New York (State). Dept. of Environmental Conservation. Division of Water.

Interstate basin commissions were formed to formulate policies and programs for development of watershed resources; to promote the orderly and integrated development and conservation of water resources; to prevent, abate, and control water pollution; and to regulate the disposal of wastes in interstate river drainage basins. A drainage basin is the entire tract of land drained by a river and its tributaries, commonly called a watershed. When drainage basins extend beyond state boundaries control of water pollution becomes a matter of interstate cooperation and planning. These commissions were established through either federal or state law to regulate the disposal of wastes and maintain or improve the quality of water resources found in the basins.

From the guide to the Interstate basin commission administration files, 1948-1975, 1957-1975, (New York State Archives)

A drainage basin is a tract of land drained by a river and its tributaries, sometimes referred to as a watershed. The files were first produced by the departments of Health and Conservation which had responsibility for establishing and monitoring pollution levels in state waters and regulating water waste management. After 1970 the Department of Environmental Conservation assumed these responsibilities as well as primary responsibility for state policy on those issues.

Some ofthe earliest records (ca. 1907-1909) are forms completed by sanitary inspectors providing the Health Department with information on stream pollution from factory sewage wastes. By the 1970s, the Department of Environmental Conservation had a full water quality and effluent monitoring network. Bad water quality or the poor working condition of a water supply system or treatment facility can result in contamination. Data on waste composition is necessary to determine the impact of chemical waste disposal on marine resources. In addition, the records cover work projects of several federal agencies, usually done in cooperation with the Department of Health and in response to federal action in the citing of industrial polluters or combating pollution of interstate waterways.

From the guide to the Drainage basin subject files, 1904-1977, 1950-1975, (New York State Archives)