r^^5^. 



^f^i 



Dark pattern af pollution^ caused by pumping waste materials into stream, 



dearly shows of this wood products plant on the Sacramento River near 



Anfioch. 



(Fish and Game Photo) 



discharges in Southern California and San Francisco 

 Bay. A4uch more worlv is needed to evaluate the 

 effects of these outfalls before a definite assessment 

 of damage to fisii and aquatic life can be made. 



New Industries Cooperating 



One bright spot has been the attitude of the new 

 industries moving into California. In general they rec- 

 ognize their responsibilities and it is much easier to 

 solve a pollution problem before it starts, than to 

 try to correct a condition that has existed for many 

 years. 



During this biennium two large industries have re- 

 tained consulting biologists to make a complete evalu- 

 ation of the conditions of the receiving waters before 

 new plants are constructed. In both cases— a Dupont 

 chemical plant at Antioch and a Diamond Match 

 wood products and molded pulp plant at Red Bluff- 

 waste disposal facilities were designed to eliminate any 

 possible hazard to fish and aquatic life before opera- 

 tions started. 



MINING POLLUTION 



One continuing problem that has come up again 

 in this biennium is the pollution of the upper Sacra- 

 mento River by copper and zinc during periods 

 when the Sacramento River flow below Shasta Dam 

 was too low to afford sufficient dilution for the toxic 

 water from Spring Creek during periods of high rain- 

 off. A4ost of the pollution comes from old abandoned 

 mines in the area northwest of Redding. A consider- 

 able number of salmon and steelhead fingerlings were 

 killed in the spring of 1955, marking the third time 

 in the department's knowledge this has happened 

 since Shasta Dam was constructed in 1940. 



As a result, the Legislature appropriated f 20,000 

 to the Central Valley Regional Water Pollution Con- 

 trol Board for a study of the problem to determine 

 whether there is a feasible solution. 



Biologists from the Philadelphia Academy of Sci- 

 ences were retained to study the problem. They found 

 that Spring Creek is the main source of pollution and 

 that conditions were w orse than had been suspected. 



The Regional Pollution Control Board has retained 

 a consulting engineering firm to seek a feasible solu- 

 tion. One possibility is the construction of a dam 

 to hold back the waters of Spring Creek during the 

 period of greatest toxicity. The engineers' report has 

 not been completed as yet. 



SAMPLING PROGRAM 



For some time the department and the State Water 

 Pollution Control Board have been interested in the 

 possibility of establishing a routine biological sampling 

 program to secure background data on streams that 

 may be affected by waste discharges. 



Drs. Usinger and Needham of the University of 

 California headed a research project to estimate the 

 cost of a program which would produce significant 

 data. Their report showed that an excessive number 

 of samples would be required to provide significant 

 information on total number of bottom organisms. On 

 the basis of this study, it was concluded that costs 

 of the biological sampling programs that had been 

 proposed would be too high for the results that 

 would be obtained. 



This was a case where an expenditure of S5,000 

 for a research project demonstrated that the pro- 

 gram, which would have cost perhaps $30,000 per 

 year, was not feasible. 



It was always been difficult for the conservation 

 agencies to secure recognition of the importance of 

 fish and aquatic life particularly in those cases where 

 a relatively large expenditure is necessary to provide 

 the waste treatment facilities needed to protect rec- 

 reational uses. 



SEWAGE DISPOSAL POSITION 



A recurrent problem during this biennium has been 

 the desire to dedicate certain waters solely for the 

 disposal of sewage and industrial wastes. The depart- 

 ment has continually taken the position that a firm 

 dedication of waters for waste disposal is not realistic 

 in California. Future demands for fishing and recrea- 

 tion will make it necessary to use all the available 

 waters for these purposes. 



It is unfortunate that the waters around populated 

 areas which are potentially the most valuable for rec- 

 reation are the ones most affected by sewage and 

 industrial waste discharges. It is extremely difficult if 

 not impossible to upgrade any area once it has been 

 dedicated for waste disposal. 



During this biennium more than 500 applications 

 for waste discharge were filed with the Regional Pol- 

 lution Control Boards. All of these were investigated 

 by the department and recommendations submitted 

 for the protection of fish and wildlife to the regional 

 boards in all necessary cases. In virtually all cases the 

 regional boards accepted the recommendations of the 

 department. 



