River is a small, and for the most part sluggish, stream in the eastern part of Massachusetts, emptying into Boston Harbor. This river, including its tributaries, has been used for industrial water supply, and to some extent for power, for a great many years. The industrial wastes were discharged into the river with little or no treatment until with the growth of industries the load on the stream became greater than it could handle. During periods of warm weather and low stream flow the dissolved oxygen in the river water was exhausted, resulting in anaerobic decomposition of the organic matter in the flowing water and in deposits on the bed of the stream, accompanied by the production of offensive odors.The principal sources of pollution were the paper mills of Bird & Son and the Hollingsworth & Vose Company, in East Walpole, and the tannery of Winslow Bros. & Smith Company, in Norwood. These industries, in cooperation with the State Board of Health, started investigation of the problems of wastes treatment about twenty-five years ago.
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