The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-03-08
SEWAGE OF LONDON.
INTERESTING FACTS CONCERNING
THE IMMENSE SYSTEM.

People I1ET All Cbr 'EAnIeu anu DOnt
Know How things Are Done.
Louduner. in general are wonderfully !
A]pathctic about matters which concern
them closely and which conducc to their
health, HAPPINESS and comfort. We
turn on Il little tap and are at once sup
piled with abundant light or plenty Of
water, bat little hced is given to the
previous deep thought and incesSant
care which have brought us to this well
arranged state Of affairs. Water pipes
and gas pipes ramify through every
street and lane and alley, distributing
their valuable contents to the inhalit-
ants of the dwellings therein. Thea
there are huge sewer pipes, which car
~ away for rs all that is disagreeable
and unwholesome. We do not say that
our present supply of gas IL water is
perfect, nor that our mode of dealing
with the disposal of our sewage is pc1-
feet. hut at all events they are on the
EighrOad to perfection.
1t WAS On" day, when c%ogitating on
the vast machinery requisite to meet the
demands Of LOndunCrs. and more csrr-
cially - keep them in a healthy sanit@-
~ condition. that | was led to visit til"
Cutfall works If CrosSness, where til
sewage from the sonth side of London
is poured iNtu the Thames. 1t comes
along IN a sewer ii feet 6 inches III d.
aNutrr. Tie main pnnlps hit the >a'W-
age Into reservoirs. where the stwHIpi-
treated Chemically with lime and pru;lr-
suIIlate Of mon in the proportion ut
fur grains Of lime per gallon and Give
Of prutu>uIi hate oI noM. The >ew"-,'
in the course uf treatment flows alcug
large reservoirs.
The flow is Very slow, in order that
tie majority Of solids MAJ lie deposit, i.
1t flows finally over a weir wall. AID
thence into the river. This is called tilr
enlu,ut. This treatment EeceS>ltatr>
the N,r Of - 70 IS tons Of lime per day,
and + to > tons Of I~rotosulphate of iron.
The sewage is drained off the reservoirs
every two days, and men go down ard
thoroughly clean all the sludge out,
which is swept down to a stump and
pumped from there into the sludgc set
thing channels. where it u~ndergoes a fur
ther draining. 1t is then let down into
a lower sIIdye store and pumped from
there on to ships and taken to sea. FIT
teen to twenty thousand tons per week
of sludge are sent to sea.
There are five sludge ships altogether.
which are sent out at every tide. They
go some 40 miles away to the Barrow
deeps. Two engines are required for
pumping up the sludge from the reser>
voirs to the sludge settling channels, and
two for pumping the sludge from the
sludge store on to the ships. There are
four precipitation reservoirs, the capac-
ity of two being 6 $3.50, 600 gallons each,
and that Of the two smaller mes 3, 12J,-
600 gallons each.
In the warm weather the ~etf1uent is
deOdOrized by means of manganate Of So
da and sulphuric acid in the proportion
of one gain of manganate to rs grain
Of sulphuric acid per gallon of eftiuent.
This deOdOrizing at CrOssneSs costs Lon
dOners just 600 a day, SO that it is not
continued longer than absolutely neces-
sary. C1ossness Outfall works employ
from 100 to 200 men. They have an en-
ginecrs' shop on the spot fitted up to
carry out the various repairs that are
constantly required to be done.
Some strange things get into the sew
crs of London, and now and again ba-
bits have been found. Such are some
of the most important features of a sec
ton Of the great machinery Of the me-
~trOpOlis, which never rests, never sleeps.
Notwithstanding the room which exists
for further Improvement in the disposal
Of its sewage, the reduction which has
been brought about i'll the death rate of
London ia modern times is as nOtewor-
thy rs it is satisfactory. In the latter
half of the seventeenth century the av-
crage mortality Of London is said tc
have been not less than 50 per 1000,
at the end Of the eighteenth century i,
had dropped to 80 per 1000, while in
1890 it had fallen to 1913 per 1000.
The main interccpting and principal
branch sewers which have been con,
structed for the conveyance Of the sew
age of London to the two o~utfalls into