104 ORTMANN— THE DESTRUCTION OF [April 23. 



5. The Allegheny Drainage. 



(a) The lozver Allegheny, from Oil City and Franklin {Yenango 

 County) dowmvard, is first badly polluted, then it improves, and is 

 again polluted to a very considerable degree. The chief source of 

 pollution are the oil refineries at Oil City and Franklin. The injurious 

 substances discharged into the river at these two places are simply 

 amazing, and render the river entirely unfit for life; for thirty miles 

 and more below there is not a mussel, not a crawfish, nor a fish able 

 to live in this water. Then a gradual improvement begins in south- 

 ern Venango County (pond snails, Physa and Goniobasis are pres- 

 ent, also crawfishes begin to appear), and in northern Armstrong 

 County conditions become almost normal. In spite of some addi- 

 tional pollution going into the river at Kittanning and Ford City 

 (china factories), the good condition continues down to the point 

 where the Kiskiminetas River discharges its mine water into the 

 Allegheny from the left side. This destroys life on the left banks 

 of the Allegheny, but conditions continue favorable on the right 

 banks into Allegheny County, till we reach Natrona and Tarentum. 

 Here additional pollution comes in in the shape of salt water (salt 

 works at Natrona) and the refuse of various mills, and this goes 

 on all along the river down to where it unites with the Monongahela 

 at Pittsburgh. Here the Allegheny is utterly polluted, and we have 

 here possibly the greatest variety of pollution of any of the streams 

 in the state.'^ 



(b) The Smaller Tributaries of the Lozver Allegheny River. — 

 Of the following smaller tributaries of the lower Allegheny, the 

 condition is known to the writer. On the right side, Pine Creek, 

 in Allegheny County, is polluted more or less, chiefly by oil wells, 

 but its headwaters are in a fair condition. Deer Creek and Bull 

 Creek are rather good. Buffalo Creek, running along the boundary 

 line of Butler and Armstrong Counties, is in very good condition, 

 and contains an abundance of life. On the left side is Puketta 

 Creek, forming the boundary of Allegheny and Westmoreland 

 Counties, which also is in rather good condition. 



{c) The Kiskiminetas Drainage. — As has been stated above, the 



' See Leighton, M. O., /. c, p. 122. 



