﻿522 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  every 
  street, 
  and 
  a 
  vastly 
  important 
  question 
  is 
  raised 
  not 
  only 
  

   as 
  to 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  supply, 
  but 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  sewage 
  dis- 
  

   posal. 
  

  

  With 
  an 
  ample 
  upland 
  water 
  supply 
  for 
  the 
  entire 
  State 
  

   assured, 
  we 
  may 
  consider 
  a 
  little 
  further 
  the 
  most 
  practicable 
  

   form 
  of 
  sewage 
  disposal 
  to 
  be 
  applied 
  in 
  New 
  York. 
  The 
  ma- 
  

   jority 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  are 
  already 
  so 
  far 
  contaminated 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  

   their 
  use 
  for 
  water 
  supplies 
  undesirable, 
  the 
  more 
  especially 
  as 
  

   it 
  is 
  entirely 
  practicable 
  to 
  obtain 
  uncontaminated 
  upland 
  

   sources 
  of 
  water 
  supply 
  without 
  prohibitive 
  expense. 
  In 
  many 
  

   cases, 
  several 
  towns 
  will 
  join 
  together 
  for 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  a 
  

   conduit 
  and 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  harmonize 
  the 
  various 
  interests, 
  a 
  State 
  

   commission 
  should 
  take 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  construction. 
  

  

  The 
  writer 
  fancies 
  that 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  purification 
  of 
  sewage 
  by 
  

   dilution 
  will 
  be 
  sufficiently 
  effective 
  even 
  when 
  the 
  population 
  

   of 
  the 
  State 
  shall 
  have 
  reached 
  20,000,000, 
  and 
  in 
  other 
  cases, 
  some 
  

   different 
  form 
  of 
  purification 
  may 
  be 
  used. 
  For 
  satisfactory 
  

   results 
  by 
  dilution, 
  there 
  should 
  be 
  in 
  the 
  stream 
  about 
  4 
  cubic 
  

   feet 
  per 
  second 
  for 
  every 
  1000 
  of 
  the 
  population. 
  For 
  Mohawk 
  

   river, 
  when 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  reaches 
  1,000,000, 
  this 
  

   would 
  mean 
  a 
  flow 
  in 
  the 
  stream 
  of 
  4000' 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second. 
  

  

  The 
  minimum 
  flow 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  is 
  for 
  short 
  periods 
  

   occasionally 
  as 
  low 
  as 
  0.1 
  cubic 
  foot 
  per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile, 
  

   although 
  such 
  flows 
  continue 
  for 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  and 
  would 
  

   hardly 
  apply 
  in 
  discussing 
  sewage 
  disposal. 
  1 
  For 
  present 
  pur- 
  

   poses, 
  we 
  may 
  take 
  the 
  low 
  water 
  flow 
  at 
  from 
  0.25 
  to 
  0.3 
  cubic 
  

   foot 
  per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile, 
  or 
  at 
  about 
  1000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  

   second 
  for 
  the 
  flow 
  of 
  Mohawk 
  river 
  at 
  its 
  mouth. 
  The 
  balance 
  

   of 
  the 
  4000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second 
  must 
  be 
  furnished 
  by 
  storage, 
  

   which 
  will 
  again 
  provide 
  the 
  water 
  power 
  for 
  driving 
  a 
  consider- 
  

   able 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  manufacturing 
  establishments 
  of 
  the 
  valley. 
  

   3000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second 
  furnished 
  from 
  storage 
  is 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  

   can 
  be 
  practically 
  developed. 
  Hence, 
  when 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  

   Mohawk 
  valley 
  reaches 
  about 
  1,000,000 
  some 
  other 
  plan 
  must 
  be 
  

   adopted, 
  but 
  up 
  to 
  that 
  point, 
  the 
  writer 
  considers 
  that 
  the 
  pref- 
  

   erable 
  plan 
  is 
  to 
  go 
  to 
  the 
  neighboring 
  highlands 
  for 
  uncontam- 
  

  

  1 
  For 
  minimum 
  flows 
  of 
  Mohawk 
  river 
  in 
  detail, 
  see 
  tables 
  on 
  pages 
  406-10. 
  

   together 
  with 
  statements 
  on 
  pages 
  508-9. 
  

  

  