The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-09-19
LONDON SEWAGE.
What 1t Is Estimated to he Worth, and
Plans for Its Disposal Considered.

What 1t Is Estimated to he Worth, and
Plans for Its Disposal Considered.
1t has been computed that the annual
value of London sewage amounts to IS.
Cd. per individual, and, estimating the
population at 100000 persons, the
total value would be more than So, 000,-
900 per annum. 1t would thus appear,
on the face of it, that in some way or
other this sum should be saved for the
city. There are two ways of deriving
profit from sewage: One is by the APP
plication of sewage to land, as, for in
stance, is done at Pullman, ILL.,, or from
treatment by chemical processes. Pre-
cedents for the first plan exist in
Great Britain, the more notable ones
being in Edinburgh and Doncaster; but
from ne Their of these could the commits
sioners derive sufficient encouragement
to infer that the pumping and other ex-
penses would not cancel all of the pos
sible profits. The second plan is re-
garded as yet more unfavorably, for the
available material value of the sewage
is at present too small to admit of
obtaining from it any product which
can be sold at anything like the cost of
its product ton"
With reference to the plans for the
treatment of the metropolitan sewage,
four possible schemes are presented and
analysed. These are broad irrigat on,
filtration through land, processes of de-
ton supplemented. by application to
lon he, 10
decisive and uniform that for every loo
persons one acre would be needed in
broad irrigation, and that the sewage
should be strained or purified before
permitted to finally pass upon the sur
face of the land. When it is remembered
that 10000 acres are equal to about
sixty-two square miles, the impracticabil-
ity Of this scheme is apparent, for no
such farming area can be found in the
neighborhood of London.
The method which meets with the
greatest favor from the commission is
the last one mentioned. The chief ad-
vantage is that the sewage is thereby
much moro thoroughly deprived of its
noxious qualities The process is
found in actual use in Birmingham, and
is described as follows: The sewage
is treated with lime and al
lowed to deposit in series Of
large tanks; the clarified liquid is
then passed through porous land, after
which it runs into the river, being found
perfectly innocuous. The sludge de-
post, which amounts to $50 tons a day.
is allowed to run in its semi-tlu.d state
upon portion of the land laid out to
receive it. after which it is dug into the
ground, which is covered with soil,
planted, cropped and used for filtra-
ton. One acre per week is allotted for
this purpose and the land so used re-
mains for three years before sludge is
put upon it again. Thus the quantity of
land required for the disposal of the
sludge would be 1876 acres" Such a
system meets the chief difficulties 1t
does not require the large area de-
manded for broad irrigation, ard it
clarifies the filth which is now polluting
the Thames, even up to the bridge The
history OF London's sewerage expert
ment conclusively shows that city has
not solved the problem when it has
even devised method for drawing off
its drainage. The term.ni must be con-
sidered, as well as the lines of trans
portation. Bralstreets Reports.