REPORT. MR. PRESIDENT: Your Committee on Fish and Game, to whom was referred the memorial from the Legislature of the State of Nevada, relative to the depositing of sawdust in the Truckee River by residents of the the State of California, respectfully submit the following report: That in conjunction with the Assembly Committee they visited Truckee and Reno. At Truckee they were met by a delegation from the Nevada Legislature. A joint meeting was held, Senator Jones of this State presiding. Three reasons were submitted to your committee why the further depositing of sawdust in the Truckee River should be stopped, viz.: First-Its presence in the river tends to destroy trout and food fish. Second-It is conveyed by the waters of the river through almost the entire length of the State of Nevada, and through ditches and canals used for irrigating purposes upon valuable farming and grazing lands and spreading over the surface thereof, tends to render them almost valueless and unavailable for agricultural purposes. Third-It renders the water of the river unfit for drinking and domestic purposes, particularly in the summer months, and sickness and death has resulted to the people of Nevada from its use. At Truckee testimony was taken principally upon the amount and character of the sawdust deposited in the river, and its injury to the fish. The testimony showed that forty million feet of lumber was cut annually, in the cutting of which is produced about seven million feet of sawdust, which passes into the river. Above the mills, on the river, and up as far as Lake Tahoe, an abundance of fish are found, while below they are scarce. It was developed in the testimony taken that the most serious cause of complaint was the injury to the health of the people of Reno and vicinity, caused from the use of the water of the Truckee River, which is their principal source of supply for domestic purposes. At the urgent invitation of the Nevada delegation your committee visited Reno for the purpose of hearing the statements of the leading physicians and prominent citizens of that place. Upon our arrival at the last named place, a meeting was immediately called, and addresses were made as follows: R. H. Lindsay, a leading attorney of Reno, said: All that the people of Nevada ask for is simply justice from the State of California, and thus stay the hand of death that is daily taking away our little children. It is absurd to say that the depositing of sawdust in our river does not deteriorate its quality. Our physicians are here. to-night and will state to you that the depositing of it in the water makes it impure and unhealthy. I call attention to the dreadful disease of typhoid fever which afflicted during the past summer the inmates of Bishop Whittaker's seminary. The conclusions formed by our physicians as to the cause of this affliction, comes from the water. There are numbers now down with sickness, the cause of which is traced to the same cause, viz.: the impurity of the water caused from sawdust deposits. A person standing on our river bridge can notice these deposits in the bed of the Truckee River. On the whole line of the stream, from the mills to its mouth, can be found the deposits of sawdust. Upon the broad ground of humanity, for the protection of our homes, and the lives of our people, comprising a community of between four and five thousand, we ask legislative protection from this evil." Mr. Lindsay was followed by Judge W. W. Boardman, who said: "I cannot give all the data and all the terrible results produced by this sawdust evil. We claim that we are entitled to the purity of the water; anything done to make the water impure is an evil which we think we have a right to complain about. In my judgment, the running of sawdust into the Truckee River has rendered the water unfit for domestic purposes— so much so that the Nevada Legislature is now contemplating and considering a proposition to obtain a new supply for the State institutions at Reno." The following statements were made by leading physicians of Reno, the first called being Dr. Bergstine, a graduate of the University of the Pacific, who said: The matter of sawdust in the Truckee River affects us as follows: It is a fact that the decomposition of vegetable matter in water is a great producer of disease. The decomposition of the sawdust in the Truckee River, in my mind, is a source from which disease is produced. Large numbers of dead fish have been found at various times in the Truckee River. The sawdust settles in the gills of the fish which causes their death. At various places along the bed of the Truckee the deposit of sawdust is from three to four feet deep. The cause of the fever epidemic among our people last summer, in my judgment, came from the impure water caused by the sawdust deposits in the river." In reply to a question by Senator Jones, as to whether he had ever made any chemical analysis of the water, the doctor said: "I have not, but my judgment in this matter is from observations. I notice that people about Reno who used well water were not afflicted by the epidemic, although surrounded by more favorable causes of disease, while the people surrounded by the best health regulations, and most favorably located, who use the river water, have been afflicted by the epidemic." In answer to a question by Assemblyman McGowan, regarding impure waters, he stated: "It is an acknowledged fact that impure water is one of the most serious causes of disease. I know of nothing in the sawdust itself that would make water impure. It is the decomposition of the sawdust in the water that makes it impure and breeds disease." Dr. Dawson, a graduate of the Medical University of California, said: “During the past year, and for several years past, we have noticed that the water from the river was impure. Many of our families have abandoned the river water, and are now using well water for domestic purposes. An epidemic broke out in Bishop Whittaker's seminary, and I made a personal examination of the sewers, water-closets, sinks, and every place about the institution, to discover the cause of the epidemic. As a result of my examination, I came to the conclusion that it was the water; I noticed a peculiar odor about the water; I left a glass of water to settle over night, and in the morning I discovered sediment in the bottom of the glass. The deposits of sawdust in the bed of the river during the summer months ferments and gives off a slimy substance, which contaminates the water, and even renders the atmosphere impure, which, in my judgment, is the cause of disease. "I have practiced in Reno since the year 1875, and my observations dur ing these years of practice leads me to the conclusion, beyond any doubt, that this is the cause of disease among our people. "The water taken from the river opposite the town is noticed to be the same as the water taken from the reservoir. They both give off an offensive smell. As the water lowers in the river, and the warm weather comes on, the water becomes more impure and offensive to the smell." Dr. S. Bishop, a graduate of the Physio-Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, said: "In 1864, a gallon of water of the Truckee River showed but twentyfour grains of impurities. This was considered pure water. It is different now. It is admitted that impure water is a cause of disease. Before sawdust commenced to be deposited in the river, we had no typhoid fever. The disease has become and is becoming more frequent every year. I am satisfied that the sawdust renders the water impure, and has been and is the cause of disease." Dr. Lewis, of Long Island (N. Y.) Medical College, said: "In the first years of my practice here, there was little or no fever. It has become more frequent every year. When the disease first commenced to afflict our people we laid the trouble to other causes, but we have been forced to the conclusion that the water rendered impure from the sawdust is the main cause of the disease." C. C. Powning, United States Surveyor-General of Nevada, said: "We ask that a few mill men be prevented from contaminating the main and largest river of Nevada. We have repeatedly urged and petitioned the California Legislature to take some action, and they have as yet failed to notice our petitions. In the bed of the river from Lake Tahoe to Truckee there is no sawdust, but from Truckee to Reno and to Pyramid Lake there is a continual deposit from one to three feet of sawdust. We ask that the matter be not delayed longer." Attorney-General Alexander of Nevada, said : "This is a friendly conference. We meet to abate, if possible, the trouble between Nevada and California on a friendly basis. The question is whether four or five men running mills on the Truckee River can impair the health of the people of Nevada? Will not the people of California require these men to so use their property as to not interfere with the neighbors of your State. Because these mill men claim that it is convenient for them to deposit the sawdust in the river, will you acknowledge that as an excuse or reason why they can render our water impure? We ask that the Truckee River shall be allowed to run unimpaired from its source to its mouth, and we ask you to acknowledge that the water of this river is as much ours as yours.' After listening to the statements made from the above named gentlemen and a number of others whose statements were all corroberative, your committee cannot come to any other conclusion than that our sister State has cause for grievance, and we believe it is the duty of the Legislature of California to pass such laws as will give relief to the citizens of Nevada. The health of the citizens of that State is of much more importance than is the saving of a few dollars to the lumber mill men who are located on the Truckee River in this State. In this connection we would most respectfully call the attention of the State Board of Health to the matter and request them to make an investigation as to the effect on the health of the people who use water in which sawdust has been placed. Your committee would also recommend that the Senate act at once on Senate Bill No. 228. |