INDUSTRIAL
I ndustry
Location
Waste Map
Flow Estimated Needs Index No.
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other (Fig. 16)
Ainsbrook Corp.
Warsaw
0.04
16
Borden, Inc.
Whi tesviIle
Conesus Milk Prod.
Co-op. Assn., Inc.
Nunda
0. 16
0.03
53
40
70
-------
TABLE 6 (Continued)
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndustry
Locati on
Cur+ice-Burns, Inc.
Bergen
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
0.54
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 16)
Control of
spray i rriga-
tion runoff
Dairymen's League
Co-op. Assn., Inc.
Grove I and
0.01
33
Eastman Kodak Co.
Rochester
26.0
High organic
removaI
FMS & Swe I I Co.
PerkinsviIle
0.01
36
Foster Wheeler Corp.
DansviIle
0.34 not determined
34
Friendship Dairies, Inc. 0.05
Friendsh i p
General Foods - Birds Eye 1.0
Division
Avon
Lapp InsuIator Co., Inc. 0.14
LeRoy
Connect to
mun i ci pa I
system
54
25
13
LeRoy Elm Dai ry, Inc,
LeRoy
Morton SaIt Co.
Si Iver Springs
0.02
0.02
Connect to
mun i ci pal
system
13
Enlargement 43
71
-------
TABLE 6 (Continued)
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June I 968)
INDUSTRIAL
Waste Map
ndustry Flow Estimated Needs Index No.
Location (MGD) Settling Biolog Other (Fig. 16)
Perry Knitting Co. 0.13 x x 42
Perry
Wallace and Tiernan, Inc. 0.01 not determined 30
Geneseo
72
-------
|oc*esre*
CMUR<>»VILLE
.EWOY
HONEOYE>
r falls
ILAKEVILLC
CONESUSi
LAKE f
HEMLOCK1
r^LAKE
MOUNT
MORRIS
LAKE-
DANSVILLE
"PORTAGE
'LLSVILLI
NOTE'
I H (t**C*it>eXMJOtr
SCALE IN MtUS
V-SN
Numb«r» correspond to mop index
numbart in Toblo 6
MUNICIPAL a INDUSTRIAL
WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
GENESEE RIVER BASIN
(AS OF JUNE 1968) j
Figure |6
-------
TABLE 7
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 17)
Auburn
41,000
X
X
21
Aurora
900
X
X
18
Baldi nsvi11e
10,500
X
31
Brewerton
(1,000)
X
X
X
34
Bri dgeport
( 500)
X
X
X
44
Camden
2,400
( 400)
X
X
X
41
Cam i11 us
1 ,420
X
28
Cayuga
750
X
20
Cayuga Heights
4,500
X
17
Cazenovia
2,600
X
X
37
Chi ttenango
3,500
X
36
CI eve 1 and
( 730)
X
X
X
42
CIi fton Springs
(1,950)
X
X
X
2
Clyde
1 ,300
(1,400)
X
X
14
Cold Spri ngs
( 540)
X
X
X
31
Col 1amer
( 500)
X
X
X
44
ConstantI a
( 800)
X
X
X
43
Dryden
(1 ,400)
X
X
X
26
74
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Communi ty
or District
Est. Pop.
Sewered or
(Unsewered)
Estimated Needs
Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv
Map
I ndex No.
(Fig. 17)
Dundee 1,470
Durhamv iI I e ( 800)
Elbridge ( 830)
Fayetteville (4,500)
Fulton 14,000
Geneva 17,300
Gorham ( 500)
Groton 2,500
Hammondsport I,I 80
Jamesvilie (I,000)
Jordan 1,380
Lee Center ( 500)
Locke ( 550)
Lyons 4,100
Macedon ( 645)
Manchester 1,345
Man Ii us 2,000
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Connect to new Sanitary
District Plant at Fayette-
ville
8
38
22
35
32
10
4
25
6
30
22
40
24
13
1 I
2
35
75
-------
TABLE 1 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 17)
Marcel I us 4,500 x 27
Mari on ( 890) x x x II
Memphis ( 500) x x x 28
Minetto ( 800) x x x 33
Mi noa I,840 x 35
Moravi a I,500 x x 24
Mottville ( 600) xxx 23
Nap Ies I,240 x x 5
Nedrow (2,000) xxx 30
Newark 12,900 x 12
Newfield ( 500) xxx 17
North Bay ( 600) xxx 39
Odessa ( 570) xxx 9
Oneida 12,000 x 38
Onondaga (1,500) xxx 30
Onondaga County Treatment District
Geddes 6,000 x
JamesviIle
Penitentiary 600 x
Ley Creek 74,500 Pump to expanded Metropolitan Plant
76
-------
TABLE 1 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Community
or District
Est. Pop.
Sewered or
(Unsewered)
Estimated Needs
Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 17)
Onondaga County Treatment District (Continued)
Meadowbrook 6,000
Morgan Road 5,900
Nine Mile 2,500
Saw Mill Creek 2,000
Connect to District Plant
at FayetteviIle
x
x
Combine with District's Morgan
Road Plant
Syracuse
Metro.
250,000
X
Oswego
West Side
East S i de
4,500
8,900
X
X
X
33
Ovid
(
790)
X X
X
16
Penn Yan
5,770
Or excl. of
pretreated i
X
i nadequate1y
Industrial wastes
7
Phelps
1,900
Or exc1. of
pretreated
X
inadequately
industrial wastes
3
Phoenix
2,000
X
32
Port Byron
300 (
900)
X
21
Savannah
(
600)
X X
X
14
Seneca FaIIs
7,440
X
15
Seneca Kno11s
S. D. #1
S. D. #2
2,500
630
X
X
29
77
OPO at 1-828-7
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 17)
Sherri 1 1
3,800
X
38
Shortsvl 1 le
1,380
X
2
Skaneateles
2,920
X
23
Skaneateles Fal
Is
(
625)
X
X
X
23
Sylvan Beach
(
800)
X
X
X
39
Tul ly
800
X
X
X
30
Union Springs
1,065
X
19
Vernon
900
X
38
Verona
(
500)
X
X
X
38
Vi ctor
1,700
X
1
Wampsvi1le
(
560)
X
X
X
36
Warners
(
700)
X
X
X
28
Waterloo
5, 100
X
15
Watkins Glen
5,000
X
9
Weedsport
1,730
X
X
21
78
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
ndus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 17)
AI I ied Chemical Co.
Solvay Process Div.
Solvay
American Can Co.
Geneva
Continue feasi- 29
biIity of connec-
tion to County Munici-
pal System; enlarge
settling faciIities.
not determined
10
American Locomotive 0.001
Co.
Auburn
Oi I separation
21
Armstrong Cork Co., 4.22
I nc.
Fulton
32
Bloch & Guggen-
heimer, Inc.
Leets Switch
Seneca Castle
Borden, Inc.
Moravia
Breneman, Inc.
Oswego
0.005
0.10
Burrows Tissue Co. 2.30
West Phoenix
x
x
x 4
x 3
x 24
(or connect to new 33
Municipat System)
Castle Kraut Co.
Lyons
Columbla Ml I Is,Inc. 0.49
Mi netto
Enlarge Lagoons as 13
needed
33
79
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 17)
Comstock Foods, Inc. 0.20
RushviIle
Cooperdale Dairy, Inc.0.72
Skaneateles Falls
Cowles Chemi cal Co.
SkaneateIes Fa I Is
Crawford Kraut Co.
Pa I my ra
Port Gibson
0.935
x
x
x
X
X
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
23
Enlarge biolog. 23
treatment; control
toxic substances
11
12
Crouse-Hinds Co.
Syracuse
Dairymen's League
Co-op. Assoc.,Inc.
Cato
Vernon
0.72
Crucible Steel Corp. 7.20
Town of Geddes
0.003
0. 15
x
x
X
X
Connect to Munic- 29
ipal System
Neutralization 29
and oiI separation
31
38
Dewan Dairy, Inc.
Onei da Castle
DiIts Machine Works
Dlv.
Fulton
0.014 x
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
38
33
Edgett & Burnham
Co., Inc.
Newark
0.05
x (or connect to
expanded Municipal
System)
80
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
ndus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Emp i re State P i ckIi ng
Co.
Geneva
Gorham
Shortsvi I le
Evans Chemetics Co.
Geneva
Waterloo
Fi I mo re Co-op.
Assoc., Inc.
Moravia
0.003
0.007
3.25
0.003
Map
'ndex No.
(F'g. 17)
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
x
x
X
X
(I
ft
rt
ft
tt
n
not determined
x x Neutral!zation,
removal of toxic
substances
4
2
10
15
24
Garlock Packing Co.
Pa I my ra
Geb-Souhan Mills
Seneca Fa I Is
.30
x Enlarge aerated
Iagoons
not determined
II
15
Greindview Dairy
Gorham
Greenwood Foods,Inc.
Waterloo
not determined
4
15
H. C. Hemingway & Co.
CI yde
International Salt Co.14.5
Watkins Glen
Enlarge lagoons 14
as needed
Control of chlo- 9
rides and ash wast©
81
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Industry
Location
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 17)
Kordite Corp.
Mobil Chemical
PIasti cs Di v.
Macedon
0.47
not determined
11
Lakeland Farms, Inc.
Dresden
Manchester Canning Co.,
I nc.
Manchester
x
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
Marlon Canning Co.
Marion
0.09
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
Mclntyre Bros.Paper 1.28
Co.
FayetteviIle
Mclvor Kraut Co. 0.07
Mclvor Corners
Connect to new 35
L i mestone-Meadow-
brook-Man Iius S.D.
Enlarge lagoons 3
as needed
Mercury Aircraft Co.
Dresden
Hammondsport
National Biscuit Co. 0.1 I
Lyons
The Nestle Co.,Inc. 0.25
FuI ton
North End Paper Co. 0.25
FuI ton
not determined
not determined
(or connect to
new Municipal
System)
7
6
32
32
82
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndus+ry
Local" i on
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 17)
Nye-Wait Carpet Co. 0.012
Auburn
not determined
21
Oneida-Madison Co-op. 0.04
Assoc., Inc.
SherriI I
38
Oswego Package 0.03
Bo i I e r Co.
Oswego
Penn Central Rail- .0025
road
Man I i us
not determined
33
En Iarge oiI sep- 35
aration faciIi ties
Perfection Canning,
I nc.
Newark
0.15
(or connect to 12
expanded Municipal
System)
Porritts & Spencer,
I nc.
Skaneateles
0.03
Enlarge lagoons 23
as needed
D. W. Putnam Co.,Inc.
Hammondsport
Seal right Container 4.00
Co., Inc.
FuI ton
32
Seneca Dairy Co.
Watkins Glen
Seneca Knitting Mills 0.23
Seneca Fa I Is
(or connect to
new Municipal
System)
83
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndustry
Location
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settl ing Biolog Other
Map
ndex No.
:Fi g, 17)
S i I verbrook Farms
CamiI I us
0.014
28
Smith-Corona, Inc.
Groton
Eniarge faciIities 25
for removal of
toxic substances
Souhan Dairy 0.05
Seneca Fa I Is
Suburban Park 0.95
Amusement Corp.
Man Ii us
Sylvania Electrical 0.89
Products, Inc.
Seneca Fa I Is
Taylor WIne Co. 0.24
Rheims
(or connect to new 15
Municipal System)
(or connect to new 35
treatment plant at
Fayettev! Me)
(or connect to new 15
Municipal Sewage
System)
Enlarge lagoons 6
as needed
Transelco Co.
Dresden
Victor Insulator Co.
VIctor
Watklns Salt Co.
Watklns Glen
0.02
not determined
not determined
Control of chloride 9
and ash discharges
to Seneca Lake
Wayne County Produce
Marion
84
-------
TABLE 7 (Continued)
OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
ndus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settl ing Bioiog Other
Welch-Allyn, Inc. 0.027
Skaneateles Falls
White House Milk and 0.015
Cream Co., Inc.
Fenner
Map
Index No.
(Ffg. 17)
Removal of toxic
materia Is
23
37
Widmer Wi neries
Naples
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
85
-------
b .. Ijjjv}
L A * £ 0 If T t K 10^^ ^
*
J
I
- 0 " •01
'~^ r$^^'~~"vfiI® \© i|@ | J
J 1 vb /W i r\ J'/O V — \? "\v n A>*5°JU e Y|Yv j-/v w) /4. >
— s / /^ f® ! c^~~ivA f J "•
v a* ($¥^\l m W% \ ( a, NV -
o N o J V [1 1 rl m\
>
-r
1
SCALE
3 0
4-
MUS
^ '4
} \{jy "lV\ " \\ ^vP~\\^r"
l,»,,osto« rj&Jr-j J)fl) * 'If -•©-}/ c 0 » T l » « » '
\M* ^1 7^\ ,-©H
/we4 /t • %^\ v
' rfe*y i / \\ ^vls.Jir'-—
» ! PvfSi'SS'f )\ J7\ ^Vj "-•, MUNICIPAL a INDUSTRIAL
1 « Is c \Ut)\*Y i WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
V/ { ) J • f | 1—l J
NOTE: ^ fV />'l T~T5—J OSWEGO RIVER BASIN
Number# correspond to map ~ ' 1 "* ^ ! t i o e a JUNE 1968)
j index numbers in Table 7 c H^5y M u * 5 !
-------
TABLE 8
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Commun i +y
or District
Est. Pop.
Sewered or
(Unsewered)
Estimated Needs
Sewers Pri Sec Erilg Adv
Alexandria Bay
Antwerp
Beaver Fa I Is
Black River
Boonv i11e
BrownviIle
Canton
Cape Vincent
Carthage
2,500
500
2,000
500
5,100
1,000
3,000
C 300)
C 640)
(1,240)
( 400)
( 500)
x
x
(I,215)
x
x
X
X
X
Chaumont
( 525)
X
X
Clayton
2,500
X
Copenhagen
( 670)
X
X
Croghan
275
( 550)
X
X
Deferiet
700
Dexter
1,010
X
Edwards
150
( 500)
X
X
Felts Mi 1 Is
( 550)
X
X
Glen Park
( 560)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 18)
18
18
25
22
28
21
10
5
24
20
5
19
25
23
21
12
22
22
87
-------
TABLE 8 (Continued)
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 18)
Great Bend
(
500)
X
X
X
22
Gouverneur
4,800
X
X
15
Harrisvi1le
500
(
340)
X
X
X
17
Hermon
(
610)
X
X
X
11
Heuvelton
(
810)
X
X
X
3
Long Lake
(
700)
X
X
X
30
Lowvi11e
4,000
X
26
Lyons FalIs
(
890)
X
X
X
27
Madrid
800
X
8
Massena
15,785
X
6
Morri stown
(
500)
X
X
X
5
Natural Bridge
(
500)
X
X
X
18
Newton Fa Ms
(
900)
X
X
X
13
Norfolk
1,340
X
7
Norwood
1,800
X
X
8
Ogdensburg
17,000
X
4
Old Forge
950
X
28
Philadelph ia
600
(
270)
X
X
X
18
88
-------
TABLE 8 (Continued)
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Commun i ty
or Di s+ri ct
Est. Pop.
Sewered or
(Un sewered)
Estimated Needs
Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 18)
Port Leyden
450
(
450)
X
X
28
Potsdam
6,930
X
X
9
Redwood
(
525)
X
X
X
18
Russel1
380
(
120)
X
X
X
i 1
S. Col ton
(
660)
X
X
X
29
Star Lake
(
800)
X
X
X
13
Theresa
(
960)
X
X
X
18
Tupper* Lake
5,200
X
14
Wadd i ngton
920
X
2
Watertown
34,000
X
22
West Carthage
1,800
(
400)
X
X
X
24
89
-------
TABLE 8 (Continued)
BLACK-U.S. St. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
ndustry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Bio log Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 18)
Aiello Dairy Farms Co. 2.24
HeuveI ton
AIuminum Co. of
Ame r i ca
Massena
20.5
Borden, Inc. 0.30
Pioneer Ice Cream Div.
Gouverneur
x
EnIg. of oiI t
separation and
sett Ii ng faciIi ties
BrownviIle Paper Co.
BrownviIle
0.85
21
Carthage Paper 7.74
Makers, Inc.
W. Carthage
Crown-ZeIlerback Co. 2.50
Carthage
DeKalb Dairy Co. 0.05
DeKalb Junction
Diamond National Corp. 4.0
Ogdensburg
Ed Green Dairy Co. 0.004
Watertown
Foremost Dairies 0.03
New Bremen
x Immed. control of 24
digest. I iquors
Immed. control of 24
digest. I iquors
Immed. removal of 4
debarking wastes
Connect to munic- 22
i pa I system
26
Georgia Paci f ic
Gould Division
Lyons Fa I Is
20.3
x
x Immed. control of 27
digest, liquors
90
-------
TABLE 8 (Continued)
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Indus+ry
Locat i on
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No,
(Fig. 18)
General Motors Corp. 3.0
Chevrolet Divi sion
Massena
Harrisville Dairy 0.02
Harri sviIle
En I g. of oil sep-
aration and sett I-
i ng faciIi ties
KnowI ton Bros. Paper
Co.
Watertown
0.55
Immed. control of 22
digest, liquors
Kraft Foods
Canton
0.38
Latex Fiber lnds.,lnc. 4.3
Beaver Fa 11s
Connect to Munic- 10
ipal System
25
J. P. Lewis Paper Co.
Beaver Fa I Is 2.8
BrownviIle
LowvlIle Producers 0.001
Dai ry Co-op.
Lowvi I I e
x
x
x
x
Immed. control of
digest. I iquors 25
ii it ti "21
Connect to V iI — 26
I age System
Nekoosa-Edwards Paper 1.14
Co.
Potsdam
Immed. control of 9
digest. Iiquors
Newton Fa I Is Paper
Mill, Inc.
Newton Fa 11s
6.4
Enlg. of lagoons 13
as needed
Northland Paper Co.
Norfolk
5.0
91
-------
TABLE 8 (Continued)
BLACK-U.S. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Indus+ry
Locati on
Waste
Flow Estimated Needs
(MGD) Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 18)
Pahler Packing Corp.
Potsdam
0.02
Paine and Jones
Prlnting Co.
LowviI Ie
0.12
Connect to Munic- 26
ipal System
Peretta Packing Co.
Brier Hill
0.02
Phi lade I phi a Milk
Producers Co-op.
Phi Iadelphi a
0.02
Queens Farms Dairy Co. 0.02
Copenhagen
Reynolds Metal Co.
Massena
9.0
Connect to Vi
I age System
18
19
Other not determined I
St. Lawrence Creamery 0.05
Potsdam
St. Regis Paper Co. 28.0
Deferiet
Sea I est Foods
HeuveI ton
0.05
Connect to Munic- 9
ipal System
Immed. control of 23
digest, liquors
Taylor Stone Dairy Co. 0.02
Watertown
Vanity Fair Paper
Mill, Inc.
Gouverneur
2.42
Western Condensing Co. 0.01
HeuveI ton
Connect to Munic- 22
ipal System
Immed. control of 16
digest, liquors
Connect to Munic- 3
i pa I System
92
-------
'clmto*
M»('
'iliS
LOWVH.Lt
BLACK-ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASINS
(AS OF JUNE 1968)
NOTE-
Numfotrf correspond to map
Index numbers in Table 8
MUNICIPAL a INDUSTRIAL
WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
-------
TABLE 9
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of J une I 968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Figure 19)
Adams
1,000
(
900) x
x
X
3
Alb ion
5,200
X
27
Barker
(
520) x
X
X
34
Brighton - Rich
Dugway
' s
12,000
X
17
Brighton S.D.#I
& 2
23,000
X
17
Churchvi1le
(1
X
o
o
o
X
X
22
Elba
600
X
X
29
Fa i rhaven
(
750) x
X
X
9
Fai rport
5,400
X
18
Gasport
650
X
33
Greece
35,000
X
21
Hannibal
(
600) x
X
X
8
H i1 ton
3,000
X
23
Lockport
25,100
X
38
Lyndonvi1le
790
X
X
32
Medina
7,000
X
31
Mex i co
(1
,000) x
X
X
6
94
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop.
Map
Community Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
or District (Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. |9)
Rochester 375,000 x
Sackets Harbor I,280 x x x
Sodus (1,650) x xx
Sodus Point ( 725) x x x
Spencerport 2,460 x
Webster S.D. #1 I,000 x
Webster S.D. #3 600 x
M i dd1eport
1 ,900
X
31
Newfane
2,000
X
35
Oakf ield
2,200
X
27
01cott
(1,250)
X
X
X
35
Oswego
13,000 (9,000)
X
X
7
Perinton (JC)
700
X
18
Perinton (WS)
2,000
X
18
Pittsford (T)
4, 170
X
18
Pu1aski
400 (2,300)
X
X
X
5
Ransomv i11e
( 950)
X
X
X
37
Red Creek
( 700)
X
X
X
i i
19
2
12
12
21
17
17
95
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
MUNICIPAL
Est. Pop. Map
Sewered or Estimated Needs Index No.
(Unsewered) Sewers Pri Sec Enlg Adv (Fig. 19)
Community
or Di str i ct
Willi amson
WiI son
Wo Icott
(I,700)
,320
,630
15
36
10
INDUSTRIAL
ndustry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 19)
American Kitchen 0.08
Lyndon Products 0.07
(same buiIding)
Ontari o
Enlarge lagoons 16
as needed
Ward P. Buhlmann
Rose
not determined
Barker Chemical Corp
Somerset
not determined
B. W. B. Foods, Inc.
Mexi co
0.002
Cadet Chemical Corp. 0.025
Burt
(or connect to 6
new Mun i ci pa I
System)
Adequacy of 35
existing settling
and neutralization
not determined
96
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Industry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 19)
Cowles Chemicals Co.
Lockport
Comstock Foods, Inc.
East Rochester
Comstock Foods, Inc.
Red Creek
Cryovac Co.
Lockport
Curtice-Burns, Inc.
Alton Canning Di v.
AI ton
Sodus
Dairy League Co-op.
PuIaski
Dairymen's League
Co-op. Assoc., Inc.
Adams
WoIcott
Duffy-Mott Co.
Ham Ii n
Hoi ley
0.27
Wi
amson
0.082
0.25
0.15
I .40
not determined
38
Enlarge lagoons 18
as needed
it n » tt II
riot determined
x
x
X
X
X
X
X
X
38
2
2
4
10
Enlarge lagoons 25
as needed
Enlarge settling 26
8. neutralization
faciIi ties
Enlarge lagoons 16
as needed
Dynacolor Corp.
Brockport
not determined
24
97
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
Indus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
index No.
(Fig. 19)
Emp i re State
Pickling Co.
Carl ton
Flintkote Co.
Lockport
Food Machinery and
Chemical Corp.
Middleport
0.004
0.5
0.05
Fruit Belt Pre-
serving Co., Inc.
Sodus Center 0.07
Willi amson 0.07
General Electric Co. 0.26
Brockport
x
x
x
X
X
Enlarge lagoons 28
as needed
(or complete
connection to
Municipal System)
38
Enlarge lagoons 33
as needed
Enlarge lagoons 6
as needed
it ii n it |7
Enlarge lagoons 24
as needed; con-
trol of toxic
materials
General Motors Corp. 1.61
Harrison Radiator Div.
Lockport
Green Dairy Farms,Inc. 0.006
WoIcott
A. A. Grinnel Co., Inc.
Elba
Hammermill Paper Co. 2.47
Oswego
not determined
38
10
20
7
98
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of J une I 968)
INDUSTRIAL
Industry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
I ndex No.
(Fig. 19)
Haxton Foods, Inc.
Oakf ieId
Hunt Wesson Foods,Inc.
Albion
x
Enlarge lagoons 29
as needed
Enlarge chemical 27
treatment as
needed
Kraft Foods 0.054
South Rutland
Lakeshore Packing Co.,0.03
I nc.
Carl ton
Lockport Canning Co. 0.072
Lockport
Lockport Felt Co.,Inc.0.31
Newfane
Morton Canning Co.,
I nc.
Mo rton
N iI ok Chem., Inc.
Lockport
0.05
Control runoff
from spray irri-
gation
28
38
35
Control of spray 26
irrigation runoff
Reduction of 38
toxic materials;
neutrali zation
Norton Labs.,Inc.
Lockport
OakfieId & Elba
Growers, Inc.
Elba
99
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndus+ry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 19)
Phinney Tool & Die
Co., Inc.
Med i na
not determined
31
Queens Farms Dairy
Pierepont Manor
B. Richardson Canning
Co.
N. Rose
0.44
Enlarge lagoons
& control spray
i rri gation
SaIter Cann ing Co.
N. Rose
x Enlarge lagoons
as needed
13
Seneca Grape
Willi amson
Simonds Saw & Steel
Co.
Lockport
Solvay Process
Div.
WiI son
0.08
0.432
x Enlarge lagoons
as needed
16
En Iarge faciII- 38
ties for reduction
of oils & toxic
metaIs; neutraIi zati on
Enlarge lagoons 36
as needed; control
toxic material
Southland Fine
Frozen Foods
Ontario Center
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
16
Southland Frozen
Foods, Inc.
Barker
I .0
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
34
Spears Company,Inc.
Rose
0.02
Neutralization 14
100
-------
TABLE 9 (Continued)
MINOR TRIBUTARY BASINS
MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
(As of June 1968)
INDUSTRIAL
I ndustry
Location
Waste
Flow
(MGD)
Estimated Needs
Settling Biolog Other
Map
Index No.
(Fig. 19)
Wm. Stappenback,Inc.
Penfield
United Board & Carton 1.95
Lockport
Enlarge lagoons 18
as needed
38
U. S. Gypsum Co.
0.492
Upson Company
Lockport
0.85
Van DeMark Chemicals 0.05
Lockport
Vi ctor Preserving
Co., Inc.
Ontario Center
not determined
Adequacy of 29
existing bio. &
settling faciIities
not determined
38
38
x Enlarge lagoons 16
Waco Foods
Willi amson
0.09
x
16
A. M. Wadsworth & Sons
Wo Icott
Waterman Fruit
Products, Inc.
Ontario Center
Enlarge lagoons
as needed
Wayne Packing Co.
Wa11i ngton
Whltnor Chem., Inc. 0.05
Lew i ston
x
not determined
12
37
101
-------
.PULASKI
•OLCOTT
BUFFALO
SYRACUSE
Scot® in Mil«t
O 10
NOTE
Numbers correspond to map index
numbers in Table 9
MUNICIPAL 8 INDUSTRIAL
WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
MINOR TRIBUTARY AREA
(AS OF JUNE 1968)
-------
Advanced Waste Treatment
For many stream sectors in the Basin, secondary treatment will
not assure acceptable quality. Additional pollution control needs for
these sectors will usually involve either advanced waste treatment or
streamflow augmentation, or both. Preliminary evaluation by the New
York State Department of Health (NYSDH) and FWPCA of the capacities
of streams to assimilate waste during critical periods of low flow
and high temperature have indicated there are 20 municipalities and
industries that may be required to consider advanced waste treatment.
In other words, their effluent organic loading to a stream after sec-
ondary treatment may still exceed the stream's assimilation capacity.
The more significant communities and industries at which this situa-
tion occurs, or is expected to occur, are: the Eastman Kodak Company,
Georgia Pacific Paper Company, the proposed Meadowbrook Limestone S.D.,
Newton Falls Paper Company, the Gates-ChiIi-Ogden S.D., the Cities of
Auburn and Oneida, and the Village of Skaneateles.
Nutrient Control
Of the nutrients which support biological growth, nitrogen and
phosphorus are considered most significant. Of the two, phosphorus
can be more effectively controlled. Major efforts must be directed
toward initiating removal of phosphates from municipal and industrial
wastewaters which carry large quantities of nutrients to the lakes
and streams of the Lake Ontario Basin. Land runoff, which includes
agricultural drainage, is the other major contributor and efforts
must be directed toward controlling this source as well.
Processes and techniques for the removal of phosphate from
municipal wastewater are today a reality and can be applied at modest
cost. It has already been demonstrated that chemical treatment will
reliably remove 85 to 90 percent of the total phosphate present in
municipal wastewater. Side benefits are also achieved through a sub-
stantia I reduction of other pollutants. Although not all industrial
wastewaters are amenable to the present treatment methods, slight
alterations of their effluent discharge or improved plant housekeep-
ing methods can usually achieve the same end.
Proposed treatment methods include cold lime and alum chemical
treatments, which are reliable and easily controlled. Chemical treat-
ment can be integrated with conventional biological treatment at either
the primary sedimentation stage or the activated sludge stage. Poten-
tial net costs of approximately 5 cents per 1,000 gallons are currently
attainable.
Flow Regulation
Regulation of lake and artificial impoundment releases to
effect continuous streamflows adequate for maintaining water quality
103
-------
consistent with downstream uses is a feasible solution to many of the
water quality problems in the Lake Ontario Basin. It must be under-
stood, however, that before augmentation of streamflows can be con-
sidered both secondary treatment, in terms of organic reduction, and
treatment for reduction of nutrients, must be accomplished. At present
there are a number of streams for which dilution of wastes is taken into
consideration when determining releases of upstream storage. For nearly
all these sectors under regulation, which number about 20, the general
viewpoint is held that streamflows are inadequate for water quality
control. In reality most pollution problems exist below these sectors
because of an over-dependence on dilution of wastes rather than on
providing adequate treafment of wastes before discharge.
Determinations of streamflow requirements, made jointly by NYSDH
and FWPCA for present and projected loading conditions on stream sectors
in the Basin, were calculated assuming that a minimum of 85 percent BOD
removal is achieved before 1985 and 90 percent or better thereafter.
Only 12 sectors were determined to require low flow augmentation when
present waste inputs are treated adequately; in 1985 fifteen sectors
will need augmentation; and by 2020 eighteen sectors will need augmen-
tation. Those with significant requirements are shown in Table 10.
Detailed information including gross and net streamflow requirements
are presented In the subbasln reports for the Basin. (I), (2), (3)
and (4)
There are many sectors which are projected to experience only
marginal, or even less than acceptable, quality, if the present pattern
of storage releases continues and If the projected loadings materialize.
These sectors are mainly on the outlet streams of the Finger Lakes. The
Cities of Syracuse, Auburn and Canandalgua, the New York State Depart-
ment of Public Works, the Oswego River Watershed Corporation and other
regulating interests should provide releases to enhance the quality of
these streams while still maintaining lake levels sufficient for other
legitimate uses such as water supply, recreation, and power.
Control of streamflows for peak power purposes should not be
practiced to the extent that sufficient dilution of downstream wastes
Is not provided. Niagara Mohawk's regulation of the Raquette River,
the Oswego River Watershed Corporation's control of the Seneca and
Oswego Rivers, Rochester Gas and Electrlc's and New York Department
of Public Works' joint control of the Genesee River, and New York
Electric and Gas (also In cooperation with the NYDPW) control of the
Upper Seneca River are examples of situations where the pattern of
operation should be altered to Improve downstream water quality.
The diversions from the Barge Canal System are critically
Important to the quality condition of many of the small tributaries
In the Lake Ontario plains area and should be continued at least at
the present levels. As future re-evaluatlons of the present canal
uses show possible reasslgnments of priority to the canal water,
104
-------
TABLE 10
LOW FLOW AUGMENTATION NEEDS IN LAKE ONTARIO BASIN*
Stream and Sector
Comments
Genesee River
City of Rochester and
Eastman Kodak Co.
Genesee River
Gates-ChiIi-Ogden
Sanitary District
Kodak constructing plant capable of
about 90 percent BOD removal. Aug-
mentation still appears necessary in
immediate future unless other improve-
ment measures are taken. Additional
releases are possible from Barge Canal
or from proposed Corps of Engineers
reservo i r.
Coordinated study of sewerage needs
in Monroe County shows a possible
future loading to the river of 10
times the present, in which case the
existing flow in the river would be
i nsuff i ci ent.
Black River
Lyons FaI Is and
Georgia Pacific Paper
Present releases by the Black River
Regulating Board are expected to
provide only marginal quality after
Georgia Pacific installs secondary
treatment. Additional releases will
be necessary if projected loadings
materialize and other improvement
measures are not undertaken.
Limestone Creek
Proposed Limestone-
Meadowbrook-Man Iius S.D.
Treatment Plant
Additional streamflows wiI I be
required below this discharge if
the anticipated high rate of growth
materializes east of Syracuse. The
Corps of Engineers has under considera-
tion an upstream reservoir which could
provide this augmentation.
Eighteenmile Creek
Lockport and Area
Industries
*Refer to
ments and
Diversions from the Barge Canal must
be continued at their present rate
of better than 50 cfs for minimum
water quality. Utilization of the
full authorized diversion of 100 cfs
or more should be obtained for
enhancement of quality.
individual subbasin reports for actual streamflow require-
the basic assumptions used In each determination.
105
-------
additional diversions should be considered to upgrade and enhance
the quality of these small streams. Irondequoit, Aliens and
Eighteenmile Creeks are most dependent on canal diversions (after
the Genesee River) and these creeks should receive particular
attention.
Combined Sewers
Control of discharges from combined sewers must be given
serious consideration throughout the Basin, particularly in the
case of the older and larger cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse,
Niagara Falls, and Watertown. In many of the newer and smaller urban
areas partial or complete separation of sewers has been effected.
Until economically feasible methods of solving the problems
are developed, existing combined sewer systems should be properly
maintained. Adequate provision should be made for continuous clean-
ing and repair of interceptors and relief chambers, especially in the
Syracuse and Rochester systems, which have a total of over 100 pos-
sible overflow points to Onondaga Lake (via two tributaries) and the
Lower Genesee River. Overflow regulating devices should be adjusted
to convey the maximum practicable amounT of combined flows to and
through waste treatment facilities. In the case of newly developed
urban areas only separate sewer systems should be allowed, unless
provision is made for retention and treatment of combined flows.
The Cities of Rochester and Syracuse have undertaken engineer-
ing studies focussing on necessary remedial measures to control dis-
charges from their respective systems. In addition, the City of
Syracuse has'improved the condition of Its main Interceptors to
correct the unwarranted situation reported by consulting engineers
in 1961, that about 20 overflow devices, designed to operate only
during storms, were discharging continuously.
The Federal Government has recognized the need for solutions
to the problems by overflows from combined sewer systems and is
currently conducting extensive research studies on new and economic
methods of control. The Water Quality Act of 1965 established a
four-year program of grants and contract authority to demonstrate
new or improved methods to eradicate the problem of combined sewers.
Federal Installations
Of the approximately 150 Federal Installations in the Lake
Ontario Basin only a small percentage discharge directly to surface
or sub-surface waters. The most significant facilities of this type
and recommended treatment needs for each are shown In Table II.
Plans have been drawn up and in many cases already approved for the
needed Improvements at all of the installations shown In this table.
106
-------
TABLE If
FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS WASTE TREATMENT NEEDS
nstalIation
Needs
Thousand Island Camp Annex-USAF
Alexandria Bay
Water+own Air Force Sta+ion-USAF
Watertown
Di s infection.
Tertiary treatment lagoon.
Hancock Field-USAF
North Syracuse
Camp Drum-U.S. Army
Jefferson County
Naval Research Lab.-U.S. Navy
Dresden
Alexandria Bay Coast Guard Sta,
Alexandria Bay
Oswego Coast Guard Station
Oswego
Veterans Administration Hospital
Cananda igua
SnelI Lock-St. Lawrence Seaway
Development Corp.
Massena
U. S. Post Office
Moravi a
Ai r Force PI ant 49
Buffalo
Niagara Falls Municipal Airport
Niagara Fa I Is
Nuclear Materials & Equipment
Corp.-AEC
Model City
Some wastewater discharge not yet
connected to Onondaga County munic-
ipal sewerage system.
Expansion to secondary treatment.
Secondary treatment required.
Primary and secondary treatment.
Connect to City of Oswego municipal
sewerage facilities.
Expansion to secondary treatment.
Secondary treatment needed for
tourist facilities. Holding tanks
and dockside collection needed for
a I I vessels.
Connect to Village of Moravia munic-
ipal sewerage facilities.
Connect all waste to municipal
sewerage system.
Connect to City of Niagara Falls
municipal sewerage system.
Expansion to secondary treatment.
107
-------
Research and Development
In spi+e of s+epped-up efforts in recent years on the part of
both public and private research, there are serious gaps in scientific
knowledge and technology which are hampering a satisfactory attack on
complex problems related to water pollution. Control measures and
construction now in progress consist primarily of application of known
technology with minimum delay. These have the immediate objectives of
correcting obvious pollution problems long neglected, and to achieve
maximum restoration of water quality in the shortest practicable time.
A comparison of the abatement measures under on-going programs with
the improvement needs, detailed above in this Chapter, required for
achieving and maintaining planned water quality reveals that a sub-
stantial amount of mission-oriented research and development is
urgently needed.
The major problem conditions in the Lake Ontario and United
States St. Lawrence River Basins which require research designed to
find and develop feasible technology are: I) eutrophication, 2) pol-
lution by organic residues in secondary effluents, 3) pollution by
problem constituents in industrial wastes, 4) pollution from combined
sewers, 5) pollution resulting from agricultural activities, 6) tem-
perature increases due to waste heat discharges, 7) ultimate disposal
of residues, 8) sedimentation, and 9) inadequate techniques for meas-
uring water quality.
Specific items of research and development activity that could
yield valuable information and new techniques for direct application
to problems in the Basins are listed:
1. Investigation of phosphate sources and budgets on one or
more prototype watersheds, with special emphasis on determining yield
factors suitable for application to larger watersheds.
2. Research on mechanisms and processes related to eutrophica-
tion in both shallow and deep lakes.
3. Development of techniques, utilizing mathematical models,
for predicting restoration of lake quality under assumed modifications
of inputs.
4. Research of agricultural practices on a prototype watershed
to determine methods for controlling pollution by fertilizer and pesti
cide residues.
5. Plant-scale Installations at one or more sewage treatment
plants to demonstrate the efficacy of phosphorus removal by chemical
and biologicaI-chemical techniques.
108
-------
6. Field research at one or more outfalls discharging spent
cooling water in lakes to determine the fate and effects of such
discharges on the aquatic environment.
7. Investigations of dilution, dispersion and movement of
pollutants in inshore waters of Lake Ontario, including determina-
tion of the effects of shoreline configurations.
8. Research to find permanent solutions for problems asso-
ciated with combined sewer systems.
9. Research and demonstration of improvements in land manage-
ment practices to minimize soil erosion and pollution by sediments.
10. Development of improved and simplified techniques for
Iaboratory analyses of chemical constituents.
11. Development and standardization of a faster, improved
analytical method for determining the oxygen demand of organic
waste materia I.
12. Development of improved analytical methods for determining
bacterial quality and evaluating whether compliance with official
standards is being achieved.
109
GPO 81 l-825<~9
-------
Chapter 5
COSTS AND BENEFITS
Cost of Waste Treatment
The cost of providing adequate treatment for municipal and
industrial wastes presently being discharged to the surface waters
of the Lake Ontario Basin is estimated to be over $300 million.
This figure excludes the industrial treatment costs for the Niagara
River Basin, and the cost of nutrient control which should be an
Integral part of all treatment facilities in the Basin. The City
of Rochester recently completed plans for expansion of its facilities
which will provide a high reduction of phosphates.
Estimates of municipal treatment costs were based on the
assumption that conventional secondary treatment, required by recent
New York State regulations for treatment plant design, would achieve
at least 85 percent BOD removal. Costs of treating industrial wastes
were estimated by two methods. The first involved equating indus-
trial loading when predominantly organic in nature to an equivalent
domestic waste; the second assumed that waste treatment included only
non-biological processes and that settling facilities were the major
need.
Municipal Waste Treatment
Approximately $187 million is estimated as the cost of provid-
ing the minimal requirements of treatment for municipal wastes in the
Basin. This is the aggregate cost of providing primary and secondary
treatment where no treatment now exists (130 communities), for up-
grading the existing primary type plants to secondary and expansion
of some existing secondary plants (88 communities). As shown In Table
12 about four-fifths of the total cost is for upgrading primary plants
to secondary. Four of the largest municipalities (Rochester, Buffalo,
Syracuse and Niagara Falls) account for $105 million of the total $154
million estimated. The City of Rochester is at present the only one
of these four large municipalities committed to a definite expenditure,
that being about $35 million for treatment and another $13 million for
a three-mile long outfall into Lake Ontario.
The 130 communities thatneed completely new facilities are
mostly smaller population centers of less than 2,500. Many of these
are also unsewered. The per capita cost for many of these communities
Is estimated to be relatively high and, as a result, the total cost
of constructing these plants Is about one-fifth the cost of expanding
existing primary plants despite the fact that their population served
Is less than 15 percent of the latter.
110
-------
Advanced waste treatment for high organic removal has been
estimated at about $3.8 mi I I ion, utilizing chemical coagulation.
There are about II communities which, from a preliminary survey,"
appear to require high reductions of organic material to assure'
acceptable downstream quality. Most of these needs are for com-
munities in the Genesee and Finger Lakes Basins.
TABLE 12
ESTIMATED COST OF MUNICIPAL WASTE TREATMENT 1/
LAKE ONTARIO BASIN
Treatment Needs Estimated Cost
Primary and secondary $ 29,200,000
Upgrading to secondary and 154,000,000 2/
enlargement of secondary ~
faciIities
Advanced treatment 3,800,000 3/
(high organic reduction) ~~
Total
$ I 87,000,000
1/ Includes the needs of all communities with populations
~~ greater than 500.
2/ Includes plans by the City of Rochester to spend approxi-
— mately $48 million for addition of secondary facilities
and new outfalls into Lake Ontario.
3/ Based on cost of adding facilities for chemical coagulation.
Industrial Waste Treatment
The estimated total cost of providing the equivalent of
secondary treatment by the 200 industries known to have discharges
to the Basin streams and lakes is about $122 million. This does not
-------
include the cost of treatment by the 20 to 30 industries on the
Niagara River and its tributaries. Most of these industries are
in the process of studying their treatment needs in compliance with
State abatement schedules. Any estimate of the treatment costs is
extremely difficult until the exact nature of the needs is known,
especially since most of these industries produce "hard type" wastes
that are peculiar to each operation and for which the treatment
requirements are likewise different for each operation.
Table 13 presents a breakdown of the cost of industrial waste
treatment into biological and non-biological. Nearly 78 percent of
this total or $95 million is required for reduction of organic mate-
rial in industrial wastewater. More than 80 percent of this is the
estimated expenditure required by pulp and paper mills and food proc-
essors. There are 21 manufacturers of paper products in the Basin,
only one of which effects actual waste treatment; many effect in-
plant reductions as a result of attempts to capture fibers from
white waters. An estimated 100 food processors, scattered through-
out the Basin, require about $45 million worth of new or improved
treatment facilities.
TABLE 13
ESTIMATED COST OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT J_/
LAKE ONTARIO BASIN
Treatment Needs Estimated Cost
Settling and biological $ 95,000,000
treatment facilities
Non-biological treatment - 19,000,000
neutralization, precipita+ion,
etc.
Advanced treatment for high 8,000,000
organic reduction
Total $122,000,000 2/
1/ Estimate based on assumption that each industry presently dis-
~~ charging separately will construct self-owned and self-opera+ed
treatment facilities.
2/ The total cost shown does not include Industries on the Niagara
River. These cpst estimates were not available due to the uncer-
tainty of the treatment needs of the more than 20 large industries
in the area.
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Phosphate Control
Table 14 contains a sumnary of the total cost of accomplishing
significant phosphate reductions through treatment of municipal and
industrial waste. As shown, about $120 million would be required
throughout the Basin. As noted in Table 14 the cost is based on
constructing facilities in addition to those needed for secondary
treatment. Methods of phosphate treatment currently under develop-
ment, and for which great success has been achieved to date, include
techniques utilizing existing secondary units. Application of these
techniques would undoubtedly reduce considerably the figures shown
in Tab Ie 14.
TABLE 14
ESTIMATED COST OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL
WASTE TREATMENT FOR PHOSPHATE REDUCTION
LAKE ONTARIO BASiN
Type Cost
Municipal $ 78,000,000
Industrial 42,000,000 1/
To+a| $120,000,000
1/ Does not include industries on the Niagara River.
Benefits
Water quality control benefits are those net contributions to
public health, safety, economy and effectiveness in use and enjoyment
of water for alI purposes which are subject to detriment or betterment
by virtue of a change in water qua I ity. The net contribution may be
evaluated In terms of avoidance of adverse effects which would other-
wise accrue in absence of water quality control. (12)
Numerous examples may be cited where benefits will be lost In
the Lake Ontario Basin because of undesirable water quality. Major
areas where recreational activities are impaired by poor water qual-
ity include Onondaga Lake, Oneida Lake, Lake Ontario at Rochester,
the Barge Canal at Waterloo and Seneca Falls, Cayuga Lake at Ithaca,
Seneca Lake at Geneva, the upper Niagara River, the lower Genesee
River and the Oswego River. The problems at these locations and many
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more areas are caused mostly by one or a combination of: excessive
coll form counts from Inadequately treated sewage or industrial waste;
fouling of the surface of waters with oil, scum and other harmful and
unesthetic floating debris; masses of decaying weed and algal growths
piled on shorelines; combined sewer overflows; vessel and watercraft
wastes; and drainage from agricultural lands.
Onondaga Lake is a classic example of a lake stripped of its
recreational potential. Swimming and water skiing are obviously
unthought of; boating is highly undesirable; fishing is limited to
pollution-tolerant carp. The unusable condition of Onondaga Lake is
made even more unfortunate by the fact that along Its entire north
and eastern shoreline Is a vast park where the facilities for enjoying
these activities can easily be located.
The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation estimates that if Onondaga
Lake were suitable for water contact activities, its total accumu-
lative attendance In recreation days over the 35-year period 1965-
2000 would approach 95,000,000.
The Niagara River receives heavy traffic from all types of
commercial and pleasure craft. However, an excursion on the river
necessitates removal of an unsightly oil ring from boat and motor.
There are four public beaches located near the Rochester
Metropolitan area of Lake Ontario. Unfortunately, three of the
four beaches were closed during 1967 due to pollution, eliminating
a source of swimming recreation for almost 750,000 people. These
beaches had an average visitation of 1,700,000 in previous years.
Another example is presented by the Bureau of Outdoor Recrea-
tion to show the tangible loss to recreation from poor water quality.
The Bureau developed an analysis (see Table 15) showing that visita-
tion to the Basin's public beaches would have increased 62 percent
over the present use if all the public beach waters were suitable
for swimming.
Besides the recreational impairment which Is experienced in
the Basin, use of some surface waters for drinking and other domestic
uses has been greatly curtailed. Water from the Niagara River will
quite often have an objectionable taste because of the high phenol
content. Poor drinking water also exists in other areas Because of
tastes imparted by algae or from excessive chlorination dictated by
bacterial con+amination.
Large expenditures of industrial funds are made annually on
raw water treatment to prevent adverse effects on products and
equipment. Allied Chemical Corporation spends one-half million
dollars a year conditioning Onondaga Lake's polluted waters. On
the other hand, Industrial discharges containing dyes and other
various compounds color the waters of many area streams.
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TABLE 15
INFLUENCE OF WATER QUALITY ON SWIMMING
AT PUBLIC BEACHES IN THE LAKE ONTARIO BASIN, 1965*
(Estimated activity occasions)
1. Attendance at public beaches exhibiting poor
water quality 1,160,000
2. Attendance at public beaches not exhibiting
poor water quality 2,519,000
3. Total estimated visitation at the Basin's
public beaches 3,679,000
4. Increase in attendance with improved water
quality 2,261.Qpg
a. reopening of closed beaches 33 qqq
b. increased participation by present patrons 589*000
c. increased attendance of present nonpatrons 1,639*000
5. Annual loss without improved water quality
conditions and with enforcement.** 3,421,000
6. Estimated total swimming visitation with
Improved water quality*** 5,940,000
* Table taken from U. S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Report (en
** Total of I and 4 K
*** Total of 2 and 5
¦+ u Hlfflcult to place an exact figure on the many tangible
It IS O'TTI would result from an improvement of Basin
and Intangible benef'*S * door Recreation estimated that $273 million
waters. The within the Lake Ontario Basin,
was spent In I960 o ^ fhe magnj+ude of the overall ben-
This figure rePre*t derived through an enhancement of recreational
eflts that could be .tenved tnroug ^ significant are the
opportunity by ImPr° derived from the other water-dependent uses such
benefits which may and industrial water supply and
as ower +f~eat whjch jn +urn would generate large volumes
an improved Joa+ |iveries, tackle shops, groceries, service
of retail The ^t important benefit does not lend itself
stations and mo ;on buf certain|y provides the impetus necessary to
f^et^lf c?sts- that Is the safeguarding of public health and welfare
I 15
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS
1. Problems directly caused by or related to water pollution have been
identified irt Lake Ontario and the United States waters tributary to
the Lake; the Niagara River and its United States tributaries; and the
International section of the St. Lawrence River and its United States
tri butarles.
2. Many valuable water uses are being impaired to varying degrees by
a variety of pollutants. The principal sources of this material Include
wastes from municipalities, industries, combined sewer overflows, agri-
culture, urban runoff and watercraft.
3. EutrophI cation Is a grave and serious problem, particularly in
Lake Ontario and Oneida Lake, Nutrient-rich waters in these and other
lakes support massive growths of biota, especlalIy Cladophora, which
cause Intolerable conditions In recreational waters, serious loss of
esthetic values, and severe Impairments In water supplies. Pile-up
of Cladophora along the entire United States shoreline occurs every
growing season.
4. Present knowledge and understanding of both the contributing causes
and the complex processes of eutrophI cation indicate that the most ben-
eficial and feasible remedy Is deliberate reduction, to the maximum
extent possible, of all identifiable phosphorus Inputs to streams and
lakes.
5. Discharges of inadequately treated organic wastes by communities
and Industries are causing undesirable depletion of the dissolved
oxygen essential for a healthy, balanced, aquatic life environment
In lakes and streams. Serious depletion occurs in the Lower Genesee
River, Oatka Creek, Honeoye Creek, Barge Canal (vicinity of Newark),
Upper Seneca River, Owasco Outlet, Skaneateles Creek, Black River and
Onondaga Lake. Moderate to serious depletions occur In Elghteenmile
Creek, Tonawanda Creek, Upper Genesee River, Irondequott Creek, Keuka
Outlet, Canandaigua Outlet, Ninemlle Creek, Lower Seneca River, Oswego
River (Fulton), Oneida Creek, Oswegatchie River, Grass River and
Raquette River.
6. The discharge by industries of significant amounts of suspended
solids, chemical residues, and other deleterious waste constituents
Is causing high turbidities, severe discoloration, bottom deposits,
rafts of foam and debris, and other manifestations of degradation.
Particularly notable are conditions occurring In the Upper Niagara
River, Elghteenmile Creek, Oatka Creek, Upper Seneca River, Oswego
River, Onondaga Lake, Black River, Grass River and St. Lawrence
Rlver.
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7. Bacterial pollution attributable to wastes from municipal ities,
including their combined sewer overflows, which are not receiving
adequate treatment and disinfection, is a continuing health hazard
in swimming areas and municipal water intake local ions. Bacterial
counts in the Niagara River frequently violate established stand-
ards. Beaches on Lake Ontario in the Rochester area, on Seneca
Lake at Geneva, and on Cayuga Lake at Ithaca are presently closed
due to bacterial contamination.
8. Two nuclear power plants are now under construction on the south
shore of Lake Ontario. One of these will be in operation by the end
of FY 1969. Planning is under way for another plant, to be located
on Cayuga Lake, scheduled to start up in FY 1973. The probable
effects of these facilities on the Lake environments, particularly
that of heat and radionuclide discharges, are not satisfactorily
understood or predictable. Further investigation is needed to pro-
vide information for properly assessing the impact of such operations.
9. Oil discharges, which cause damage to water uses, aquatic life
and occasionally result in damage by burning, frequently occur in
the Buffalo-Niagara area. Certain industrial operations in other
areas, commercial ships, and oil terminal operations represent con-
tinuing potential sources of oil pollution which can despoil beaches
and other recreational areas, cause taste and odors in water supplies,
be toxic to fish, and destroy wildfowl.
10. Vessels of all types, commercial and recreational, are contrib-
utors of both untreated and inadequately treated wastes in open waters,
local harbors and inland waterways. This causes significant loss in
esthetic quality, and constitutes a continuing threat to safe bac-
terial quality in the vicinity of water intakes and swimming areas.
11. Pesticide pollution in lakes and streams results from the appli-
cation of these materials by spraying and dusting. Heavy usage occurs
in the extensive fruit growing belt in the Lake Ontario plain area,
and in numerous upland areas under intensive cultivation. An example
of the tatter is the use of organic phosphates and other compounds by
potato growers which has resulted in numerous fish kills on both East
Koy and Wiscoy Creeks in the Genesee River Basin. Considering the
present I imited knowledge of the fate and harmful effects of pesti-
cides once they are released, and the ever-increasing use of the
materials, it is vitally important that appropriate measures be taken
to positively prevent ecological disasters, and even threats to human
safety through contamination in food sources and water supplies.
12. The most significant physical characteristics and processes in
Lake Ontario that relate to dispersal, transportation and effects of
pollutants are: I) the large volume* of water mass per unit area which
tends to maintain high oxygen and nutrient levels in the hypolimnion,
2) circulation patterns which move nutrients and other pollutants
I 17
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freely in many directions while at the same time substantially
decreasing the flowing-through time of large volumes of water,
3) the discharge of the Niagara River which is by far the great-
est hydrological factor affecting the Lake environment, and 4) the
development of a thermal bar which not only limits the dispersal
of pollutants but may function as a mechanism whereby nutrients
are concentrated and held in the inshore growing area at the
beginning of the Ctadophora growing season.
13. Many of the pollution problems cited in this report will be
substantially corrected by 1972 as a result of actions now in prog-^
ress, or contemplated, under the Pure Waters Program of the State
of New York. This program deserves commendation and support from
all sectors, public and private. Administered by the State Health
Department, the program has most of the essential tools and resources
necessary for cleaning up waters in the State.
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Chapter 7
RECOMMENDATIONS
Immediate ajDd long-range pollution control measures are rec-
ommended for meeting the present and future water quality require-
ments in the Lake Ontario and United States St. Lawrence River Basins.
Immediate needs are those improvement measures which should be in
effect no later than July 1972, unless otherwise indicated, to elim-
inate gross pollution and otherwise achieve a large measure of qual ity
restoration by the appl ication of presently known technology. The
long-range needs are defined as those measures which should be planned
and implemented to the degree practicable today, but which generally
need more research and time to accomplish. In many cases the long-
range needs are nothing more than an expansion or continuation of the
immediate needs. Also included are research needs pertinent to prob-
lems in the Basins.
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDH) and FWPCA
jointly concur in the recommendations that follow; in a few cases,
qualifying statements by NYSDH are given in brackets.
Immediate Needs
1. Municipal Waste Treatment - All municipal waste treatment
facilities should be designed and operated to provide secondary (bio-
logical) treatment and to achieve at least 85 percent reduction of
untreated BOD. The communities affected by this recommendation and
the required improvements for each are listed in Chapter 4.
[While NYSDH defines secondary treatment to mean 75-95 percent
reduction of BOD and suspended solidst it is encouraging designs to
achieve at least 85 percent reductions.3
2. Industrial Waste Treatment - All separately discharging
industries should provide the equivalent of secondary treatment for
all oxygen consuming wastes unless additional treatment is required
to meet stream standards. Other wastes contributing to pollution
should be treated, modified or excluded from discharging as necessary
for compliance with stream standards. Industries affected and the
required improvements for each are listed in Chapter 4.
3. Municipally-Treated Industrial Waste - Discharge of treat-
able industrial wastes (following needed pretreatment) to municipal
sewer systems should be encouraged. However, the effluent from such
a plant must compare favorably with effluents from plants receiving
only domestic wastes.
I 19
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4. Advanced Waste Treatment - Where secondary treatment is
not adequate for meeting stream quality standards based on expected
streamflows, additional facilities for achieving further reduction
in waste loadings or additional streamflows should be provided.
Locations requiring such consideration have been identified and
are described in Chapter 4.
5. Phosphate Reduction - Effective immediately all plans for
new municipal treatment plants Including enlargement or upgrading of
existing plants, should incorporate provisions for removal on a con-
tinuous basis of not less than 80 percent of the total phosphorus in
the influent sewage. As of July 1972 all rnunlcipal waste treatment
facilities serving an equivalent population (PE, BOD basis) of 5,000
or more should have facilities in operation removing not less than
80 percent of the input phosphorus. As of July 1978 all municipal
waste treatment plants should be removing not less than 90 percent
of Input phosphorus.
All Industries with significant amounts of phosphorus In
waste discharged through private outfalls should have facilities for
the maximum practicable removal of phosphorus In operation by July
1972.
\JWSDE does not fully concur in this recommendation, and
is currently working on a phosphate reduction policy. D
6. Disinfection - Facilities should be provided for disin-
fection of all waste treatment plant effluents containing potentially
harmful bacteria. These facilities should be operated to achieve
effective disinfection on a year-round basis at all locations except
where it is conclusively determined that no hazard will exist If
operated for only part of the year.
7. Temporary Industrial Pollution Control Measures -
Temporary measures should be taken to control gross Industrial
pollution until permanent treatment facilities are designed and
constructed.
8. Control of Lakeshore Discharges - The inland lakes, espe-
cially the Finger Lakes and Oneida Lake, should be adequately protected
against seepage and direct sewage discharges from lakeshore cottages
and campsites.
9. Federal and State Installations - Federal and State Instal-
lations needing new or expanded treatment facilities should budget the
necessary funds and proceed with construction without delay. Federal
and State installations should provide treatment for their wastes equal
to or better than that which would be required of municipalities or
Industries producing slmilar wastes.
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10. Streamflow Regulation - Regulation of s+reamflows to pro-
vide additional dilution water for water quality control should be
considered for many sectors in the Basins. Multi-purpose projects
which are approved, funded and scheduled for construction should
include storage for water quality control whenever social or
monetary benefits justify such practice.
11. Combined Sewer Systerns - Combined sewers should be pro-
hibited in all newly developed areas and separated in coordination
with all urban reconstruction projects, except where other tech-
niques can be applied to control storm water pollution. Overflow
regulating devices of combined sewer systems should be revised
where necessary and operated in such manner as to convey the maxi-
mum practicable amount of combined flow to treatment facilities.
12. 'Pollution by Agriculture - Agricultural practices should
be improved to attain maximum protection of waters in the Basins
against fertilizer residues, manures, pesticides and soil erosion
material. Organization and adequate funding of Soil Conservation
Districts should be encouraged.
13. Pestiaide Control - Accurate reporting on disposition of
pesticide purchases should be instituted and maintained, including
establishment of accountability for application of pesticides,
monitoring of concentrations in the aquatic environment, and insti-
tution of corrective measures where needed.
14. Waste Heat - The discharge of waste heat should be so
controlled that recognized water uses are not adversely affected.
15. Radioactive Material - Discharges from facilities using
radioactive materials should be so controlled as to protect the
environment against harm from these or any resulting byproduct.
16. Oil and Other Hazardous Material - The direct discharge
of oil from any source into any waters of the Basins should be stopped.
An inventory should be compiled of all sites where potential exists
for major spills of oil and other hazardous materials. Measures to
prevent the possible entrance of these materials into the waters as
a result of spills should be encouraged. An alerting system should
be developed and operated for dealing with accidental spills of oil
and other hazardous materials.
17. Dredging Disposal - Polluted dredging materials should
not be disposed of In Lake Ontario, inland lakes or other waters of
the Basins.
18. Stream Regulating Works - Operating practices at naviga-
tion and hydroelectric power facilities should be revised where these
practices presently impair other stream uses such as recreation, fish
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life, and esthetic enjoyment. Hydroelectric plants should be required
to release flows at least equal to the 7-day once-in-10-year low nat-
ural streamflow at all times when the inflow to a reservoir is greater
than that rate—and to pass without reduction all inflow at lesser
rates. Whenever a change in a power license is contemplated by the
Federal Power Commission, the need for additional regulation of
streamflow for water quality control should be investigated and such
regulation provided where feasible.
19. Prevention of Bypassing at Treatment Plants - Standby
equipment and contingency plans for emergencies should be provided
at municipal and industrial treatment facilities to minimize the
probability of discharging inadequately treated effluents because
of maintenance work, plant revisions, or accidents.
20. Elimination of Streambank Drnps - Improper and indiscrim-
inate dumping of garbage, trash, rubbish and other deleterious refuse
along the shores of lakes and the banks of watercourses in the Basin
should be prohibited.
21. Surveillance of Recreation Waters - SurveiI lance of a 11
recognized bathing waters and other recreation waters should be con-
ducted by the appropriate Health Department offices on a routine
basis. Samples should be collected and analyzed for both total and
fecal coliforms, with frequency appropriate to the usage.
22. Boat and Vessel Pollution - Control of pollution from
commercial and pleasure craft to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence
River, inland lakes and other navigable waters should be given high
priority by the appropriate local, State and Federal agencies. This
includes the proper handling and disposal of these wastes on shore.
Long-Range Needs
1. Future Waste Treatment Needs - By the year 1985 all munic-
ipal and industrial waste treatment facilities should be achieving an
overall reduction in BOD of 90 percent or better, with comparable
reductions in suspended solids and in dissolved solids, especially
the nutrients. Industrial waste control should be so conducted as to
anticipate and prevent problems that would otherwise result from the
continuing development of new products and their associated wastes.
2. Master Planning - The results of the present comprehensive
studies and reports for collection, treatment and disposal of sewage
should be carried out. This would Include phasing out the conglomera-
tion of small inefficient treatment facilities and treating the com-
bined wastes in larger and more efficient facilities.
3. Upgrading of Stream Classification - The present State
program of reviewing existing stream classifications looking to the
upgrading of the waters should be actively pursued.
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4. Water Quality Monitoring - The cooperative I oca I-State-
Federal water quality monitoring programs should be expanded as needed
throughout the Basins.
5. Elimination of Septio Tanks - The use of septic tanks sys-
tems in urban areas should be discontinued in favor of municipal col-
lection systems. Septic tanks should be used only in estate develop-
ments and rural areas where satisfactory soil conditions exist.
6. Lakeshore Discharges - Collection systems and treatment
facilities should be provided for all developed shoreline areas where
financially feasible; otherwise approved treatment and subsurface
disposal of effluent should be provided.
Research Needs
1. Land Management Demonstration Project - The SoiI Conserva-
tion Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation
with other Federal, State and local agencies, should undertake an
intensive study of the causes contributing to the siltation and
turbidity problems of lakes and streams. A model subwatershed, such
as the Honeoye Creek watershed where soil erosion is known to be
extensive, should be selected and subjected to an in-depth investiga-
tion with the objective of demonstrating proper land management prac-
tices that can be applied throughout the Basin to effectively reduce
pollutional material in runoff.
2. Eutrophication - Research is needed in the areas of:
methods of controlling over-production of algae; techniques for
restoring eutrophic lakes; and more effective and less costly
methods for removing dissolved solids, especially those leading to
eutrophication of lakes, from wastewaters.
3. Criteria Research - Coordinated Federal and State investi-
gations should be made to refine and correlate the water quality
criteria pertinent to each water use. Areas needing further research
should be made known to universities and others engaged in fish
toxicity and other types of tolerance testing. Special attention
should be given to new studies focussing on bacterial criteria for
recreational water uses and their relationship to the health of
the swimmers.
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REFERENCES
1. A Water Pollution Control Program for the Genesee River Basin.
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Great Lakes
Region, and New York State Department of Health, 1968.
2. A Water Pollution Control Program for the Oswego River Basin.
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Great Lakes
Region, and New York State Department of Health, 1968.
3. A Water Pollution Control Program for the Black and United
States St. Lawrence River Basins. Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration, Great Lakes Region, and New York State
Department of Health, 1968.
4. A Water Pollution Control Program for the Minor Tributary Basins
of Lake Ontario. Federal Water Pollution Control Administration,
Great Lakes Region, and New York State Department of Health, 1968.
5. Water Levels of the Great Lakes, Report on Lake Regulation;
Appendix A, Hydraulics and Hydrology; U. S. Army Engineer Division,
North Central, Corps of Engineers, Chicago; December 1965.
6. Water Oriented Outdoor Recreation in the Lake Ontario Basin.
U. S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, October 1967.
7. Biological Investigations, Special Report Number LM4, Great Lakes-
lllinois River Basins Project, Federal Water Pollution Control
Administration, April 1963.
8. Neil, John H., and Owen, Glenn E., Distribution, Environmental
Requirements and Significance of Cladophora In the Great Lakes.
Proceedings, Seventh Conference on Great Lakes Research. Published
by the University of Michigan, 1964.
9. Ownbey, C. R., and Kee, D., Chlorides in Lake Erie. Proceedings,
Tenth Conference on Great Lakes Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Published by International Association for Great Lakes Research,
1967.
10. Summary Report on Water Pollution of the Niagara River, inter-
national Joint Commission, 1967.
11. Wastes from Watercraft. Report of the Department of the Interior,
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Senate Document
No. 48. August 7, 1967.
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REFERENCES (Continued)
12. Senate Document No. 97, Policies, Standards, and Procedures in
the Formulation, Evaluation, and Review of Plans for Use and
Development of Water and Related Land Resources - Supplement
No. I. The President's Water Resources Council, Washington,
D. C., Government Printing Office, 1962.
125
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