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How to Run a River
Vietnam: How Much Heat at Home?
The Seventies Belong to the Susquehanna
BUSINESS REVIEW is produced in the Department of Research. Evan B. Alderferwas primarily responsible for
the article “ How to Run a River” , Kathryn Kalmbach for “ Vietnam: How Much Heat at Home?” and D. Russell Connor for “ The
Seventies Belong to the Susquehanna.” The authors will be glad to receive comments on their articles.
Requests for additional copies should be addressed to Bank and Public Relations, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101.
WATER
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers came,
thither they return again.
With poetic eloquence the author of Ecclesiastes described how water goes round and round. It still does. The
sun’s heat evaporates oceanic and other waters; winds scatter the moisture-laden clouds; weeping clouds shed
their moisture as rain, and that which falls over land finds rivery pathways back to the sea.
Nature’s hydrologic cycle, however, plays favorites. Land areas with abundant rainfall luxuriate with vegeta
tion; regions with scanty precipitation turn to deserts. So dependent upon water is mankind that a homey
philosopher once observed the coincidence of big rivers flowing past big cities and little rivers flowing past
little cities.
Precipitation over the United States is plentiful in the aggregate, but unevenly distributed. The Eastern
third of the country and the Pacific Seaboard are generally well watered; but a vast area between the Rockies
and the 100th Meridian, bisecting the Dakotas and Texas, is handicapped with chronic sparsity of rainfall.
Precipitation in the 37,000 square miles that constitute the Philadelphia Federal Reserve District is com
fortably above the country’s annual average. Over the years, with occasional exceptions, the district’s rainfall
has been adequate for its 10 million inhabitants. Within the district, however, the supply of water varies from
time to time and place to place because of unequal distribution and the peculiarities of the watercourses.
Owing to the irregularity of land contours, rainfall in the district wanders seaward by devious ways from
different basins. The largest basin is the Susquehanna, which drains into the Atlantic by way of Chesapeake
Bay. Along the New York state border is a small section of the Genesee Basin that drains into the St. Lawrence
River. Along the Maryland border is an area of the Potomac Basin, and on the western border some district
waters drain into the Ohio River. The eastern part of the district lies in the Delaware Basin. It is heavily popu
lated and highly industrialized, in marked contrast with the other district basins which are largely rural and
agricultural.
Rainfall in the predominantly agricultural basins serves a most essential use to the resident farmers, and
the runoff'into the rivers serves municipalities and industries. How well a river serves its basin population
depends basically upon the size of the river and the number of people the river is called upon to serve. For a
given flow of water, the greater the population the harder the river must work. Also, the harder the river works,
the greater the problems of water pollution and abatement. A country river is a many-splendored thing, but
urbanization usually transforms it into a many-plundered thing.
Because of the economic, political, and social importance of water resource utilization, this issue of the
Business Review is given over largely to the district’s two major rivers and their basins— the Delaware and
3
HOW TO RUN A RIVER
Rivers seldom get into the newspapers except
of the river. Ordinarily, the fresh-water flow
when they go on a rampage, overflow their
keeps the salt-water intrusion below Philadel
banks, and drown people. The Delaware, how
phia, but during periods of low flow the salt
ever, has been in the headlines most of the sum
line creeps upstream. Recently the salt line had
mer, not because of high water but because of
low water.
advanced to a point near the Walt Whitman
Bridge, only 15 miles short of Philadelphia’s
the prolonged
Torresdale water-supply intake. As the drought
drought has so reduced the flow of the river
worsens the related problems of upstream scar
and the storage in reservoirs that downstream
city and downstream salinity are intensified.
The
basic
trouble
is
that
people may soon have to drink salt water and
upstream users may have no water— unless re
Such, in brief, is the unhappy tale of two
cities.
freshing rains come to the rescue.
As rivers go, the Delaware is a small stream.
W h e n ce the d ro u g h t?
It doesn’t really look like a river until it gets
“ Hydrologic adversity” is what the region is
below Trenton; in fact the river is only a little
suffering from, according to the Water Re
over 300 miles long, but it serves the most heav
sources Council’s special report to the Presi
ily populated and highly industrialized part of
dent, entitled “ Drought in Northeastern United
the country.
States.” The Delaware Basin has had this trou
The Delaware serves over 21 million people.
ble before, and now it has it again. The severity
In normal times it serves them very well, but a
of the current drought is explained by the fact
prolonged period of subnormal rainfall has pro
that the Basin is in its fourth consecutive year
duced abnormal times. Philadelphia, the biggest
of insufficient rainfall.
city on the Delaware, gets half of its water from
Abnormal wind patterns cause the prolonged
this river and the other half from the Schuylkill
dry spell, according to the meteorologists. We
— the Delaware’s largest tributary. Drafts from
are in the wind belt known as the Prevailing
both sources, after use, are returned to the
Westerlies. Ordinarily, the Basin is well watered
Delaware.
by air masses heavily laden with moisture picked
New York, the biggest city on the Hudson
up from the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
River, taps the upper Delaware for one-third of
coastal waters. As these warm clouds are chilled
its municipal requirements; and the Delaware
by the cooler westerlies over our region they
draw-off, after use, is flushed into New York
drop their moisture as rains, called thunder
Bay. During a severe drought both cities are
storms. For some strange reason the westerlies
menaced— New York with a water shortage and
have deviated from their customary pathways,
Philadelphia with a salt problem.
thus weakening the storm systems. Why the
The lower Delaware is an estuary— an arm of
winds are misbehaving nobody seems to know,
the sea. With the ebb and flow of tides, salty
but everybody is aware of the drought. Farmers
seawater sloshes up and down the lower reaches
were the first to be pinched, and now the urban
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masses are in jeopardy.
DELAWARE RIVER BASIN AND SERVICE AREA
Be h old the Basin!
The
Delaware
River
Basin is a long, narrow,
irregularly shaped area
of land from which the
Delaware and all its trib
utaries carry precipita
tion
to
the
Atlantic
Ocean. It’s a hydrologic
gerrymander outlined by
the heavy lolloping line
on the map, “ Delaware
River Basin and Service
Area,” showing both the
in-Basin and out-Basin
areas served by the river.
Rivers make conven
ient boundary lines, but
their basins pay no at
tention whatsoever to po
litical boundaries. As if
conscious of its destiny
to serve two big cities,
the Delaware starts out
as two streams— the West
Branch
and
Branch— both
the
East
originat
ing on the western slopes
of the Catskill Mountains
in
New
York.
From
Hancock, New York, the
point
where
the
two
branches merge, to Port
Jervis
the
Delaware
forms the boundary line
between
Pennsylvania
and New York. From
Port
Jervis
down
to
Source: Water Research Foundation for the Delaware River Basin.
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Marcus Hook the river forms a boundary be
ware supplies them with water for domestic use
tween Pennsylvania and New Jersey, whence it
— drinking,
forms a boundary between New Jersey and
sprinkling, etc.; commercial use by hotels, mo
Delaware until the river is swallowed by the
tels, restaurants, and other public establish
Atlantic Ocean. Throughout its indecisive me
ments; and industrial use such as laundromats,
andering the river is joined by numerous tribu
car washeries, etc.; and public purposes such
bathing, home
laundering, lawn
taries such as the Lackawaxen, the Musconet-
as fire fighting and street cleaning. Total mu
cong, the Lehigh, and the Schuylkill rivers. The
tributaries, in turn, pick up little sub-tributaries
nicipal demand averages about 145 gallons per
capita daily.
like Lollypop, Devils Hole, Cranberry, and W ig
wam creeks, not identified on the map.
Unlike some Western rivers that occasionally
run bone dry, the Delaware, throughout its re
The upper section of the Basin is a thing of
corded history, has always had water. The flow
beauty and a joy to sportsmen. The middle re
of water, however, fluctuates with the volume of
gion is endowed generously with extensive wood
precipitation— which over the years averages 44
land, good agricultural land, and the famous
inches annually in the Basin. Forty-four inches
Delaware Water Gap. The lower region, in the
is a good average (the United States average is 30
Atlantic Coastal Plain, is heavily industrialized.
inches), but people don’t live on averages; they
The estuarine section from Trenton to the
sea has sufficient depth, with occasional dredg
need a daily supply of water. Precipitation in the
Basin is both seasonal and cyclical.
ing, to accommodate ocean-going vessels loaded
Springtime is the season of abundant water
with cargoes of iron ore, petroleum, sugar, and
produced by the March melt of winter’s snow
other raw materials for the manufacturing in
and April showers. That’s when the tributaries
dustries of Philadelphia and adjacent ports.
give full measure to the main stream. In the
From Bristol to Wilmington the river is virtu
fall months of the year, less rainfall causes the
ally palisaded on both sides with industrial es
entire river system to languish with low waters.
tablishments.
And now the river languishes in a drought-in
Manufacturing industries, including the more
than twoscore producers of kilowatts on the
duced low flow which forebodes still lower wa
ters as we enter the fall season.
Delaware and its tributaries, are the heaviest
users of water. Water is used by the steam-
Use a n d m isuse o f the D e la w a re
electric generating stations in their condensers
While people on the lower Delaware, where the
for cooling purposes; by the steel mills and the
Basin’s greatest density of population exists,
petroleum refineries to cool their furnaces; by
have seldom been menaced by a shortage of
the paper mills in almost every stage of the
water, they have had to contend, for a number
manufacturing process from their digesters to
of years, with an equally bad problem— dirty
the cylinder or Fourdrinier paper-forming ma
water. How the Delaware became defiled is a
chines. Water is indispensable to all manufac
typical example of expanding public and pri
turing industries.
Philadelphia and other riverside municipali
ties also use huge amounts of water. The Dela
6
vate use of a natural resource that proceeds by
easy stages from use to overuse to misuse.
Industries
and municipalities,
the greatest
business review
users of water, do not consume it in the usual
both phases is the departure and the subsequent
sense of the term. Almost every gallon of water
return of shad to their Delaware spawning
that they withdraw and use is later returned to
grounds.
the river, but often in filthy condition.
“ One of the most modern and efficient water
In the days of careless exploitation of natural
treatment plants in the world is Philadelphia’s
resources, manufacturing industries got rid of
Torresdale Plant on the Delaware River.” That
their industrial wastes by the simple expedient
statement is not made by Philadelphia’s Water
of piping them into the river. Acid mine drain
Commissioner; it appears in a United States
age from the anthracite region oozed into the
Geological Survey publication. The Torresdale
Delaware by way of the Lehigh River, and the
plant is a pushbutton water-treatment plant
Schuylkill became badly polluted with culm de
capable of purifying over 400 million gallons
posits washed down from the hard-coal fields.
a day by filtering and treating river water with
To compound the pollution, riverside munici
various chemicals. Philadelphia also treats all
palities dumped their raw sewage into the river.
of the city’s sewage before returning it to the
Philadelphia, the largest municipality and the
river. The city’s entire waterworks and sewage-
largest industrial center, was the biggest pol
treatment facilities are under a single unified
luter and for years nobody seemed to care. With
management and control.
expanding population and growing industrializa
Most of the industrial plants now also treat
tion the once lordly Delaware degenerated into
their wastes before returning them to the river;
a malodorous sewer intolerable to both ships
and shad.
indeed, with some plants it is a point of pride
that their effluent is cleaner than the intake.
The D e la w a re is ta k e n to the la u n d ry
most a constant problem— so much so that some
Farther downstream, however, salinity is al
The Interstate Commission on the Delaware
concerns in Chester use municipal water ob
River Basin (Incodel), organized in 1936, was
tained from the Octoraro Creek in the Susque
one of the first organizations to campaign vigor
hanna River drainage area.
ously and effectively for water pollution con
trol. By and by, Incodel’s missionary efforts,
W h e n the D e la w a re flo w e d into the
along with the help of other organizations, suc
Su pre m e Court
ceeded in fomenting anti-pollution legislation on
The waist line of the Delaware Basin is about
both sides of the river. With local action and
on the latitude of New York City, as the map
federal assistance, the Clean Streams Program
shows. Back in the early 1920’s the New York
got under way in the mid-1940’s. Although the
City fathers looked longingly upon the Dela
river is much improved, its waters still need ex
ware as a source of mountain-fresh water to
tensive treatment for municipal and other uses.
augment the city’s growing water needs.
S h a d return to the D e la w a re
the Delaware for 600 million gallons a day, a
While their engineers made plans to dip into
Philadelphia doesn’t do things half way. When
document was drawn for an interstate compact
the city pollutes it pollutes thoroughly, and
between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl
when it cleans it cleans vigorously. Evidence of
vania. The compact was ratified promptly by
7
business review
the New York legislature; but New Jersey and
feet per second) at the Delaware’s Montague
Pennsylvania demurred. After considerable de
gauging station in Sussex County, New Jersey.
lay, New York City went ahead with its plans;
The Court also appointed a River Master to ad
whereupon New Jersey petitioned the United
minister the adjudication.
States Supreme Court to enjoin the city and
state of New York, and Pennsylvania joined in
Form ation of the D e la w a re R ive r Basin
the petition.
C om m ission
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered the
opinion of the Court, specifying a mgd (million
As a result of the recurring water-shortage prob
lem, causing periodic disputes between New
gallons daily) upper limit that New York City
York City and downstream communities over
might withdraw. Also, since such drafts, after
water rights, it became increasingly apparent
use, are channeled seaward outside the Delaware
that settlement of quarrels in chancery is no way
Basin, the Court required New York to fortify
to run a river. Supreme Court adjudication, while
the Delaware in periods of low flow with re
restoring amity in times of water scarcity, accom
leases of water from their reservoirs in the Basin
plished nothing to prevent a future scarcity.
in order to prevent damage to the down-Dela-
Governors of the four states immediately con
ware recreation areas and the lower Delaware
cerned and the mayors of the two most vulner
able cities— New York and Philadelphia— held
oyster beds. That was in 1931.
In 1949, New York City barely squeezed
summit conferences to consider ways and means
through a water shortage, and in the early 1950’s
toward a mutually satisfactory solution. They
shortages of rainfall caused another crisis. As
appointed a Delaware River Basin Advisory
the city’s reservoirs ran low, the mayor banned
Committee to devise an inter-governmental ar
use of water for washing streets, sprinkling
rangement for long-range, multi-purpose plan
lawns and gardens. Authorities proclaimed “ dry
ning,
Thursdays,” imposed fines upon owners of leaky
Basin. That was in the early summer of 1955.
development,
and management of
the
restau
Hurricane Diane struck the Basin with tor
rants served drinking water only upon request,
rential rains, causing floods that took 99 lives
faucets,
automobiles
went
unwashed,
and public-spirited New Yorkers skipped baths
and inflicted over $100 million in property
and shaves. As the crisis worsened, New York
damage. The disaster stimulated a public clamor
petitioned the Supreme Court for more water
to do something about the Delaware.
Congress acted quickly, directing the Army
from the Delaware.
The Court, in its 1954 decision, allowed New
Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with other
York City to dip a little deeper into the Dela
federal agencies, to make a survey and formu
ware. The ante, in terms of mgd’s, was raised
late a plan for the physical control of the wa
but again the Court imposed a quid pro quo. In
ters to reduce both the high-water and low-
compensation
the
water hazards. Meanwhile, the Water Resources
Delaware, the city was required to supply the
Association of the Delaware River Basin, a non
lower Delaware, from the upper Delaware and
profit and nonpartisan citizens group, was or
its tributaries, with sufficient water to maintain
ganized to alert the general public to the needs
a specified minimum flow (expressed in cubic
of the Basin.
for increased
8
drafts from
business review
Late in 1960, the Corps of Engineers turned
man M. Lack, a retired Army general associated
in an exhaustive 11-volume report advocating a
with the Water Research Foundation; and for
50-year development program of 58 water-con
the Secretary of the Interior, Vernon D. N or
trol projects, at an estimated cost of almost $600
throp, former city administrator during Joseph
million to reduce flood damage, augment stream
Clark’s administration as mayor of Philadelphia.
flows, provide additional recreation waters, and
more kilowatts of hydro-electric power. Though
The D.R.B.C. a t w o rk
at some variance with an earlier report prepared
Running a river is no simple task, especially one
under the auspices of Incodel, physical features
in such great demand as the Delaware. The
of
Commission’s work embraces conservation and
the
Engineers’
report
were
subsequently
adopted.
development of ground and surface water sup
After further discussion, complete water-re-
ply for municipal, industrial, and agricultural
source planning and management for the Dela
uses; flood damage reduction; development of
ware Basin were at long last designed. On Sep
recreational facilities in relation to reservoirs,
tember 27, 1961, President Kennedy signed the
lakes, and streams; propagation of fish and
Delaware River Basin Compact,
already ap
game; development of hydro-electric power po
proved by the Congress and legislatures of New
tentialities; control of movement of salt water;
York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
abatement and control of stream pollution; and
The document, the first of its kind, provided for
regulation of stream flow toward the attainment
100 years of joint federal-state administration
of all these goals.
of the Basin. The Compact created the Delaware
Attainment of these multi-purpose goals re
River Basin Commission, endowed with author
quires, among other things, economic analyses
ity and responsibility to supervise the Basin’s
and forecasts of population growth in the Basin
water resources. The Commission superseded
and its service area, a constant flow of meteoro-
Incodel which, even in its limited advisory ca
logic and hydrographic data, a running record
pacity, had achieved remarkable results in focus
of
ing public attention and stimulating legislation
throughout the river system to maintain mini
for better utilization of Basin waters.
mum standards of water-quality patterns for
water-quality
analysis
at strategic points
The Delaware River Basin Commission is a
various uses, and elaborate cost calculations to
five-member board consisting of the Governors
balance potential expenses of various projects
of the four Basin states— Pennsylvania, New
against consumer benefits.
York, New Jersey, and Delaware— and the Sec
“ A river system such as the Delaware,” says
retary of the Interior represents the President
the Commission in its 1964 Annual Report,
of the United States. Sitting at present as voting
alternates on the Commission are: Maurice K.
“ offers innumerable possible operating combina
tions. For example, adjustments can be made to
Goddard, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Forests
intercept flood waters for use as water supply
and Waters; for New York, Harold G. Wilm,
and flow augmentation later in the year. Also,
New York State’s conservation commissioner;
for New Jersey, H. Mat Adams, former state
excess flows can be pumped to off-stream reser
voirs during off-peak electrical demand periods
conservation commissioner; for Delaware, N or
{Continued on Page 12)
9
^ M S p S iS S l !
MUCH HEAT AT HOME?
VIETNAM:
So far the Vietnam buildup ordered by the President apparently will funnel an extras$3 ot $4 billion into the war effort between now and the second quarter of 1966. Moreover,
more men will be added to the armed forces. An important question being asked at present is: whether or not the proposed degree of mobilization will strain the economy.
f
iis s S
Net Change in National Defense Expenditures
(Fiscal Years)
' j’ i
t
Billions of Dollars
Increase in the Armed Forces
Maintenance and Defense Spending
Billions of Dollars
Real Gross National Product
(1958 Dollars)
Capacity Utilization
Billions of Dollars
Seasonally Adjusted
6/50-7/53
1. The additional $3-4 billion going into military spend
ing during fiscal 1966 will result in an upward shift in
defense spending.
86 7 ~
1
1
IV
'
1965
"
3. With respect to the capacity to meet the demands, the
nation is in a relatively favorable situation to meet the
limited requirements of the current mobilization pro
gram. The nation's manufacturing plants are presently
working at about 90 per cent of capacity and the addi
tional expenditures anticipated would amount to less
than 1 per cent of the current rate of national output and
would scarcely dent the existing rate of utilization. More
over, the pervasiveness of excess capacity among the
various industry groups appears to be sufficient to pre
vent serious “ bottlenecks” from developing.
Armed Forces
2.8
1964 IM
-
z
Estimated yearly cosY
of maintaining 340,000 men
£stimated yearly rise
in defense outlays
5. Another factor to be cons«tered is that a large portion
of the increase in defense outlays will represent merely
the shifting of spending rather than a net addition. The
increase of 340,000 men in thd* armed forces had to be
fed, housed, clothed, etc. in civilian life.
Planned
Billions of Dollars
11-1965
9. And all of this was imposed on an economy producing
only 58 per cent as much in real goods and services as
we are producing today.
Industrial Production
11/50-11/51
Billions of Dollars
11/65—ll/66e
8. Defense spending was relatively small and after the
war broke out, increased almost $20 billion, on a G.N.P.
basis, in one year and around $40 billion in three years.
2. And the expansion of the armed forces by 340,000 men
will raise the total bearing arms to about 3.0 million.
11-1950
Increase in Defense Spending
Male Unemployment Rate— By Age Groups
(July 1CS5)
Plant and Equipment Expenditures
Dec. 1961 Dec. 1962 Dec. 1963 Dec. 1964 July 1965
1965 Proposed
7. In assessing the longer-term impact of the Vietnam
hostilities, the differences between now and Korea must
be kept in mind. The armed forces were in a low state of
preparedness then and were increased by over 2 million.
Total
1^-19 Team
20-24 Years
6. The increase in the armed forces will probably have a
minimum impact on laborfj Irkets. Most of those who
will be drafted are in the age Drackets which possess few
developed skills and where unemployment is high.
10. In addition, there is a considerable difference in tim
ing. As can be seen on the cycle for industrial produc
tion, back in 1950 the economy was at the beginning of
a recovery, typically a period of very vigorous business
expansion; today we are in the 55th month of business
expansion.
4. The added defense spending must also be viewed
against a record rate of capital spending which will make
even more industrial capacity available.
B
business review
(■
Continued from Page 9)
and released again to produce hydro-electric
power during peak demand periods. Through
DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
the use of computers, it is now possible to de
velop an efficient, integrated plan for operating
all projects in a river system.”
Effective operation of the river system also
requires some long-range planning,
and the
Commission at the outset designed a compre
hensive plan for the orderly development of the
water resources of the 12,750-square-mile Basin.
The major components of the comprehensive
plan, shown in the illustration, are:
1. Ten multi-purpose reservoir projects— six
with flood control by the Federal Govern
ment, four non-federal water supply and
recreation.
2. Enlargement of two federal flood-control
dams for water supply and recreation.
3. Completion
of
the
Cannonsville
water-
supply reservoir for New York City.
4. Eight local watershed programs consisting
of dams and reservoirs and land-treatment
measures.
5. Water-quality
standards,
interstate
cost
sharing policy for water supply in federal
reservoirs, policy for protecting groundwater resources (rich in the lower Basin).
In the performance of its manifold duties, the
Commission utilizes the assistance o f numerous
86-mile stretch of the river between Trenton
and Delaware Bay.
As if all these duties were not enough to keep
other agencies. For example, the Commission
it busy, the Commission is also called upon
has had the help of the United States Geological
frequently to pass on applications for public
Survey in compiling basic data on precipitation,
and private projects such as water-supply instal
surface runoff, and ground-water conditions of
lations, waste-treatment operations, watershed
the Basin. The United States Public Health
developments, or requests to span the Delaware
Service is at present engaged in making a com
with pipelines, bridges, or ferry routes.
prehensive study of the Delaware Estuary to as
certain the cause-and-effect relationships of pol
D.R.B.C. to the rescue
lution, the economic relationships between wa
On July 7, the Delaware River Basin Commis
ter and water treatment, and water use in the
sion called a drought emergency meeting in
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business review
Philadelphia to consider what might be done
water be made also from the Cannonsville Res
about the diminishing reserves of Basin waters.
ervoir to counteract the encroaching salt water
Attending the meeting were more than a score
with a stronger flow of fresh water.
of witnesses representing in-Basin and out-Basin
Subsequent to a Presidential task force report
municipalities, water and sewer authorities, in
on the growing danger of the water famine in
dustrial concerns, and utilities— all deeply con
the
cerned about the threatening shortage and im
Udall’s statement that New York and Philadel
purity of water incident to the drought. Among
phia were on a collision course, the Commis
the leading witnesses were New York’s Armand
sion made still further redistribution of the
D’Angelo, Commissioner, Department of Water
Basin’s dwindling water supplies at its August
Delaware
Basin
and
Interior
Secretary
Supply, Gas, and Electricity, who cited the im
18 meeting in Washington. The Commission
pending peril of the rapidly receding water
authorized New York City to stop making any
levels in the city’s reservoirs; and Philadelphia’s
downstream releases from storage in its three
Samuel Baxter, Commissioner and Chief Engi
Delaware River Basin reservoirs after Septem
neer of the Philadelphia Water Department,
ber 7, and to collect the inflow into these reser
who pointed out the menace of salt water creep
voirs as a “ water bank” — the “ bank” to be dis
ing up the Delaware and threatening the Torres-
tributed, by the Commission, as needed between
dale intake— the source of half the city’s water
New York City and downstream areas. Also,
supply.
after September 7, releases of water from Lake
The Commission declared a 30-day state of
emergency, recognizing, among other things,
Wallenpaupack in Wayne and Pike counties and
the current hydrologic impossibility of New
in Sullivan County, New York, are to be more
York City’s continued adherence to the Supreme
than doubled to compensate for upstream waters
from the Orange & Rockland Utilities reservoir
Court’s 1954 decree; and ruled (1) that New
withheld for New York City from their Pepacton,
York City be required to provide at least a part
Neversink, and Cannonsville reservoirs, as well
of the flow at Montague, not to exceed a definite
as waters to be withheld from the Francis E.
amount specified in mgd’s;
ordered re
Walter Reservoir, a flood-control installation in
leases of water impounded by the Pennsylvania
the upper Lehigh Valley. All these redisposi
Power & Light Company’s Lake Wallenpaupack
tions effective on September 7 were designed to
Dam, and from the Mongaup Reservoir of the
increase downstream releases of water by 42
Orange & Rockland Utilities in order to protect
per cent.
(2)
the health, safety, and welfare of the people in
the lower Delaware Basin.
On August 6, the Commission met again in
Philadelphia was given specific assistance in
the form of a federal grant of $250,000 to pro
vide overtime money to speed up construction of
Philadelphia in response to New York City’s
a new intake above Torresdale. If that is done
fears of running out of water and Philadelphia’s
and if the drought does not become more severe
apprehensions of the approaching salt line. In
salinity effects can be reduced.
recognition of the aggravated emergency, the
The
entire
Basin’s
countryside
is
being
Commission extended its previous rulings for
scoured for all available lakes and ponds. Water
an additional period and ruled that releases of
from Lake Hopatcong within the Basin is being
13
business review
sought by parched North Jersey cities outside
almost wholly dependent upon the Delaware and
the Basin. For lack of water at least one paper
its tributaries for its water requirements, has no
mill in North Jersey had to close down, resulting
alternative. The city’s purification plants make
in the loss of jobs for several hundred workers.
these waters potable, for which its consumers
For the duration of the drought, the Commis
pay a price. It is only natural that Philadelphi
sion is limited to equitable distribution of all
ans, now menaced by a salt intrusion hazard,
available waters within its jurisdiction. It can
wonder why New York, on the Hudson, doesn’t
perform no miracles. When the Commission
was established no one knew that the early
use its waters as Philadelphia uses those of the
stages of a marathon drought were also in the
Delaware.
Desalinization of seawater, so unlimited in
making. But for the progress in the Commis
abundance, has nothing to offer ias a quick solu
sion’s comprehensive plan, our present plight
tion. It would take years to build a plant with
would be even worse.
the necessary transmission facilities, and river
water can still be purified at substantially lower
W a te r a n d w a te rw o rk s
cost than desalting seawater.
Successive cycles of water shortage are growing
The Corps of Engineers, in their comprehen
more acute. With expanding population, the
sive “ Delaware River Basin Report” of 1960
demand for water in the Basin’s service area
said that there was sufficient water in the Basin
keeps growing; but the river doesn’t. It is a
to meet existing and future needs as far as the
credit to the foresight of the Commission that
year 2010, including the diversion for New York
it embarked, at the very outset, upon a long-
provided in the Supreme Court decree. Fuller
range plan for more effective utilization of wa
utilization of the water resources, however, re
ter resources. The essence of the plan is making
quires construction of adequate facilities, also
more water available for use by providing more
outlined in the Engineers’ report. The present
waterworks— facilities to capture excess waters
drought indicates the need for revision of the
in times of plenty for release in times of scar
time schedule and perhaps the construction de
city.
tails. The task under the supervision of the
Facilities for water treatment also play a
prominent part in water supply. Philadelphia,
14
Delaware River Basin Commission promises to
be the best way to run a river.
THE SEVENTIES BELONG
TO THE SUSQUEHANNA
In the same month that President Kennedy
In its 448-mile course— 24th longest river in
signed into being the Delaware River Basin
the United States— the Susquehanna is shining,
Commission,
a compre
is muddy, and more. Its north branch begins in
hensive survey of the Third Federal Reserve
Lake Otsego, New York, near Cooperstown, re
District’s other major water source, the Susque
nowned now as site of baseball’s Hall of Fame.
hanna River. Unlike that of the Delaware, the
As if to legitimatize its birth, the river first loops
service area of the Susquehanna in Pennsyl
into Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, then
Congress
authorized
vania— 21,000 square miles, almost half the
returns to New York State. It flows westerly
land mass of the Commonwealth— is sparsely
past industrial Binghamton and Endicott, where
populated. Two-thirds of its 39 mid-state coun
upon it once more crosses the state line at Sayre,
ties are rural, contain fewer than 100 persons
Bradford
per square mile. Less than 10 per cent of the
joined by the Chemung River.
County.
Here the Susquehanna is
water withdrawn from the Susquehanna and its
Reinforced by the Chemung, the Susquehanna
tributaries is used for public purposes. Large
channels southeasterly through rugged game
tracts of land in the Susquehanna Basin in
and timber country to the great hard coal fields
Pennsylvania are state-owned, and are unde
veloped; highway access to much of the Basin
of Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. At West
Pittston the Susquehanna meets the Lackawanna
is at present limited. These conditions permit
River.
planning for the future that can maximize utili
through gently rolling terrain to Northumber
zation of resources in the Basin yet minimize
land, just north of Sunbury, where it connects
dislocation of existing structures and customs.
with its west branch.
That sh in in g river
bria County, in a soft coal region. It runs
It
then
turns
southwesterly,
courses
The west branch rises near Cresson, Cam
first
through truck and dairy farms to Clearfield,
glimpse of the Susquehanna River in Across the
then east through state park areas to industrial
Plains: “ And when I had asked the name of
Williamsport. Here it swings south, passes the
the river from the brakeman, and heard that it
federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, to its con
was called the Susquehanna, the beauty of the
fluence with the north branch. At Clarks Ferry,
name seemed to be part and parcel of the beauty
the main stem of the Susquehanna unites with
of the land. . . . That was the name, as no other
another of its principal tributaries, the Juniata
could be, for that shining river and desirable
River. Much of the land through which the
valley.” The euphony that enchanted Stevenson
Juniata flows is similar to that of the west
was mere accident, however. The Andaste Indi
branch— farmland, mineral deposits, recreational
ans named the river by combining their words
areas.
Robert
Louis
Stevenson
describes
his
“ sisku” and “ hanne.” Literally translated, they
mean “ muddy river.”
Now
the
character
of
the
Susquehanna
changes; so does the economy of the valley
15
business review
through which it flows. It streams past the urban
national average by almost 40 per cent, her
complex of Harrisburg-New Cumberland-Steel-
4,400 rivers and streams number more than
ton, state capital, Army depot, steel mills. It splits
those in any other state. Few communities along
York and Lancaster counties, each with its im
the Susquehanna tap the river for public water
mensely valuable farmland, diversified industry,
supply, however. When drought occurs there is
and swelling populations. It leaves Pennsylvania
quick, local interest in the Susquehanna as a
by crossing the Mason and Dixon Line near
source of water supply. But potential is one
Peach Bottom, locale of an atomic reactor power
generating plant. It supplies Maryland’s hydro
thing, means of delivery another. Filtration
plants, pumping stations, water and sewer lines
electric
Conowingo
Dam, then empties into
Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, some 40
miles northeast of Baltimore.
are nonexistent and cannot be built in time to
cope with immediate need.
Pennsylvania
is confronted
with
water-re
lated problems other than that of supply. Its
P ro blem s a n d p o ten tials
anthracite and bituminous coal mines have cre
The foregoing five-paragraph trip down the
ated a kind of water pollution particularly seri
Susquehanna but hints at the diverse topography
ous in the Commonwealth— infusion of poison
the river traverses and the full range of devel
ous sulphuric acid, deadly to man, fish, and
oping and undeveloped communities it serves.
plant life. Soil erosion takes a heavy toll: a
There are booming metropolitan centers whose
study reveals that from March 31 to April 8,
industrialization, from basic industry to light
1960, almost two million tons of silt were car
manufacturing, is forging ahead. There are de
ried
past
Harrisburg
by
the
Susquehanna,
pressed areas, particularly those whose mineral
equivalent to the topsoil of a 40-acre farm being
or forest resources have been depleted or are no
lost every six hours. Floods can be devastating:
longer profitable to exploit. There are many fine
one in March, 1936, inundated 15,000 acres in
colleges, and one-room schoolhouses. There are
the Pennsylvania Susquehanna Basin, affected
fruit farms, tobacco farms, crop farms, dairy
more than 450,000 people.
farms, some incomparably successful, some mar
More important than mere resolution of water
ginally subsisting. There are great reaches of
problems in the Susquehanna region is realiza
unspoiled public land where fish and game
tion of the potentials inherent in integrated de
abound, there are congested areas where people
velopment of its water and related land re
abound. There
are power and transport in
sources. The Susquehanna Basin is more than
abundance, yet kerosene lamps and log roads.
twice the size of the Delaware Basin, but has
There is affluence, and there is poverty. Possibly
only half as many people; it offers room for
nowhere else in the United States is the varied
growth. Population in the Pennsylvania sector
national economy so well-mirrored in miniature.
of the Basin has been rising— between 1950 and
There are problems, too, some directly re
1960 it grew by 10.3 per cent, which compares
lated to water. In years of regular rainfall such
favorably with the state’s increase of 7.8 per
problems tend to be overlooked, for normally
cent. But the growth has been uneven. The al
Pennsylvania is a water-rich state: her average
ready populous Harrisburg-York-Lancaster area
annual precipitation of 42 inches exceeds the
posted a rise of 17 per cent, whereas the upper
16
business review
river counties (principal cities Scranton, Wilkes-
ment of the Basin’s several natural resources.
Barre) and the Juniata Branch counties (prin
Too often in the past, one resource was ex
cipal city Altoona) lost 6.5 per cent.
ploited without regard to the effect on another
Water supply had little effect on the disparate
resource;
a telling example is coal mining,
changes in population; other factors affecting
which has contributed to acid pollution of over
employment played major roles. In the growth
2,000 miles of Pennsylvania’s streams. Single
area of Harrisburg-York-Lancaster, employment
purpose development has ignored latent possi
gains between 1950 and 1960 were greatest in
bilities— a dam built solely for flood control
the fields of government, finance, services, whole
purposes might also have served to generate
sale and retail trade, and electrical equipment,
power, provide swimming and boating facilities,
none of which is particularly water-oriented. De
and hold water in reserve for times of drought,
clining demand for hard coal, thus fewer jobs
had it been constructed with these collateral
in mining, was primarily causative of the pop
purposes in view.
ulation loss in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area.
To aid the Corps of Engineers prepare a plan
Altoona suffered a sizable decline in employ
that would encompass integrated development
ment in its transportation industry, railroading.
of the several resources of the Susquehanna
Water had little to do with either.
Basin, the Congress also authorized other agen
Water, however, together with simultaneous
cies of the Federal Government to make related
advance of other facilities, can do much to aid
studies. There are now seven principal U. S.
growth of the Susquehanna Basin. The area
instrumentalities engaged in the survey. To
looks to two kinds of growth, industrial and
gether with their main spheres of interest, they
recreational. Industries such as pulp and paper
are:
mills, steel mills, food processing plants, chem
ical manufactories, and others dependent upon
abundant, potable water, will find many suitable
sites in central Pennsylvania. Camping areas,
game preserves, streams plentiful with moun
tain trout, and just the sheer beauty of unsullied
Nature, will attract tourists in increasing num
Corps of Engineers (Department of Defense)
— flood damage prevention and control
Department of Agriculture— resource factors
in tributary areas of the Basin
Department of Commerce— flood forecasting,
federal aid highways
Department
of
Health-Education-Welfare—
ber, and generate employment in service indus
water quality, economics related to water
tries. Together, industry and recreational facili
resources
ties can promote growth of the Susquehanna
Basin.
Department of Interior— recreation, fish and
game, coal resources and acid mine drain
age pollution, geological factors
Federal G o v e rn m e n t’s role
When the Congress in 1961 directed the Corps
of Engineers to prepare “ a comprehensive plan
for the development of water and related land
Federal Power Commission— matters inciden
tal to hydropower
Housing and Home Finance Agency— public
works, urban renewal
resources” in the Susquehanna Basin, it recog
The various federal agencies and sub-agencies,
nized the essentiality of simultaneous develop
16 in all, have some common interests, and are
17
business review
generating data useful to each other. To mini
states set up an Interstate Advisory Committee
mize duplication of effort and to promote ex
on the Susquehanna River Basin. Each state is
change of information, they have constituted a
equally represented on this committee, which has
Susquehanna River Basin Study Coordinating
a full-time director and a small staff. The chair
Committee. Each agency, and each of the Basin
man and two vice chairmen of the Advisory
states— Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland— is
Committee are the state’s official representatives
represented on the committee. Meetings of the
on the (federal) Study Coordinating Commit
committee are open to press and public, and
tee.
thus the public is kept informed about progress
The Advisory Committee is charged with a
second responsibility, to conduct studies relat
of the survey.
ing to the Basin which do not come within the
scope of activities of participating federal and
State g o v e rn m e n t’s role
of
state agencies. One such study resulted in a
Pennsylvania have specific interests or respon
series of organizational charts delineating the
sibilities in administration, research and plan
interrelationships among the numerous federal
ning, control, and development of the state’s
and state agencies engaged in the survey.
Thirteen
agencies
of
the
Commonwealth
natural resources. They are the Departments of
Agriculture,
Commerce,
Forest
and
Waters,
Health, Highways, and Mines and Mineral In
A third duty of the Advisory Committee is to
draft
an
inter-governmental
compact
under
which an action program for the Susquehanna
dustries; the General State Authority, and the
Basin may be carried out. A beginning draft of
State Planning Board; the Fish, Game, and Pub
this compact has been prepared. It is similar in
lic Utility Commissions; the Sanitary Water
some respects to the compact that created the
Board, and the Water and Power Resources
Delaware River Basin Commission and, like
Board. Additionally, the Department of Internal
the compact, must be approved by the affected
Affairs has a general interest in the state’s re
states and the Congress, and signed by the
sources, as they relate to the Susquehanna Basin.
President, to become operative.
Inevitably, there is an overlapping of agency
responsibilities in given aspects of resource de
Tim etable
velopment. In a few instances, coordination be
It is anticipated that survey of the Susquehanna
tween agencies is provided for by statute; in
will be completed by 1968 or 1969. In the in
most cases, however, there is no statutory man
terim, legislatures of the three states will be
date, and voluntary liaison has evolved.
asked to approve a compact to undertake joint
action to develop the Susquehanna River Basin.
In terstate A d v iso r y C om m ittee
By the time survey and compact are in being,
Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland have a
interstate route numbers 80, 81, 83 and 84 will
measure of direct participation in the Susque
have made the Pennsylvania Susquehanna Basin
hanna survey via their representation on the fed
accessible to all points of the compass. There
eral agencies’ Study Coordinating Committee.
will then remain one more obstacle to be over
In order to safeguard their interests further, and
come by the interested parties: appropriation
to promote liaison between themselves, the Basin
of federal and state funds to implement the
18
business review
master plan
for
development of
the Basin.
velop
the Susquehanna
Basin’s land, labor,
Economists coined a catchword to describe
power, raw materials, educational plant, and
the present decade for the nation— “ The Soaring
transportation facilities, jointly with its water
Sixties.” Paraphrasing this for the Susquehanna,
resources. Should plans now formulated come
these ten years can be described aptly as the
to fruition, Pennsylvania’s slogan for the next
“ Searching Sixties.” They will see the end of
decade could well be, “ The Seventies Belong to
the first phase of an ambitious endeavor to de
the Susquehanna.”
19
F O R T HE R E C O R D . . .
2 YEARS
AGO
YEAR
AGO
JULY
1965
Third Federal
Reserve District
United States
Per cent change
Per cent change
Factory*
Employ
ment
mo.
ago
year
ago
7
mos.
1965
from
year
ago
mo.
ago
year
ago
7
mos.
1965
from
year
ago
-
July 1965
from
5
+
9
+ 9
4
+
4
+
July 1965
from
LO CA L
CH A N G ES
-
CO N ST R U C T IO N **...............
COAL PRODUCTION.............
-1 3
TRADE***
Department store sales..........
Department store stocks........
BA N K IN G
(All member banks)
Deposits............................
Loans................................
Investments.........................
U.S. Govt, securities...........
Other..............................
Check payments..................
-
2
1
0
1
+ 8
+ 7
+ 4
+ 10
+ 9
+ 7
+ 4
+ 10
+
4
+
8
+15
+
+18
+ 6
-2 3
+
9
+
1
+
•Production workers only
••Value of contracts
•••Adjusted for seasonal variation
Check
Payments*
Per cent
change
JULY '65
from
Per cent
change
JULY '65
from
Per cent
change
JULY '65
from
year
ago
mo.
ago
year
ago
+
6
-
1
+ 9
mo.
ago
+17
+ 8
4
year
ago
0
Harrisburg.........
+ 2
+ 2
-
2
+ 4
Lancaster..........
0
+ 5
-
1
+ 8
+10
Philadelphia.......
mo.
ago
year
ago
+ 5
Lehigh Valley. . . .
2
+20
+
+
3
+27
6
+
2
+16
-
1
+
-
3
0
1
1
0
Of
+
+
+
+
+
6
n
1
7
15
13t
+ 8
+11
+ 2
- 5
+ 14
+13+
-
3
1
0
- 1
+ 1
0
+ 9
+14
+ 4
- 5
+ 17
+ 10
+ 10
+ 14
+ 3
- 4
+1 4
+11
0
+ 3
+
1
+ 10
+10
-
2
Reading............
-
1
+ 5
-
5
+ 8
+ 13
+
6
+ 2
+ 7
Scranton...........
+
1
+ 3
+
1
+ 8
+ 4
+
1
+ 9
+
Trenton.............
-
1
+ 3
0
+
+ 12
-
4
-
3
+ 16
Wilkes-Barre. . . .
-
1
+ 2
-
1
+ 5
+
+
6
-
3
+14
0
+ 4
+
1
+ 7
+ 10
+ 14
+ 5
+39
+
-
2
+ 12
+ 8
+ 9
+
+ 13
Wilmington........
PRICES
Consumer..........................
Department
Store Salesf
mo.
ago
MANUFACTURING
Electric power consumed. . . .
Man-hours, total*...............
Employment, total................
W age income*....................
Payrolls
Per cent
change
JULY '65
from
SU M M ARY
Ot +
2t +
2+
0
0
+ 2
+ 2
+
+
f20 Cities
JPhiladelphia
1
1
York................
+1
6
6
3
1
8
8
*N ot restricted to corporate limits of cities but covers areas of one or more
counties.
fAdjusted for seasonal variation.
@FedFRASER