Background on WPA Water Pollution Surveys
Under the federal New Deal in the late 1930s, the Works Project Administration authorized a series of surveys of major watersheds to gauge water quality and sources of pollution. In Massachusetts, the studies were coordinated by the Massachusetts Department of Health and resulted in a series of more or less detailed reports issued between September 1936 and January 1938.
Scope of collection
The pollution survey collection contains reports for six major watersheds in New England -- the Blackstone, Hoosic, Housatonic, Merrimack, Nashua, and Ten Mile -- measuring the impact of both civic and industrial waste on regional water resources.
Inventory
Report on sources of pollution, Blackstone River Valley
1936 Sept.
Report on sources of pollution Hoosic River Valley
1936 Oct.
Report on sources of pollution: Housatonic River Valley, Massachusetts: WPA state planning projects, Housatonic Valley survey project #65-14-8070
1936 Sept.
Report on sources of pollution: Merrimack River Valley
1938 June
Report on sources of pollution: Nashua River Valley
1936 Oct.
Report on sources of pollution: Ten Mile River Valley
1938 Jan.
Administrative information
Search terms
Subjects
- Blackstone River Watershed (Mass. and R.I.)
- Hoosic River Watershed
- Housatonic River Watershed (Mass. and Conn.)
- Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
- Massachusetts. State Planning Board
- Merrimack River Watershed (N.H. and Mass.)
- Nashua River Watershed (Mass. and N.H.)
- Ten Mile River Watershed (Mass.)
- Water--Pollution--Massachusetts
- Water-supply--Massachusetts
Contributors
- United States Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts [main entry]
Link to similar SCUA collections