32 DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISHERIES No. 9 



Pollution 



During the year studies were carried out on suspected polluted stream or 

 lake areas at the following centres: Sarnia, Chatham, Bridgeport, Burlington 

 bay, Bridgeburg, Lindsay, Peterborough, Midland, Huntsville, Sturgeon Falls, 

 Timiskaming, Haileybury, Timmins, Iroquois Falls, Smooth Rock Falls, 

 Kapuskasing, Sault Ste. Marie, and Kenora. 



In these studies standardized field methods were used for the purpose of 

 satisfactory comparisons. The studies included determinations in lineal series 

 above and below the source of suspected pollution, as follows: Water analyses,^ 

 for dissolved oxygen (Nessler's method); dissolved carbon dioxide; alkalinity; 

 total acidity; pH (Standard Colorimetric Method); plankton, qualitatively and 

 quantitatively, using the Juday plankton net; bottom fauna, using the Ekmann 

 dredge; character of the aquatic plants, emergent and submerged types; the fish 

 present in the various zones chosen for study, obtained by use of suitable gill 

 nets, seines, or dip nets. 



The conclusions from the investigations may be briefly summed up as 

 follows : 



1. Water samples taken from four waters suspected of being polluted showed 

 severe oxygen reduction, six showed slight oxygen reduction, and seven showed 

 no oxygen reduction. 



2. In one case the pH showed an extreme lowering to the acid side of 

 neutrality. 



3. Pollution planktonts such as certain infusoria, namely, Paramoecium, 

 Colpidium, Carchesium, and Vorticella, and the amoeboid protozoan Difflugia, 

 and the flagellate Euglena viridis, were not present excepting in one instance, 

 at Iroquois Falls, where Vorticella occurs frequently in pulp and bark polluted 

 waters The amoeboid protozoan, Arcella vulgaris, was also found frequently 

 in this instance. The latter is usually found on bottom sediments or ad- 

 hering to decomposing plants.^ 



Plankton studies in the waters of the Winnipeg river by Mr. R. A. McKenzie, 

 formerly Field Investigator for the Department of Game and Fisheries, appear to 

 show some relationship between plankton and the amount of waste matter, 

 qualitatively and quantitatively. The same condition appears to hold for the 

 waters examined at Iroquois Falls. 



The rotifer Anuraea considered by Purdy^ to be a clean water organism was 

 found in every case where the plankton was examined. 



4. The presence or absence of bottom organisms appears to be the best 

 general index of pollution or contamination. Chironomus plumosus and Ascellus 

 sp., forms tolerant to a reduced oxygen supply, occurred in three instances. 



5. Vegetation was definitely discoloured or killed in eight instances. 



6. Fish were killed in two instances, namely, carp at Bridgeburg and suckers, 

 bass, and catfish at Bridgeport. 



7. Where definite steps had not been taken by industrial plants to remedy 

 existing pollution, practical recommendations were suggested. It would appear 

 that one solution for controlling wastes of organic, chemical, or mechanical 

 types is the economical utilization of the wastes by the industries concerned. 



lA Kem merer water bottle was used for collecting water samples below surface depths. 



2W. C. Purdy, "A Study of the Pollution and Natural Purification of the Ohio River — 1. 

 The Plankton and Related Organisms," Washington Government Printing Office, 1923; and 

 "Investigation of the Pollution and Sanitary Conditions of the Potomac Watershed — Plankton 

 Studies," by W. C. Purdy, Hygienic Laboratory, Bulletin No. 104. 



30p. cit. 



