IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER SUPPLY
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Richardson, of Great George Street,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, and John
Imray, of Westminster Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Richardson and
John Imray at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 21st September 1866.
We, ROBERT RICHARDSON, of Great George Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, and JOHN IMRAY, of Westminster
Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER SUPPLY," to be as
follows:-
Our improvements relate to the supply of water from the sea, partly salt
for baths, watering roads, fire-mains, and other purposes, and partly fresh for
drinking and domestic use. To effect this at some conveniently accessible
site on the sea coast steam boilers and pumping engines are erected with
reservoirs sufficiently high to command a flow of water by gravity to the town
or district to be supplied. Open conduits for salt water and for fresh are

page_text: formed from these reservoirs to others at or near the town or district to be
supplied. Steam, which may be direct from the boilers, or partly exhaust
steam from the pumping engines, is condensed in surface condensers, and the
fresh water thence resulting is conveyed in the fresh water conduits and aërated
by exposure therein. In order to economise fuel it is preferred to begin with
steam at high pressure, to condense that in a surface condenser cooled by sea
water in such limited quantity that it is boiled by the heat given out in con-
densing the first steam, and thus gives a second supply of steam, which being
condensed in like manner produces a third supply, which is also condensed,
and so on, the first supply of steam being thus used to provide several successive
supplies, all of which being condensed furnish together more distilled water
than is supplied by condensing the first steam only. The brine resulting from
the partial distillation of the sea water is treated by evaporation and otherwise
for obtaining sea salt and other matters contained in sea water. The pumping
engines supply the sea water conduit, and in order that it may be clean it is
preferred to discharge from the pumps into the bottom of large deep reservoirs,
and to supply the conduit from their upper parts, so that the water rising
slowly in these reservoirs deposits impurities suspended in it, which are
removed from time to time by cleaning the reservoirs. The sea water and
distilled water being supplied by the conduits to reservoirs at or near the town
or district are thence pumped to such heights as to command the service for
different levels. Existing mains and waterworks can be supplied with the
distilled water, additional services being established for the sea water. When
fresh water is not required the sea water conduits suffice, and the steam boilers
and pumping engines at the sea coast can be dispensed with, the force of the
tides being employed to lift the water to the conduits, either by working tide
mills with pumps or other apparatus for lifting water, or by hydraulic rams.
In order to apply this force reservoirs are formed near the sea with channels
communicating therewith provided with suitable sluices for the tide mills or
rams. Before bigh water the sluices are opened and admit water from the
sea to the reservoirs, which works the rams or mills on its way. Again,
before low water the sluices are opened so as to let the contents of the
reservoirs flow back to the sea and work the rams or mills on their way. As
sea water does not freeze in this climate the conduits may be always used for
navigation. They may also supply towns or districts with water in their
course.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Richardson and John Imray in the Great Seat
Patent Office on the 18th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
RICHARDSON, of Great George Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, and JOHN IMRAY, of Westminster Bridge Road, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said.
Robert Richardson and John Imray, Her special licence that we, the said
Robert Riehardson and John Imray, our executors, administrators, and:
assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert Richardson and John
Imray, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WATER SUPPLY," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said.
Robert Richardson and John Imray, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and.
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said.
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar.
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent...
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Richardson and John
Imray, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Our improvements relate to the supply of water from the sea, partly salt for
baths, watering roads, fire-mains, and other purposes, and partly fresh for drink-
ing and domestic use. To effect this, at some conveniently accessible site on
the sea coast, steam boilers and pumping engines are erected with reservoirs
sufficiently high to command a flow of water by gravity to the town or
district to be supplied. Open conduits are formed from those reservoirs to

page_text: others at or near the town or district to be supplied. Steam, which may be
direct from the boilers, or partly exhaust steam from the pumping engines, is
condensed in surface condensers, and the fresh water thence resulting is con-
veyed in the fresh water conduit and aërated by exposure therein. In order
to economize fuel it is preferred to begin with steam at high pressure, to
condense that in a surface condenser cooled by sea water in such limited
quantity that it is boiled by the heat given out in condensing the first steam,
and thus gives a second supply of steam, which being condensed in like
manner produces a third supply, which is also condensed, and so on, the first
supply of steam being thus used to provide several successive supplies, all of
which being condensed furnish together more distilled water than is supplied
by condensing the first steam only. The brine resulting from the partial dis-
tillation of the sea water is treated by evaporation and otherwise for obtaining
sea salt and the other matters contained in sea water.' The pumping engines
supply the sea water conduit, and in order that it may be clean it is pre-
ferred to discharge from the pumps into the bottom of large deep reservoirs
and to supply the conduit from their upper parts, so that the 'water' rising
slowly in these reservoirs deposits impurities suspended in it, which are
removed from time to time by cleaning the reservoirs. The sea water and
distilled water being supplied by the conduits to reservoirs at or near the town
or district are thence pumped to such heights as to command the service for
different levels. Existing mains and waterworks can be supplied with the dis-
tilled water, additional service being established for the sea water. When fresh
water is not required the sea water conduits suffice, and the steam boilers
and pumping engines at the sea coast can be dispensed with, the force of the
tides being employed to lift the water to the conduits, either by working tide
mills with pumps or other apparatus for lifting water or by hydraulic rams. In
order to apply this force reservoirs are formed near the sea with channels
communicating there with provided with suitable sluices for the tide mills or
rams. Before high water the sluices are opened and admit water from the sea to
the reservoirs, which works the rams or mills on its way. Again, before low
water the sluices are opened so as to let the contents of the reservoirs flow
back to the sea and work the rams or
not freeze in this climate the conduits may be always used for navigation.
They may also supply towns or districts with water in their course.
mills on its way. As sea water does

page_text: a, a, is a portion of the sea coast; b is the boiler, engine, and distillery
house; c, is a conduit through which water is drawn from the sea by the
pumps in b; d is a conduit by which a portion of this water is discharged
into a reservoir d' situated at a high level, whence it flows by a conduit to
reservoirs dat towns and districts to be supplied with sea water; e is a
conduit for conveying the fresh water produced from the distillation of a portion
of the sea water in 6 to a reservoir e' at a high level like d¹; and is a
conduit by which this distilled water is conveyed to reservoirs e³ at towns and
districts to be supplied therewith. The reservoirs d, e, are supplied at
their lower parts and discharge at their upper parts so that 'impurities may
subside during the rise of the water. therein.
Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 is a section, of our apparatus for effecting a
supply of sea water by the force of the tides.
a is a portion of sea coast; f,f, are large reservoirs excavated to the depth
of low water; 9, 9, are channels or conduits communicating from the bottoms
of the reservoirs ff, to the sea, in which channels, sluices, 'and hydraulic
rams are placed at g¹, g'; h is a pipe discharging from these. rams into a
reservoir h¹ situated at a high level, and h³ is a conduit conveying water there-
from to the towns and districts to be supplied. Before high tide. the sluices at g¹
are opened, and water flowing through them into the reservoirs f actuates the
hydraulic rams at g¹ in its passage, and thereby causes a portion of such
water to be lifted to the high reservoir h. When the reservoirs f are filled
to the level of high water the sluices at g¹ are closel. Before low water they
are opened and the water flowing back from the reservoirs f to the sea again
actuates the hydraulic rams in its passage, and causes another portion of such
water to be lifted to h¹. When the reservoirs f are thus emptied the sluices
at g are again closed until the next flow of tide, when the operation is
repeated, and so, on continuously.
Fig. 5 is a plan, and Fig. 6 is a section; of our apparatus for effecting
a supply of sea water by the force of the tides in a case where the town or
district to be supplied is in the neighbourhood of a tidal river.
a is a portion of the sea coast; i is a tidal river flowing past j, the place to
be supplied; k is a canal formed from the sea to j. The mouth of this canal
is extended in width at k', and banked up so as to leave only a shallow passage
for water over it when the tide is high, and the summit of the bank is fitted
with sluices or flap valves at k opening inwards from the sea; 1, 1, are several
channels from the canal k to the river i, each of these channels being provided
with sluices and hydraulic rams like those described at g¹ in reference to
Figs. 3 and 4; m is a cistern or reservoir at a high level supplied from the

page_text: rams in l, and communicating by mains with the several portions of the town
or district to be supplied. The sluices at being closed water from the sea
at high tide pours over the bank k³, and through the flaps thereon, and fills the
canal k; as the tide recedes the flaps k prevent the water from issuing from
the canal into the sea. When it is low tide in the river i the sluices at are
opened and the water from the canal flows into the river, actuating the rams
on its way, and thereby forcing a portion into the high reservoir m for the
supply of the town or district. When the water in the canal k is thus
lowered, the tide rising in the river, the sluices are again closed, the canal
filled again, and the operation repeated at each succeeding tide. The canal k
thus is employed as an extended reservoir, which may be used for navigation.
Instead of employing hydraulic rams at 1 in Fig. 5, and at g' in Figs. 3 and 4
water wheels or turbines might be employed, worked by the current of passing
water and fitted with pumps for raising a portion to a high level, or instead
of rams or water wheels engines in which water pressure acts on pistons
might be used as might be found most convenient, the object being to
utilise some of the power of the flowing water to pump or otherwise force a
portion of itself to a high level or to give it a bigh pressure suitable for
distribution in mains and service pipes.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Richardson and John Imray,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twelfth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
seven.
ROBI. RICHARDSON. (L.8.)
JOHN IMRAY.
(L.S.)