Second series. Concise statements of the main features of the plans for the drainage of the metropolis : sent in pursuance of the resolution of the Court, 20th August, 1849.

  • London (England). Metropolitan Commission of Sewers.
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second series. Concise statements of the main features of the plans for the drainage of the metropolis : sent in pursuance of the resolution of the Court, 20th August, 1849. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Fourthly. It will scarcely, if at all, interfere with the existing sewers, as at present constructed. Fifthly. The main sewers proposed to be built will be at all times easy of access, and can, if required, be readily repaired, without interfering with the passage of the sewage. Sixthly. The size and inclination of the main sewers will be sufficient to carry off, not only the existing sewage, but a considerably larger quantity, which may be anticipated to arise from an increase of population. Lastly. The sewage will be collected in reservoirs, at some distance from any inhabited district, and converted into solid manure, fit for agricultural purposes, or a portion, if desired, retained in a liquid form for distribution. The mode by which I propose to arrive at the foregoing results, is by laying- sewers built of brick, in cement, and coated with asphalte, along both sides of the River Thames, from Twickenham to Barking or Plaistow Levels, on the North side, and from Kew to Plumstead Marshes, on the South side. These sewers would vary somewhat in form and in size (from 16 feet of sectional area to 156 square feet), in different parts of their course, and, with the exception of some few deviations from the line of the river, for the purpose of shortening the distance, would be constructed in the bed of the river, below the level of low-water mark. The fall would increase more rapidly than that of the river, the amount of inclination being however limited, so as not to occasion any interference with the upper side of the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe. Shafts at certain distances would be erected, to give a ready admission to the interior of the sewers; for destroying chemically any noxious gases that might be generated, and which, unless got rid of, might interfere with the passage of the sewage • and for flushing occasionally, at high water, the interior, to prevent the accumulation of sediment. The sewers would be, for the greater portion of the distance, constructed of a double form, so that, when desired, the sewage might for a time be caused to flow in either channel, while the other underwent cleansing or repair; this might be done either for the whole length or merely for any length, between two of the shafts. At the termini at Barking or Plaistow, and at Plumstead Marshes, reservoirs would be constructed, of considerable extent, for the reception of the sewage, which after being pumped up to a higher level, would be separated from the water, and the latter passed into the river when the tide was on the ebb. My plan does not embrace any interference with the present system of sewers, otherwise than by repairing them where in decay, securing connection between them