IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING AND DISPOSING OF THE SEWAGE OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Richard Nicholl at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th August 1862.
I, JOHN RICHARD NICHOLL, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, Clerk,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS
OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING AND DISPOSING OF THE SEWAGE OF TOWNS AND
VILLAGES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide an efficient and economical
means for disposing of the sewage of towns and villages. To, this end 1
propose to employ the natural porosity of the soil, where such is available, for
disposing of the fluid portion of the sewage by natural filtration, having
previously brought the sewage to the proper condition for filtering rapidly
through the soil. Supposing, for example, I wish to dispose of the sewage of
a town situato on or near a bed of chalk or gravel, I first remove the focal
or other solid matters from the sewage in the following manner, and utilize it
as an inodorous manure; thus, I lengthen the sewer or sewers which have
been or may be formed by the addition of two, three, four, or more broad
diverging channels, which, from their extended surface, will cause a sluggish
flow of the sewage. Each of these diverging, channels I fit with sluice valves,
which permit of the discharge at suitable periods of the sewage into removable
tanks. These tanks I propose shall form when in place a portion of the out-

page_text: flowing channel, each tank forming the connection between the diverging
channels and the outflow sewer leading to the filtering basins provided for the
disposal by natural filtration of the liquid portion of the sewage. When the
sluice valves are opened the sewage will be discharged into the romoveable tanks.
Before escaping from these tanks the fluid will have to pass through a filtering
sieve or strainer, and continue its onward course in the sewer; or it may, if
need be, be passed through a second and finer strainer. The sewage flowing
very slowly through the tanks will leave a continually accumulating deposit in
them, and when any one of them is full its sluice valve is to be closed, a heavy
lid fitting into the the tank; or other pressure may be applied for expressing
the remaining fluid from the tank, suitable perforations being made therein
for admitting of the discharge of the fluid. The filled tank is now to be
removed, and another substituted in its place to restore the communication
between the detached parts of the sewer. When a tank is put into position,
some chemical preparation calculated to fix ammonia and to act as a deodorizer
should be placed in it, and when it is removed thence, various desiccating
substances may be added to its contents to convert the same into an inodorous
and valuable inanure. Having thus caused a subsidence of the greater part
of the solid matter by passing the sewage slowly through one or more tanks
and sieves, or strainers, I dispose of the remaining fluid by discharging it into
basins formed in the chalk or gravel, from which it will by natural percolation
lose itself in the soil. When, however, any portion of the filtered fluid may
with advantage be used for the purposes of irrigation, the same may be
diverted to any proper receptacle, but otherwise I avail myself of the absorbing
power of the local soil to dispose of the sewage treated as above described,
instead of resorting to the costly and sometimes almost impracticable plan of
discharging the liquid sewage into adjacent waters. In some cases I may
find it desirable to discharge the sewage on to filter beds or subsidence basins
instead of portable tanks, and then get rid of the liquid now separated from
the solid matters as above explained.