112 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



I trust that the foregoing will serve your purpose as a preliminary report and as 

 a guide to further investigation if such is desired. 



I send you herewith a copy of my notes of statements made hy the various per- 

 sons whom I examined systematically, together with bottles of the waste from 

 the two gas works at Terre Haute and a small package of the tarry deposit from a 

 barge in the river there. This barge had been cleaned off within a month, and a 

 deposit of the thickness sent you had collected there since that time. 



Following is the report of Professor Talbot : 



In accordance with your instructions to make an investigation with respect to 

 the amount of waste matter deleterious to fishes which empties into the Wabash 

 River from the oil wells and gas works at Terre Haute, Ind., and to report vrponthe 

 same with recommendations relative to the proper disposition of said refuse, I have 

 the honor to report that I spent July 5 and 6 in Terre Haute, returning July 7, and 

 that the amount and condition of the wastes at the oil wells, the fuel gas works, and 

 the gaslight works are as follows : 



1. Oil wells. — Only three wells produce oil. These are controlled by the Guarantee 

 Oil and Gas Company. The oil is pumped into wooden tanks, where the process of 

 steaming and subsidence separates the oil from the water and its impurities. The 

 water is of limestone origin, and its impurities are much the same as those from the 

 artesian wells in the locality. As much of these impurities as may properly be dis- 

 charged into the sewer either settle in the river or at once mingle and diffuse with 

 the water within a short distance of the mouth of the sewer, it is probable that 

 their effect upon the fishes is comparatively small and not worth considering. It is 

 the escaping oil and tarry matter which is to be avoided. 



The product of two of the wells contains but little water. The third, however, 

 discharges twenty times as much water as oil. At the time of my visit this third 

 well, located near the Phoenix Foundry, was undergoing repairs, and the overflowing 

 water and oil Avere flowing through an open ditch to the sewer, no effort being made 

 to prevent the waste. While the flow of water may have been augmented somewhat 

 by the increased amount of ground water due to the change of casing, the flow was 

 probably less than during the process of pumping. I made weir measurements of 

 the discharge, and calculate that the flow was at the rate of 0.0189 cubic feet per 

 second, equal to about 12,200 gallons per 24 hours, or, say, 240 barrels iu 24 hours. 

 Of this I estimate that about 5 per cent is oil, perhaps 12 barrels per 24 hours. 



Mr. Reynolds, the general manager of the Guarantee Oil and Gas Company, stated 

 that this is the first time that repairs of this kind have been made to this well, and 

 intimated that this is a very infrequent occurrence, adding that considerations of 

 economy prevent the waste of oil. 



The other wells were being pumped and the whole product was received in the 

 tanks. There was visible evidence that there had been waste into the sewer, and 

 testimony taken shows that not infrequently there is leakage and waste of a few 

 barrels of oil, which is allowed to flow into the sewer. It was even stated that at 

 times when it was inconvenient to tank the oil the whole flow of the wells passed 

 into the sewer. 



Of the amount of oil which escapes with the " B. S." at the time of the discharge 

 of that waste I have no means of ascertaining. Judging from the means of separation 

 and the care taken in the operation, there is considerably more than is necessary. 

 The amount of this oil reaching the sewer probably would not usually be more than 

 a barrel a day. There must, however, be times when the waste is considerably 

 greater than this. 



2. Fuel-gas works. — The second source of pollution is the works of the Citizens' 

 Gas and Fuel Company, which uses oil in the manufacture of its gas. The overflow 

 from the tar barrel and the washings from the "scrubber" are caught in a tank, 

 from which, after the tar and oil are roughly separated by subsidence, the waste 

 flows into the sewer. Owing to inadequate facilities for subsidence and to careless- 



