Water Pollution Control by Interstate Cooperation: A Symposium: Classification of Massachusetts Streams

New England interstate streams differ somewhat from streams in many other sections of the United States in that these streams, particularly those in the State of Massachusetts, are seldom used both as sources of water supply for drinking and culinary purposes and as media for the disposal of sewage and industrial wastes. However, New England streams are used to a large extent both for industrial purposes and for recreation. Under present conditions the . value of the streams for industry is greater than for rec,reation, although the income from recreation throughout New England as a whole probably is as great as, if not greater than, that from industry. Because of such stream usage· the Conference of State Sanitary Engineers of New England met on December 18, 1935, and voted to advise the New England Regional Planning Commission of the National Resources Planning Board of the need for a New England program of stream classification, based on the present and proposed highest use of streams that could ultimately be agreed upon by the various states as a foundation on which to build agreem•:mts between the states on water pollution control. A committee was appointed by that commission soon after this recommendation, and its report, containing a proposed classification, was filed with the commission early in 1941. The committee expressed the opinion that it was not fair for the downstream state to demand a high standard of stream purity from the upstream state and do little toward water pollution control in its own territory.