TABLE 7.-Water needed for dilution of sewage 1923 to 1945, during construction of treatment plants Corn Products treatment plant, completed 1927; North Side treatment plant, completed 1928. Stockyards treatment plant, completed 1932. West Side treatment plant (sedimentation tanks), completed 1940. The amounts shown in column 10 of the table indicate quite clearly that if the treatment program is adhered to it will be possible to reduce the diversion to 4,500 cubic feet per second by 1945 without materially changing conditions in the Illinois River as regards oxidization of organic compounds and pollution of the water. As far as this phase of the subject is concerned a permit to divert 8,500 cubic feet per second until 1930, 7,500 cubic feet per second from 1930 to 1935, and 6,000 cubic feet per second from 1935 to 1945, when the diversion would be reduced to 5,000 second-feet would more than fulfill requirements. As far as the sanitary district is concerned the program they propose to follow will impose a rather heavy burden upon their financial resources, if the program is carried to completion within the time specified. Their officials have submitted a schedule of estimated receipts and expenditures (Table 3, p. 21) which has been studied carefully and which is agreed to in general. It would be possible for the State to authorize additional taxing or bonding power, but, as will be seen, the revenues are ample as far as the program to be recommended is concerned. If the city of Chicago undertakes to make certain changes with respect to its water supply it will be possible to so cheapen the cost of the sewage-treatment works as to permit their completion by 1940 without any material changes in the financial program. CHANGES IN WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM In considering the questions involved in the controversy with respect to diversion of water from Lake Michigan it must be remembered that the sanitary district organization is not a sovereign body. Its powers all come from the State of Illinois, which brought it into existence in the year 1889 by passing the so-called sanitary district act. Subsequent acts of the State legislature have enlarged upon the powers of the sanitary district trustees, but at best their authority and activities are quite limited. It would be much better to consider the controversy as existing between the Government of the United States and that of the State of Illinois. The latter sovereignty has power to alter some of the conditions which restrict the activities of the sanitary district and which put it in a position where it can say it is powerless to proceed. The Sanitary District of Chicago was originated for just one purpose, i. e., to dispose of the sewage of the city of Chicago and its environs so as to protect its water supply from pollution. Unquestionably the city of Chicago has been the real beneficiary, for while the area and activities of the sanitary district have extended beyond the city limits over 90 per cent of the population benefited reside within the city. But the sanitary district has no control over the citizens of the city other than to levy certain taxes. It can not require the city to execute certain work, abate nuisances or otherwise. On the other hand, the city can not bind the sanitary district. The city of Chicago is a municipality created under the general laws of the State. It differs from the sanitary district in that its authority covers many more activities, but it is subject to the same higher authority, and consequently should be dealt with through the same agency where matters of such national importance as that of the diversion of water from Lake Michigan are concerned. In view of the fact that these two municipalities have no control over one another and in certain affairs do not appear to desire to assist each other, it is believed proper to consider this quarrel, if such it might be called, to exist between the State of Illinois and the Federal Government, and to look to the State to require its "children" to act for the best interests of the entire community. This general prefacing has been more or less necessary to lead up to a consideration of the question of filtering and metering the water supply of the city of Chicago. This is a question over which the sanitary district has no control whatsoever. The inception of the work and its execution are prerogatives of the government of the city of Chicago, and for various reasons it has seen fit to avoid the issue. But rehabilitation of the water-supply system of the city is as much a point of issue in this question as is the treatment of sewage. From the viewpoint of national economy, which is the only proper one to take in a controversy of this nature, the Federal Government can not recognize the petty political strifes which interfere with a sound solution of the entire question. For these reasons the water-supply system should be given a thorough study, and if changes can be effected which will materially hasten the completion of the program of sewage treatment the State of Illinois should see that the city of Chicago makes them. Without going into details it might be stated that the present average consumption of water in the city of Chicago is 800,000,000 gallons per day, or about 1,200 cubic feet per second. The per capita consumption is about 275 gallons per day. Chicago pumps more water than is supplied to Greater New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Newark combined, although the total population served in these four cities is nearly 7,500,000. Water is now furnished to about 325,000 premises, of which only 10 per cent are metered. About six years ago the bureau of public efficiency of the city of Chicago made a study of the Chicago waterworks with a view to promoting efficiency. Their findings were in favor of universal metering and predicted great economies as a result. The Western Society of Engineers, a technical organization whose membership is largely composed of Chicagoans, has made a careful study of the effect of metering the water supply of the city. On May 21, 1923, the board of directors of the society approved certain resolutions of its public affairs committee which embodied a statement to the effect that metering the water supply of the city would reduce the daily per capita consumption to about 125 gallons and would result in a saving in the construction of new plant of $88,000,000 in the next 25 years and a saving of operation costs of $145,000,000 in the same period. The present commissioner of public works is an ardent supporter of reduction of water waste by a system of universal metering and has estimated that the consumption of water would be reduced to onehalf of its present size as a result. That metering would result in a material reduction in water waste is evident from what has been accomplished in other cities whose conditions are not uncomparable to those at Chicago. A number of years ago when Milwaukee started the installation of meters the consumption of water per service was about 2,250 gallons per day. This has been reduced until at the present time the consumption per service is about 800 gallons per day. At Cleveland, before the introduction of meters, the per capita consumption was 170 gallons per day. This was reduced to slightly less than 100 gallons per day by the adoption of universal metering. If the water consumption of the city of Chicago is reduced by over one-half of what it is at the present time the amount of sewage will likewise be reduced, though not in the same ratio. It is significant that while the water consumption averages 275 gallons per capita per day the sewage production is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 289 gallons per capita per day. However, not all of the water supply gets to the sewers. Part of it escapes into the ground through leaks in the mains, a great deal is used for lawn and park sprinkling, and some is used up in fighting fires. A fair estimate of the amount which escapes and does not eventually return to the sewers would be about 100 gallons per capita per day, so that of the 289 gallons of sewage produced not over 200 might be presumed to come from the water supply. Metering the water supply would reduce the per capita consumption to about 125 gallons per day and would probably reduce the amount of sewage to 200 gallons per capita per day. The engineers for the sanitary district estimate that the reduction in the amount of sewage will reduce the cost of projects not under way by 25 per cent. If meters were installed within the next five years the saving of 25 per cent would apply to the treatment projects on the North Side, the West Side, and the Southwest Side. The saving realized would be about $16,000,000. If not installed until 1928 the immediate saving would not apply to the North Side plant and would be decreased to about $11,000,000. Ultimately the saving would apply to all plants, as the life of each would be prolonged by the additional capacity provided. Operation costs would be decreased by about $2,000,000 a year when the plants were completed and by a smaller sum before that time. Taking into consideration the saving in first costs of the plants on the West Side and Southwest Side only, and the saving in operation costs after 1928, the date set for the completion of the North Side plant, it is safe to say that by 1940 the economy effected would total at least $20,000,000. As the construction program of the sanitary district calls for the expenditure of $18,330,000 between 1940 and 1945, it will be entirely possible to do this work between 1935 and 1940 without any greater expenditure of funds if metering of the water supply is completed by 1928. PROTECTION OF WATER SUPPLY FROM POLLUTION It was explained in Part IV how under existing conditions it was necessary that a certain minimum flow be maintained away from the lake to prevent the river reversing its flow and discharging its sewageladen water into the source of water supply. With a flow of 8,000 cubic feet per second maintained at all times and with proper vigilance on the part of the employees of the sanitary district it is believed that the largest storms may be anticipated sufficiently to allow time to increase the flow to keep the floods out of the lake. But if the diversion were reduced to 6,000 cubic feet per second this would not be possible. The difference is too great to be made up in the available time so that even though the flow were increased as rapidly as possible it could hardly be made to exceed 8,000 cubic feet per second before a large flood reached its crest. Under these conditions, unless control gates were provided, the river would probably flow out into the lake some three or four times a year. Such a flow would not last more than six to eight hours for the discharge through the drainage canal and could be increased rapidly enough to carry off the flood after the elapse of that much time. While the effect could not be widespread the water supply might be sufficiently contaminated to be dangerous unless it were filtered. The simplest means of meeting such emergencies would be to construct a movable dam or gate at the mouth of the Chicago River. Wherever located it would be but a slight obstacle to navigation, for it would not have to be closed for more than eight hours at a time and not more than four or five times a year. The head on the gate would not be great so no serious or difficult engineering problems would be involved. The closing of the gate should be subject to the control of the district enginner, or his accredited representative during his absence, and should be permitted only as long as necessary to reestablish a flow toward Lockport. The ultimate solution will be to filter the water supply of the city. The economies resulting from universal metering will pay for filtering, and when that is done there is no reason why the discharge through the drainage canal could not be safely decreased to a very low limit, as far as protection of water supply is concerned, for the damages attending the reversal of flow of the river would be entirely eliminated. For these reasons it is not believed unreasonable in the dealings considered to be between the Federal Government and the State of Illinois for the former to insist on a reduction of flow to 6,000 cubic feet per second by 1935 and to 5,000 cubic feet per second by 1940 as far as the protection of the health of the community is concerned. The remedies are within the power of the State to apply, they are entirely feasible, and best of all will prove of utmost benefit and economy to the community. RESTORATION OF LAKE LEVELS For several years the officials of the Sanitary District of Chicago have been agitating the acceptance of an offer of theirs to defray the cost of construction of works intended to restore the levels of the Lakes to the extent lowered by the diversion at Chicago. It is believed that the offer has been made in good faith. Those proposed |