therein shall be given convenient opportunity to be heard, and the high contracting parties agree to adopt such legislation as may be appropriate and necessary to give the commission the powers above mentioned on each side of the boundary, and to provide for the issue of subpoenas and for compelling the attendance of witnesses in proceedings before the commission. The commission may adopt such rules of procedure as shall be in accordance with justice and equity, and may make such examination in person and through agents or employees as may be deemed advisable. ARTICLE 13 In all cases where special agreements between the high contracting parties hereto are referred to in the foregoing articles, such agreements are understood and intended to include not only direct agreements between the high contracting parties, but also any mutual arrangement between the United States and the Dominion of Canada expressed by concurrent or reciprocal legislation on the part of Congress and the Parliament of the Dominion. ARTICLE 14 The present treaty shall be ratified by his Britannic Majesty and by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof. The ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington as soon as possible, and the treaty shall take effect on the date of the exchange of its ratifications. It shall remain in force for five years, dating from the day of exchange of ratifications, and thereafter until terminated by 12 months' written notice given by either high contracting party to the other. In faith whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this treaty in duplicate and have hereunto affixed their seals. Done at Washington the 11th day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine. [SEAL.] [SEAL.] JAMES BRYCE. The above treaty was approved by the United States Senate on the 3d day of March, 1909, with the following resolutions: 'Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, providing for the settlement of international difference between the United States and Canada, signed on the 11th day of January, 1909. "Resolved further (as part of this ratification), That the United States approves this treaty with the understanding that nothing in this treaty shall be construed as affecting, or changing, any existing territorial, or riparian rights in the water, or rights of the owners of lands under water, on either side of the international boundary at the rapids of the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, in the use of the waters flowing over such lands, subject to the requirements of navigation in boundary waters and of navigation canals, and without prejudice to the existing right of the United States and Canada, each to use the waters of the St. Marys River, within its own territory; and further, that nothing in this treaty shall be construed to interfere with the drainage of wet, swamp, and overflowed lands into streams flowing into boundary waters, and that this interpretation will be mentioned in the ratification of this treaty as conveying the true meaning of the treaty, and will, in effect, form part of the treaty.' PROTOCOL OF EXCHANGE On proceeding to the exhange of the ratifications of the treaty signed at Washington on January 11, 1909, between Great Britain and the United States, relating to boundary waters and questions arising along the boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, hereby declare that nothing in this treaty shall be construed as affecting, or changing, any existing territorial, or riparian rights in the water, or rights of the owners of lands under water, on either side of the international boundary at the rapids of the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, in the use of the waters flowing over such lands, subject to the requirements of navigation in boundary waters and of navigation canals, and without prejudice to the existing right of the United States and Canada each to use the waters of the St. Marys River within its own territory; and further, that nothing in this treaty shall be construed to interfere with the drainage of wet, swamp, and overflowed lands into streams flowing into boundary waters, and also that this declaration shall be deemed to have equal force and effect as the treaty itself and to form an integral part thereof. The exchange of ratifications then took place in the usual form. In witness whereof, they have signed the present protocol of exchange and have affixed their seals thereto. Done at Washington this 5th day of May, 1910. [SEAL.] [SEAL.] JAMES BRYCE. LAWS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA (Legislation enacted by the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the treaty of January 11, 1909, creating the International Joint Commission] (1-2 GEORGE V) CHAP. 28. An act relating to the establishment and expenses of the International Joint Commission under the waterway treaty of January 11, 1909. (Assented to May 19, 1911.) His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: 1. The treaty relating to the boundary waters and to questions arising along the boundary between Canada and the United States made between His Majesty and the said United States, signed at Washington the 11th day of January, 1909, and the protocol of the 5th day of May, 1910, in the schedule to this act, are hereby confirmed and sanctioned. 2. The laws of Canada and of the several Provinces thereof are hereby amended and altered so as to permit, authorize, and sanction the performance of the obligations undertaken by His Majesty in and under the said treaty; and so as to sanction, confer, and impose the various rights, duties, and disabilities intended by the said treaty to be conferred or imposed or to exist within Canada. 3. Any interference with or diversion from their natural channel of any waters in Canada, which in their natural channels would flow across the boundary between Canada and the United States or into boundary waters (as defined in the said treaty) resulting in any injury on the United States side of the boundary, shall give the same rights and entitle the injured parties to the same legal remedies as if such injury took place in that part of Canada where such diversion or interference occurs; but this section shall not apply to cases existing on the 11th day of January, 1909, or to cases expressly covered by special agreement between His Majesty and the Government of the United States. 4. The Exchequer Court of Canada shall have jurisdiction at the suit of any injured party or person claiming under this act in all cases in which it is sought to enforce or determine as against any person any right or obligation arising or claimed under or by virtue of this act. 5. The International Joint Commission, when appointed and constituted pursuant to the said treaty shall have power, when holding joint sessions in Canada, to take evidence on oath and to compel the attendance of witnesses by application to a judge of a superior court of the Province within which such session is held, and such judge is hereby authorized and directed to make all orders and issue all processes necessary and appropriate to that end. RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING BRIEF STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS, BY THE ENGINEERING BOARD OF REVIEW OF THE SANITARY DISTRICT OF CHICAGO ON THE LAKE LOWERING CONTROVERSY AND A PROGRAM OF REMEDIAL MEASURES CHICAGO, ILL., December 20, 1924. The BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SANITARY DISTRICT OF CHICAGO, 910 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill. GENTLEMEN: In response to your request of September 23, 1924, the engineering board of review has studied the past procedure and the proposed future program of the Sanitary District of Chicago, and their effects upon all interests involved, and presents the following report: T INTRODUCTION 1. The Chicago Drainage Canal was authorized by the Illinois Legislature in 1889, and opened in 1900. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River, diverting Chicago's sewage from Lake Michigan; improved the city's only source of water supply; ended severe water-borne epidemics; provided one of the chief links in a waterway from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, a project long promoted by the National and State Governments; led to a remarkable development of bathing beaches, and incidentally supplied power for public needs. 2. Dilution was the best method then in use for large-scale sewage disposal, and the canal was a vital factor in Chicago's phenomenal growth. 3. The city's growth already has exceeded the limits considered when the canal was built, and the Chicago Sanitary District, after scientific research, has planned and has under construction extensive plants for the treatment of sewage by recently developed methods, at a rate to provide additions for approximately 300,000 persons each year. This program should be continued. Its cost can be reduced by the elimination of water waste, but in any event. will involve an increase in tax rates. However, a large diversion of lake water will still be required to produce satisfactory conditions. 4. The Chicago diversion has lowered the Great Lakes about 5 inches, while diversions elsewhere, improvements of outlet channels, and climatic conditions, have caused a lowering of 2 to 3 feet. Reduced lake levels have damaged navigation and harbor works. 5. Lake fluctuations can be largely eliminated and the lakes held near the highest desirable levels by works constructed near their outlets. Such works are necessary regardless of the Chicago diversion, and their cost will be but slightly affected by it. They will protect all interests involved, increase low water flow, greatly improve navigation and harbor conditions, allow more efficient use of water for power, and make possible the restoration and protection of the scenic beauty of Niagara Falls. 6. Diversion of water at Chicago is necessary for sewage disposal; it prevents gross pollution of the lake; it improves navigation in the waterways from the Great Lakes down the Illinois and Mississippi Valleys; and it makes available hydroelectric energy in a region where needed. With lake and river regulation it will confer these benefits without damage to navigation in the Great Lakes and connecting waters; without affecting navigation conditions in the St. Lawrence River; and for years without reduction of power at Niagara and along the St. Lawrence River. The board recommends RECOMMENDATIONS 7. That the district take every reasonable measure to minimize controversy and to clear up the widespread misunderstanding of the facts regarding the Chicago Drainage Canal. The board counsels fair-mindedness and avoidance of exaggeration, that the whole truth be made widely known, and that the facts be dealt with in an unbiased way by all parties. 8. That the district proceed as rapidly as is consistent with sound finance to carry out the following progressive program which substantially conforms with the district's plan: 1. Des Plaines River treatment works. 2. Calumet sewage treatment works. 3. North Side sewage treatment works. 4. Industrial wastes treatment works: (a) Corn products treatment plant; (b) stockyards and packing-town treatment plant. 5. West Side sewage treatment works. 6. Southwest Side treatment works. 7. Miscellaneous treatment plants and sewers. 8. Additional work required in connection with existing structures. It is estimated that this program will involve an expenditure of about $125,000,000. These works provide for complete treatment at the Des Plaines, Calumet, North Side, and at both industrial waste plants, and for partial treatment at the West Side and Southwest Side plants. This program should be completed by 1945, or earlier if practicable, and includes necessary extensions of these plants to that date. 9. That, following the consummation of this program, supplementary works for the complete treatment of the dry-weather sewage and a small fraction of 30114-25-VOL 2—27 the storm flow be built as may be required to maintain satisfactory conditions in the canal and rivers, and the district now adopt the policy of providing these works. Storm overflows can not be treated. 10. That the district expedite the building of plants for the treatment of industrial wastes, and that the district seek early adjustment of the equitable division of cost of the same between the sanitary district and the industries producing such wastes. 11. That the district formally request the city of Chicago to put into effect without delay a practicable program of water-waste prevention, including & water-waste survey, and the progressive installation of meters. This request should be predicated upon the needless expense to the sanitary district of providing and operating works for removing and treating an increased volume of sewage resulting from use of water in excess of reasonable requirements. 12. That funds received from the sale of bonds be expended on new construction only; that all expenditures for administration, operation, and maintenance, as well as for bond interest and bond redemption, be paid from an annual tax levy for these purposes, and that the minimum annual tax rate for the corporate purposes of the sanitary district be increased. 13. That the district continue to cooperate with all authorities interested in forwarding the Lakes-to-the-Gulf waterway, and that the district make applica tion for a permit to dredge a suitable connection between Lake Michigan and the Calumet-Sag Channel to be used for navigation and in the interest of the public health. 14. That a fair settlement of all damages caused in the Illinois River Valley by the diversion at Chicago, for which the sanitary district is responsible, should be made promptly. 15. That the district now offer to contribute its proper share of the cost of lake regulating works, to be installed in such manner as approved by the War Department. 16. That the district apply to the Federal authorities for permission to divert from Lake Michigan an annual average of 10,000 cubic feet per second of water as measured at Lockport, for sanitary and navigation purposes, until such time as a reappraisal shall indicate that the most beneficial use of the waters of the Great Lakes requires a reconsideration of the amount of such diversion. The board makes the foregoing recommendations as a result of the following findings and conclusions: MAIN DRAINAGE CANAL 17. Lake Michigan is the only practicable source of water supply for Chicago and the adjacent territory. 18. The main drainage canal of the Sanitary District of Chicago was conceived to meet the sanitary needs of Chicago, whose domestic water supply was grossly polluted by sewage from Chicago River and from sewer outlets discharging into Lake Michigan. 19. The project was provided for by an act of the Illinois Legislature in 1889, which created the sanitary district. This district is an overlying political subdivision of the State, having an area of 437.39 square miles and embracing 50 cities and villages. It has no control over the ordinary municipal activities of the city of Chicago, such as water supply, construction of ordinary sewers, etc. The main drainage canal, connecting the Chicago River with the Des PlainesIllinois River, was begun in 1892 and opened in 1900. It replaces the upper part of the old Illinois-Michigan Canal, which was completed in 1848 by the State, with the aid of the Federal Government. 20. The main drainage canal draws water from Lake Michigan by reversing the flow of the Chicago River and discharges it into the Des Plaines-Illinois River for the purpose of diluting Chicago's sewage and diverting it from the lake. In addition to this use, the water will also play an important part in the operation of the 9-foot waterway now under construction from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. 21. The maximum capacity of the main drainage canal was determined largely by the necessity that it should carry at least 10,000 cubic feet per second, to prevent the flood flow resulting from occasional heavy rainfalls over the Chicago River drainage area from flushing sewage and accumulated sewage deposits into the lake. 22. The Illinois Legislature made mandatory that the sewage entering Chicago River should be diluted with at least 3% cubic feet of water per second per 1,000 population. The channel was therefore intended to serve a population of not more than 3,000,000. 23. The War Department claims that it has allowed a diversion of 4,167 cubic feet per second only. The reason for restricting the flow to this quantity was to avoid currents causing interference with navigation in Chicago River as it then existed. 24. For this reason the Chicago River has since been widened and deepened by the sanitary district in accordance with plans approved by the War Department, and a flow gradually icreasing in recent years to an average of about 9,000 cubic feet per second, including sewage, has been diverted from Lake Michigan in an effort to furnish the dilution prescribed by the Illinois State law. Permission for any diversion through the Chicago River of more than 4,167 cubic feet per second has been refused by the Secretary of War. 25. Flows in the main drainage canal, hereinafter mentioned, are referred to as flows at Lockport, and include sewage and the natural runoff from the Chicago River drainage area and a part of that from the Calumet. In 1924, of a total average flow during the first 10 months of 9,660 cubic feet per second, the sewage amounted to 1,200 cubic feet per second, leaving 8,460 cubic feet per second made up mainly of lake water. 26. To decrease the pollution of the lake from the Calumet District, an additional canal was constructed from Little Calumet River to the main drainage canal at Sag. Application was made to the Secretary of War for a permit to divert 4,000 cubic feet per second of lake water through this Calumet-Sag Channel. The permit was denied. SEWAGE DISPOSAL 27. The plan for sanitary improvements authorized in 1889 and executed at a capital cost to date of approximately $100,000,000 was not only sound but the best that could have been devised. It has been a success. The typhoid fever death rate has been reduced from a maximum of 174 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1891 to less than 2 per 100,000 in 1917; since then it has remained consistently below 2, with an average of less than 1.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. 28. Shortly after the main drainage canal was opened it was realized from the phenomenal rate of growth of the population and industries of Chicago that the diluting capacity of the canal would soon be overtaxed. As early as 1908 extensive investigations were begun by the district with the view of supplementing such dilution by sewage treatment. 29. The war delayed matters, but as a result of these investigations a plan involving an expenditure of about $125,000,000 was developed in 1919. In consequence, in 1921, an act of the Illinois Legislature was passed providing for the extensive treatment of the sewage. 30. This act makes obligatory, beginning with 1925, the construction each year of additional treatment works sufficient to care for a population of not less than 300,000, until provision shall have been made for at least 60 per cent of the 1921 population, or for a total of approximately 1,800,000. 31. The population within the sanitary district is now 3,300,000, the sewage from which, together with that from the stockyards, packing houses, and other large industrial plants, is equivalent to that from a population of 4,800,000. At the minimum rate of dilution prescribed by the Illinois State law the flow required through the main drainage canal at Lockport would be 11,000 cubic feet per second for the actual population and 16,000 for the equivalent population. From the State of Indiana, the sewage and industrial wastes of a rapidly increasing population, numbering at present about 170,000 people, reach the drainage canal from the Calumet River drainage area. 32. Sewage disposal by dilution continues to be good practice within the limitations of available volume of water. In recent years practicable artificial methods of sewage treatment have been developed, which are capable of purifying to a high degree large volumes of sewage. At present a number of treatment plants have already been built or are under construction by the sanitary district of Chicago, which, when completed in the next two or three years, will treat the sewage of more than 1,000,000 people. No other city in the United States is treating the sewage of so large a population. 33. The district's present program, subject to modifications set forth in the detailed report, should be completed as rapidly as financial conditions permit, and thereafter an additional program should be begun involving a further expenditure of at least $35,000,000 to provide complete treatment of the dryweather sewage. |