Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-21
THE SEWAGE PROBLEM.
How IL is Solved in London and Other
English Cities and I'm Paris.

English Cities and I'm Paris.
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SEWERS N COME
THE SEWERAGE SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS EURO
PEAS CITIEs-How THE WASTE MATTER Il
PURIFIED AND UTILIZED AS A FERTILIZER
In June OF last year Superintendent Of Sewers
ID. E. McComb, acting under orders from the
engineer department OF the District paid 6
visit to some Of the more important sewage
works in England and to the Paris sewers, fol-
the purpose of collecting data for the report Of
the engineer department on the best means o.
sewage disposal for the District.
| HOW LIVERPOOL IS DRAINED.
The first place Mr.. McComb visited wal
Liverpool Here he found that the sewers
were constructed to carry both sewage and
rainfall which is discharged continuously into
the Mersey by Independent outlets located To
| serve conveniently the districts drained. The
fuvial low water discharge of the Mersey. he
says in his report, has not been determined.
The population of Liverpool is $50, 600. yet nc
complaint of river pollution has ever been
made. In speaking OF the general plan of drain
age of the city he SAYS that the city locates the
lateral sewers in the alleys thus affording rear
drainage to the houses. The water supply is
| estimated at twenty gallons per head and the
| total length of the sewers is 500 miles. All
work of construction and repair is performed
by day labor.
| THE MANCHESTER METHOD.
He then visited Manchester and found that a
project for providing a sewer system had been
adopted, and that preliminary steps looking to
the construction of the same had been taken
| The scheme, he says, proposes the precipita-
tlon OF sludge by the addition to the sewage OF
lime and sulphate Of alumnia and by Its flow
| with small velocity through a series of tanks.
The effiuent Is to be filtered on the intcrmit-
| tent plan through ground which has been I'M
| ueroralned, after which it is to be discharged
| into the Manchester ship canal The mean
discharge OF the rivers Irwell, Irk and Med
lock, all OF which discharge into the ship
| canal above the proposed precipitation and
! hlteratlon works, Is, he says, estimated to be
3eOOOO,OOO gallons per day, and this canal will
| be also required to carry the eff1uent from
Stafford and the districts adjacent to Man
| chester and Stafford, with a population es-
timated at 100000.
| IMPERFECT PURIFIcATIoN AT LEEDS.
He then visited Leeds, with a population OF
$4,000. The sewage treated here, he says, is
10000, 900 gallons daily. The sewage is raised
Is feet by five centrifugal pumps and precipi-
| tation effected by the addition TO the sewage of
milk of lime, after which it passes with small
! velocity through twelve tanks, the effluent
from the last tank passing over a weir and into
| the river.
| He says that while the effiuent seemed to
i the eye to be less impure than the river Aire,
| into which 1T was discharged, vet the puritica-
| ton effected by the treatment received was
| below the standard reached in other purifica-
ton works visited. The sludge is carried by a
| system of lo-inch pipes to a sludge we'll from
which 1t Is pumped to a field adjoining the
works. where, upon drying. it is carried away
J by farmers to be used as manure. The day of
| his visit TO the works, he continues was not a
warm day (the thermometer being about 7O).
| Ind oh n lob
| ers were loading into carts was quite offensive
| Inc eftuent had also strong smell as of sew
/ age. The manager Of the works, he saws
| stated that the large amount OF wastes from
chemical establishments added largely to the
difficulties experienced in treating the Leeds
sewage.
THE wELL-MASAGED WORKS AT BIRMINGHAM
Next came the sewers of Birmingham. The
sewage treated is estimated at 16 600 900 GAL
Ions daily, and is not pumped except from a
very small area. Milk of lime is added to the
| sewage which is then passed through tanks
where sludge is preclpitated. The effiuent is
then carried to the irrigation farms which are
worked upon the broad irrigation plan after
which it is discharged into the river Tame
The sludge, he continues. Is raised about twenty
feet above the surface of the ground by an ele-
vator to line OF wooden carriers, from whence
it flows into beds where it is deposited twelve
to fifteen inches in depth over the surface and
hlteE uryInS (reQClrlnS ABOUT fourteen Qavs of
good weather. IL is spaded into the ground
and the area thus enriched is sown with roots or
grass. and in a short time the soil becomes pull
verified and is irrigated the same as the rest of
the farm. The sludge carriers are supported
| by trestles which admit the moving of the car
rlers to serve the various sections OF the farm
used for the disposal of the sludge. and which
are, in rotation. served with sludge as above de-
scribed. These beds receive "a coating of
sludge every three years or thereabout
| In the tanks directly in front OF the conduits
| delivering the lined sewage the heavy ma
| terial. mainly road detritus, settles and line
of railway Is laid along this side of the tanks a
| derrick car being used to hoist this material
| which is carried by cars to a spoil bank The
works. he says, appear to be well managed and
no offensive odor Is noticed at distance of
one-fourth of a mile from the farm Italian rye
| grass and roots raised, dairy with rs
cows and large piGgery being maintained, all
the animals being In prime condition. The
average quantity of lime used per day is Is
| tons. Sludge deposited per day 81 cubic
yards. Area of land used tor digging in sludge
| from tanks 40 acres. Total area of sewage
| farm l,227 acres. Capacity of precipitating
| tanks 1853. $50 cubic feet. The farm and pre-
clpltating works are operated by the borough
| The population is $50 900.
OTHER ENGLISH CITIES
He found that bennington has a sewage of
| 100000 gallons per diem and it is pumped to a
| farm belonging to the Earl of Warwick, whose
| tenant irrigates the farm with the sewage sent
| by the borough. paving a small annual rate for
| the same. The broad irrigation system is
| used and the effiuent is discharged into the
| river Lean. profitable dairy, he says. is
| maintained and all the animals seemed to be
| in good condition. No odor was appreciable
| about the farm when he visited it. yet during
| warm and damp weather the oaor is said to be
quite disagreeable in the vicinity of the farm
| The sewage OF Wimbledon treated per dav is
\ 100000 gallons and about one-sixth of the GUAM
4 tity Is pumped The sewage is treated with
milk OF lime and sulphate Of alumina before
passing to the tanks for the precipitation of
| the slurlge. After precipitation.the effiuent is
| used to lrrlgate a farm of IS acres before its
| discharge into the river Wsndle. The sludge
\ is compressed into cakes by filter Dresses and
| these cakes are sold TO farmers. The effIuent
| from the farm was apparently pure water and
| its chemical analys is said to Indicate n high
| degree of publication. This farm. he saws.
| yields profit of from 800 to 400 pounds ster
ling per annun, not considering the interest
| upon the cost OF the farm and works.
The population of Kingston-on- Thames is
/ $1,000 and the sewage treated per day is
| l,O5O.OOO gallons The sewage is pumped into
eight tanks for precipitation, the chemicals
| (said to be ground charcoal. ground CLAW.
| alum and blood) being added separately
| between the pumps and the tanks The urecini.
| tation is effected by filling four of the tanks
| while the other four tanks are being emptied OF
| eifluent and sludge, to be filed in their turn
while the first four tanks are being emptied
The effiuent is discharged into the river Thamc.
and to sight and smell it appears to be nur,
water. The sludge is removed by the pneumatic
| DrOcess and a pressed into cakes hv III .I.o-