POLLUTION IN THE LOWER

COLUMBIA BASIN IN 1948-

With particular reference

to the Willamette River

SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC REPORT: FISHERIES Na30

UmiED SniES DEPUTIIENT OF THE IHIERIIIII

FISH MD KILDUFE SEHVICE

Explanatory Note

The series embodies results of investigations, usually of

restricted scope, intended to aid or direct management or

utilization praotices and as gi.\ides for administrative or

legislative sctiono It is issued in limited quantities for the

official use of Federal, State or cooperating agencies and in

processed for-m for economy and to avoid delay in piihlicatione

Y/ashington, D. C.

June 1950

Foreword

The studies included in this report were conductedat the Corvailis Laboratory, Western Fish-CulturalInvestigations, UoSo Fish and Wildlife Servicso The

laboratory facilities, equipment,, and supplies contributedfor these studies by the Section of Sanitary EngineeringjSchool of Engineerinp; and Industrial Arts,, and bjr the

Department of Fish and Game Manafr;ement «.% Oregon StatsCollege are gratefully acknowledged.. The inx'alu&bls data,advice, and interest contributed to the study by Profs

o

R« E. Dimick and Fred Merryfield were particulary helpful.

Messrs o Robert Vencill, John DeWitt_„ and Ro Ao Wagnerassisted in these studies.

United States Department of the InteriorOscar L. Chapman, SecretaryFish and Wildlife ServiceAlbert Mo Day, Director

Special Scientific Report - FisheriesNo. 30

POLLUTION IN THE LOTOR COLIMRIA BASIN IN 1948

WITH PARTI CirW.R REFERENCE TO THE WTLLAJTETTE BASIN

By

Frederic F. Fish

Formerly Chief, Western Fish-Cultural Investigations*

ar:d

Robert Ro Rucker

Fishery Research Biologist

CONTENTS

lo A Survey of Pollution Problems in the Lower Columbia Basin.J.I0 i94o otudieS. ..•ooaaee««««..*..e

A. Reconnaissance Survey of Willamette Waterhead •

B« Interpretation of Res alts .oo.o.oo.1» Main-Stem Willamette River, o . . . . <>

2e Major Tributaries .oo........a. Coast Fork Willamette Basin . . . <

bo Middle Fork Willamette Basin, , . .

Co McKeniie River Basino o . . . . . .

do Long Tom River Basino o « o . . . .

Bo Calapooya River oeo.oooo..fo Marys River 000 00. .

go Luckiamute River o e.oce.o..ho Rickreali Creek e..o.o«...io Santiam River Basin ..o.o.oojo Yamhill River Basin .o.o....ko Pudding River Basin o.......1« Molalla River Basin oooooo..mo Tualatin River Basin* o . . . • . .

n. fjlackamap. River Basin o ..... <,

IIIo Summary and Recommendations .0017. Literature Cited. <><>«. .........oo

Page1

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2020212122

* Now with Federal Security Agency, Pulbic Health Service.

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGITHE Page

1« Oxygen profileSj, Willamette Riverj October, 1944

2o Willamette Ri-ver flows, October, 1944 and 1948, . . « 16

mTER POLLUTION IN Tm LOI1I1ER COLmiBIA BAST^, VflTH PARTICULAR

RFFERTNCE TO THE mLUVT.TTE RIVER

I. A EIJRVET OF POLLUTION PROBLB.TS IN THE LOViER COLTO'IEIA BASIN.

Development of the salmon resources of the lower ColumbiaRiver Basin appears as sound insurance against the threat of a

serious reduction in the runs to the upper river areas throughthe multiple-purpose prop;rams of water development now under wayby the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and privateinterests. Any comprehensive plan for the full development of the

fisheries resources in the lower Columbia Basin must be predicatedupon accurate knov/ledge of the waters therein polluted to a degreeaffecting fish life.

Pollution surveys have been made in the lower Columbia Basinat various times in the past -- the most intensive studies havingbeen made in the Willamette Valley.

Although many major tributaries of the upper Columbia drairdngeither areas of intense population or certain mining operations arereputed to be locally polluted, the main-stem Columbia River atBonneville Dam was considered "unpolluted'* by Lincoln and Foster(1943). Lincoln and Foster considered only three reaches of the

Columbia River below Bonneville Dam e.s being polluted to a degree

potentially affecting fish life, namely; (l) Camas Slough,polluted by pulp-mill wastes | (2) Multnomah and Columbia Sloughs,through which the heavily-polluted Willamette River enters the

Columbia J and (3) the lov/er Cov:litz River, polluted by paperprocessing industries in the vicinity of Longviev;, \Yashington.

Lincoln and Foster state categorically; ""^there appears no evidence,either direct or circumstantial, which would indicate that thesalmon runs of the main Columbia River are being damaged by pollu=tion in the main channel. Without doubt, hov/ever, some of the

races which formerly did, and some v/hich now do, ascend tributariessuch as the Vfillamette, have and are sixffering greatly from wastes

discharged into these vrater courses .**

Certain lower Columbia tributaries have been surveyed forpollution. Lincoln and Foster report the Umatillaj, John Day,

Deschutes, Klickitat, Wind, and Sandy Rivers **carry some domestic

sev/age, but the amounts are relatively small and ... any effects

are probably localized." Merryfield and V/ilmot (1945) state that

"the Itoatilla River belov/ Pendleton is seriously contaminated."

The Willametta River has constituted a serious pollution problemof many years standings

Routine samples were collected from the Willamette by the PortlandCity Health and City Enp;ineering Departments at seven stations locatedbetween Sellwood Bridge (River Mil© ISsS) and the confluence with the

Columbia over a 27=month period between Octoberj 1926, and December,

1926o During the month of August. 1927, and during both August andSeptember, 1928, the oxygen content of the river was fotjnd to be less

than three parts per milliono

Rogers, Mockmorej, and Adams (1930) made more critical studies

when surveying the Willamette and major tributaries during July andAugust, 1929 o They continued sampling at key stations on the mainstem between the city of Cottage Orove and the Sellwood Bridge,

Portland, at monthly intervals between October, 1929, and May 1930

o

Gleeson (1936) made an intensive study of the pollution and tidal

comples in the Portland Harbor area of the 'Willametteo Gleeson's studieswere made betT'/een the Sellwood Bridge and the Columbia River, September 5

to 27, 1934o

Craig and Tovmsend (1946) report a series of seven spot samplingsat Sellwood Bridge and at Sto Johns Bridge, Portland, between February4, and July 28, 1941, and four samplings between May 2, and August 21,

1942, Their data indicate that an oxygen block (i.e., less than 5 ppm.)formed in the Willamette River at Ste Johns Bridge sometime betweenMarch 18 and May 1, 1941 o Likewise, an oxygen block developed upriverat Sellwood Bridge between May 29 and July 17, 1941 « An oxygen blocjk

developed at both sampling stations sometime betv/een May 2, and earlyAugust in 1942c

Tne most recent pollution studies in the Vllillamette Basin werereported by Merryfield and Wilmot (1945) and by Dimick and Merryfield(194c) o These studies included both the major tributaries and the

main-stem Willamette (downstream to Sellwood Bridge) and were conductedbetween August and December,, 1944 -- with bi-monthly sampling at criticalmain-stem stations extending until March 1945o Insofar as the main-stemWillamette is concerned,, Merryfield and V/'ilmot demonstrated that an oxygen

block extended upstream co approximately river mile 60 at the time their

studies were undertaken in Augusts The block had been forced downstream

to river mile 'si by October and disappeared entirely late in that month.

It is quite obvious from the studies that have been made to d ate

that pollution constitutes a serious fisheries problem in the Willamette

Basin and one which cannot be fully evaluated vfith existing datao Cer-

tain facts are knovm concerning the migratory-fish runs of the Willametteand also about the lov;=oxygen barrier in the lower reaches of the mainstem. Neither are sufficiently well known, hov;ever, to evaluate the

effect of pollution upon the fish runs.

II. 1948 STUDIES

Ao Reconnaissance Survey ^ September-October , 1948 o

Pollution research was added to the work program of WesternFish=Cultural Investigations on July Ij 1948<, A cooperative project

vrith the Section of Sanitary Engineering at Oregon State College was

effected immediately thereafter© By the time that funds available

for pollution studies were known, personnel concentrated,, andlaboratory facilities readiedj, the 1948 low-water stage of the

Willamette had passedo Likewise, the summer of 1948 was accompaniedby relatively high river flows and cool temperatures and it did notconstitute a critical year for evaluating pollution at its maximtim

effect.

It was decided that a reconnaissance survey of the Willamette

and its m&ior tributaries comprised the best use of the limited time

available for field studies before the onset of the fall reins o It

was fully recognized that a survey of this t7'pe would be subject

to all the limitations inherent to spot sampling and that the r--3'.]lhs

would be indicative but not conclusive » The survey should reveal allpotential sources of pollution qualitativelj/- if not quantitativelyand thus indicate areps for future and more critical study.

Standard procedures were employed for the dissolved oxygen

and biochemical oxygen demand tests. The field studies were under--

taken on September 9„ 1948, and each major tributary sampled at

progressive intervals downs tream--starting at a point above all

apparent sources of major pollutiono

The results obtained during the six-week period before riverstages rose significantly with increasing rainfall are listed on

Table lo

Bo Interpretation of Results

Five parts per million of dissolved oxygen customarily are

accepted as the threshold betv;een a satisfactory and an unsatis-factory environment for cold-water fisheso Dissolved oxygenconcentrations ranging >-etween three and five parts per millionare considered to indicate moderate pollution by oxygsn^Gonsumingwastes, and concentrations below three parts per million indioatr/e

of severs pollutiono A reduced dissolved oxygen concentration '.DO;,

often expressed in terms of percentage saturation to compensate for

variations in temperature, indicates only the degrading effecta of

oxygen-consuming wastes that have occurred up to the time and place-

of saiipling, and it offers no index of any further degradation that

may be expected from the oxygen-consuming wastes.

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The best (but by no means a completely satisfactory) quantitativemeasure of the organic pollution burden carried by a stream at the timeof sampling is the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (bOd) « The BOD deter-mination represents the Quantity of oxygen consumed in a sealed water-sample during a five-day incubation period at 20'^ C. The five-dayBOD grossly approximates tv/o^thirds of the total quantity of oxygenthat will be reauired fo." complete satisfaction of tl-ie oxygen-consumingwasteso The reverse of the DO concentrations ordinarily is used toassess BOD determinations, namely; a five-day BOD betv/een zero andthree parts per million is considered to indicate light pollution, afive-day BOD between Three and five parts per million as indicatingmoderate to moderately heavy organic pollution, and determinationsexceeding five parts per million as indicative of serera pollutiono

Conductivitys per se^, does not measure offensive pollution inthat an increase in the electrical conductivity merely indicates anincrease in the ionic concentration which may, or may not, be composedof ions toxic to fish lifeo It is used, primarily as an index ofinorganic pollutiono

Considering the results obtained from stream sampling during theSeptember-October^ 1948^, reconnaissance survey, the following tentativeconclusions appear warranted;

lo Main-Stem Willamette River

o

The main-stem Willam&tte, betv/een the Springfield Bridge aboveEugene and the Steel Brid,r:e in Portland, was surveyed on October 14,

15 and 16o Several par-cial surveys were made both before and afterthe main survey.

The results of the complete mid-October survey indicated that,

in spite of an increasing BCD and Gonductivit;y and some decrease inDO at progressive dovmstream stations, no oxygen block existed at,

the timeo Superficially j, at least, the river was open to thepassage of migratory fishes. The 1948 results differed in this majorrespect from those obtained by Merr^.'field and Wilinot during a comparableperiod in 1944o The 1943 DO and ROD data, s\iperimposed upon the DOdata from Merryfield and Wilnot (1945), are shovm in Figure 1.

The difference in the DO picture obtained during October, 1944,

and during October 1948, unquestionably stemmed from the much greatervolixrae of river discharge prevailing during 1948o As shown in Figure 2,

the river discharge during the 1948 survey v/as much greater than thatprevailing at the time of the 1944 survey by Merr}''field and Wilmoto

14

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The diluting effect of the higher 1948 flows can more clearly bedemonstrated by comparing the data in terms of pounds per day ratherthan in parts per milliono Merryfield and Wilmot did not report BODdeterminatiOHB during their October 1944 surveyo The 6o4 ppmo 2C-dayBOD reported by these authors at Wheatland during late Aiigust 1944^however, represents a demand of approximately 100,000 pounds cf

oxygen per day based upon river discharges at the time recorded on

the Salem gage twelve miles upstream. The 4o88 ppmo 20-day BODobtained at Wheatland on October 16, 1948 represents a demand ofapproximately 250,000 pounds of oxygen per day, A similar com-parison of data obtained at a common sampling point below Corvallisindicates an oxygen demand of approximately 35,000 pounds per day

in late August 1944, in comparison with a demand of approximately75,000 pounds per day in October 1948o

The assumption appears tenable, therefore, that the pollutionburden of the main-stem Willamette during October 1948, was consider-ably heavier than that during late August 1944, Whether the increasedoxygen demand stemmed from, a heavier pollution burden added to the

Willamette during the intervening four years or from normal seasonalvariations in the pollution burden cannot be determined with availabledatae

2e Major Tributaries

ao Coast Fork Willamette Basin

The changes found in both DO and BOD concentrations of water passingthrough the Cottage Grove Reservoir presumably are not significanto The

sharp drop in conductivity at the downstream sampling station indicatesthat the water being discharged from the reservoir at the time of the

furvey was not of the same composition as that entering the reservoiroTl'ie gradual increase in BOD and the accompanying decrease in DO' atprogressive stations downstream frorri the city of Cottage Grove indicatethe addition of oxygen-consuming was tes^-presumably domestic sewage—overthis areao The Cottage Grove Reservoir was being evacuated at the time

of the survey and the downstream reach of the Coast Fork Willamette wasflowing bankfull. Flows recorded at Saginaw Bridge on September 10

(date of survey) were 1,070 ofso in comparison with a normal seasonalminimum of about 65 cfs. It is probable, therefore, that the pollutionadded to the Coast Fork Willamette in the rieinity of Cottage Grove wouldbe serious during the period of minimum flow—as found by Merryfield andWiimoto Pollution of the Coast Fork Willamette affects only residentgame fishes as this tributary supports no migratorj'-fish runs.

Neither the Row River nor Mosby Creek, major tributaries of the

Coast Fork Willamette, yielded any evidence of serious pollution. The

relatively high BOD of the Row obtained belov/ the Dorena Dam site

presumably resulted from temporary gravel v^ashing operatings attendingconstruction work on the dam,

17

b e Middle Fork Willamette Basin

No evidence of serious pollution was found in the Middle ForkWillamette Basino As might be expectedj, a gradual rise in both BODand conductivity developed progressively dovmstream, but neitherapproached the borderline of significant pollutiono

Co McKenzie River Basin

No evidence of serious pollution was found in the McKenzie Riverdrainage

.

do Long Tom River Basin

Water discharged from the Fern Ridge Reservoir exhibited a

relatively high BOD indicating that oxygen-consuming decompositionwithin the reservoir had not yet reached the state of complete oxygensatisfactions Aeration and dilution (indicated by the increasingconductivity) in the next six miles downstream reduced the BOD and

increased the DOo The sharp rise in BOD and conductivity at the town

of Monroe indicated an increase in pollutionj presumably by domestic

sewage, at that pointo There is no evidence that the pollution burdenadded at the toTm of Monroe would prove of serious consequence evenduring low watero The Long Tom River on September 14 (date of first

survey) was flowing 37 cfs. at Monroe in comparison vdth a normalseason minimum of about 25 cfs. at this point.

eo Calapooya River

No evidence of a serious pollution was found in the Calapooya

River—at least above the city limits of Albany. The Calapooya was,

at the time of the survey, well above minimum stage—-a flow of 219 cfs.

being reported at Albany on October 15 (one week after the survey) in

comparison with a normal seasonal minimum flow of approximately 20 cfs.

Merryfield and Wilmot (1945) stated "o » .the Calapooya shows evidence

of severe contaminationo**

fo Marys River

No evidence of pollution of sufficient intensity to affect fish

life was found in Marys River except in the reach between the Chapman

Mill Dam and the City of Corvallis, The intervening "dry stretch** of

the Marys apparently is seriously polluted during the summer months

probably by a combination of organic material accumulating in the

pools when high river flov7S provide a spill over the Chapman Dam and

domestic sewage entering from Squaw and Oak Creeks. Unfortunately,

the slack-water polluted reach of Marys River borders Avery Park,

an area of extremely high recreational value in which the city of

Corvallis has a considerable investeent in svirimming and boating

facilities

.

16

go LuoKiamute Rivar

Wo eviderice of pollution was found in either the Luckiamute or

Little L'uckiamute River drpinRp;e3o

ho Rickreall Crsek

Ths City of Dallas apparently seriously pollutes Rickreall Creekas evidenoed by an extrr'smelj^ high BODj, a marked increase in conductivitygand a decreased DO, obtained below Dallas on each of the two sunreys^

Rickreall Creek is not gaged but it is believed that the flows observedduring both surveys v/ere considerably above the minimum seasonal flowo

Pollution of Rickreall Creek would constitute a resident fishproblem primarily as migratory fishes apparentljr only occasionallyenter this streejTio

Dimick and Merryfieid (1945) reported a DO of 2o2 parts permillion obtained on September 6, 1944;, in the lower reach of RickreallCreek

o

io Santiam River Basin

Pollution of sufficient intensity to affect fish life was notpresent in the Santiam River Basin at the time of this survey. Amarked rise in both BOD and conductivityj with an accompanying '3rop

in DO, was found immediately below the City of Lebanon on the SouthSan-biamn These observations tend to confirm those by Dimick andTforryfie'! '^ (1945) that extremely serious pollution does exist in thelower reach of tine South Santiam during low water stages as a resultof indue tz'ial and domestic wastes added at Lebanono A DO of 8.3 ppmwas recorded at Crabtree Bridge, 10 miles below Lebanon, on September3O5 1948., Dim.icic and Merryfield reported a 0,0 DO obtained at thesane stntrlon on September 8„ 1944.

jo Y&mnill River Basin

No evidence of seriouts pollution was found in the Yamhill Basinexcept for the reach of the South Yamhill betv/een McMinnville and theforebay of Govemnent Looks on the mam Yamhillo

The 4o9 ppm DO concentration found in the South Yamhill belowMcMinnville on September 22, 1948, when the river f lovr was approximately45 cffl, is indicative of a DO depression to about 1 ppm at the lovr"

water stages of about 25 cfs o This indication of severe pollutionagrees vri th the findings of Dimick and Merryfield who reported a 4.0ppm DO concentration obtained near the mouth of the Yamhill on August23, 1944.

19

The pollution protlem on the Yamhill would be of consequenceprimarily to resident game fishes o Attendants occasionally repor't

seeing "large fis?i" at Government Locks„ taut it is believed that

very few migratory fishes enter the Yamhill at the present timso

ko Pudding River Basin

The Quality of the Pudding River, as revealed by a survey on 0©^^.

toberl, 1948, fell v/ell vrithin the tolerance limits established for

cold=v/ater fishes o The BOD was consistently high over the entire

course of this stream, but at no station was it found to be seriously

high. A DO of 7,1 ppn and a 5-day BOD of 1.77 ppm were recorded at

River Mile 10 below Woodburn~->the same station from which Dimick and

Merryfield reported a DO of 0.2 ppm and a 20=day BOD of 23«2 ppm on

September 22, 1944. The discrepancy in results may be explained, in

part, by the difference in water flows on the dates in question. The

flow on September 22, 1944 was 7B cfSo compared with a flow of 107 cfs.

on October 1, 1948. Pollution of the Pudding reputedly results from

wastes discharged from the extensive food-processing industries near

Woodburno The results obtained, therefore, would depend upon the

nature and volume of the food procAssing operations, as well as the

river flows, prevailing shortly before the time of semplingo

Pollution of the Pudding River warrants ftirther seasonal studyin that this tributary is of some immediate"-and considerable poten-

tial-'-value to the fisheries resources of the Willamette Valley.

1, Molalla River Basin

The Molalla River Basin was found free from any evidence of serious

pollution vfhen surveyed on October 1, 1948.

The effect upon the Molalla from seasonal pollution of the Puddingshould be determined as these streams converge for approximately one=

half mile before emptying into the main-stem Willamette.

The Molalla is of considerable present—and of great potentials-value to the Willamette Valley fisheries resources.

m. Tualatin River Basin

Evidence of pollution in sufficient ouantity to affect fish life

was found in the Tualatin River principally below the Cities of Forest

Grove and Hillsboro. Although the DO of the Tualatin remained above the

arbitrary threshold of 5 ppm throughout the entire length on September 23,

a DO of 5.2 ppm was found in the quiet-water reach at Scholl's Bridge.

The flow at Farmington Bridge (6 miles above Scholl's Bridge) was 81 cfs.

at the same time in comparison wi th a seasonal minimum of approximately

55 cfso Conditions as foixnd at Scholl's Bridge on September 23, indicate

a DO approximating 2o8 ppm in the reach of the Tualatin during low flows

„

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The depressed DO in the mid-seetion of the Tualatin presiunablysteirmed from the decomposition of domestic and industrial wastes enter-ing the river principally from the populated areas of Forest Grove andEillsborOo

A seasonal study of pollution in the Tualatin is indicated forthis stream supports resident game fish as well as a few migratoryfood-fishes o

iLo Clackamas River Basin

The increase in both POD and conductivity normally anticipatedin any stream draining a vfell populated area was found in the lowerreaches of the Clackamas o The DO remainded consistently high, however,with no evidence of depressiono It is concluded, thet under the condi=tions prevailing on September 20, 1948, the Clackamas was fully capableof absorbing the pollution burden being placed upon ito

III. STM^ARY AND RKCOf.Q.^T?MDATIONS

lo Existing data indicate that the most critical pollutionproblem in the Lower Colxanbia Basin—insofar as fish life is concerned—exists in the T?illamette River and certain of its tributaries.

2o A reconnaissance survey, conducted during September and Octoberof 19483 indicated pollution in sufficient severity to affect fish lifenay develop in reaches of the Coast Fork Y/illamette, Marys, Rickreall,South Santiam, South and Main Yamhill, Pudding, and Tualatin Rivers~aswell as in the main-stem Vfillamette betv/een Eugene and the confluencecf the McKenzie, and betvreen Salem and the Columbia River, The 1948data confirm many observations made by eerlier investigators.

3o Main-stem pollution, which is sufficient to cause a Icni-oxjgenblock during low-water stages, constitutes a problem of particularcorsequence to the migratory food-fish resources of the Columbia Basin.

4, At the present time, too little is knovm of the circtmstancesunder which the main-stem Willamette oxygen barrier forms and lifts

to permit any accurate evaluation of its affect upon existing migratoryfish runs. Likewise, too little is knovm to permit an accurate evalua-tion of benefits from the abatement program being vigorously prosecutedby the Oregon State Sanitary Authority or of the probable benefits of

pollution abatement stemming from the Corps of Engineers' WillametteYailsy Project.

5e The main-stem Willamette pollution block should receive toppriority in any study of pollution effecting fishlife in the PacificNorthv/es t»

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IVo LITERATITRE CITED

1946o Craigj Jo Ao, and Lo D<> Townsendo An Investip;ation of

Fish-Maintenanc« Problems in Relation to the Tffillametto

Valley Projecto Uo So Fish and Wildlife Senricej Washington,Do Cop Special Scientific Report Number 33j, TO pages. (Mimeo-graphed) o

1945o Dimickj, Ro Eoj, and Fred Merryfieldo The Fishes of the

Willamette River Svstem in Relation to Poliutiono OregonState Colleges Engineering Experiment Station, Coinrallis,

Oregonj Bulletin 20^, 58 pages,

1936e Gleeson, Go Wo A Sanitary Survey of the Willamette Rive:~

from Seilwood Bridr,e to the ColiTribia River. Oregon StateColleges Engineering ExperiBi^-.vita-iji&E.j Ccrval^lSj Cragor.

B'allotit N'jitbpK', 0,-. 32 pages,

1943o Lincoln, Jo Ho, and Ro Fo Fostero Report on Investigation of

Pollution in the Lower Columbia Rivero Joint Report by theWashington State Pollution Commission and the Oregon StateSanitary Authorityo 143 pages.

1945o Merryfield, Fred, and Vf. Go 'V^ilmoto 1945 Progress Report on

Pollution of Oregon Streams. Oregon State College, EngineeringExperiment Station, Corvallis Oregon,, Bulletin Number 19« 62 pages.

1930, Rogers, Ho So, Co A. Mockmore, and Co Do Adams o A Sanitary Surveyof the Willamette Valley. Oregon State College, Engineering Ex-periment Station, Corvallis, Oregon„ Bulletin Number 6. 32 pages.

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