Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the town of Exmouth / by Thomas Webster Rammell, Superintending Inspector.

  • Rammell, Thomas Webster
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the town of Exmouth / by Thomas Webster Rammell, Superintending Inspector. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    33/40 page 31
    2. The Works for the Drainage of the Town and District. These works may he conveniently divided into works of town drainage and works of suburban drainage. 1. Works of Toion Drainage.—The principal difficulty that attends the drainage of the refuse of the town consists in the fact of a considerable portion of its lower area being but little above the level of high water, and having its outfalls periodically closed by the rising of the tide. To meet this difficulty, it appears to me that the most economical plan would be to adopt two separate and distinct systems of tubular drains; one extending throughout the upper and larger area, and the other being limited to the lower and smaller area. The advantage of this plan is, that, while discharge would take place from the upper system during all states of the tide, the drains of the lower system would be proportionably relieved as to the amount of accumulations which must necessarily take place in them during the three or four hours when the outfall is closed. Notwithstanding, however, the general separation of the two systems, I propose that the main arteries of both should be brought to one and the same pouit before discharge into a common outfall pipe ; so that the sewage water of the whole town may be diverted at the least cost to supply the demand that may at any future time be created for it for use as liquid manure. Having thus determined the principle of drainage, the works may be described as consisting of—a centre well, an outfall- pipe, and a double system of tubular drains. The centre well should be placed at the most convenient point of the lower area; it should be of depth sufficient to affiard an effiactive fall to the drains communicating with it, and of capacity sufficient to retain the accumulations which must necessarily occur during the time the outfall would be closed by the tide. The outfall-pipe should be laid from the centre well to the most convenient point along the shore, and continued to low- water mark, so that the sewage water discharged by it might at all times be diluted and carried away by the tide. Its material, where covered, might be earthenware ; but at the mouth, and wherever exposed, it should be iron, and in size it need probably not exceed a diameter of one foot. This pipe should have two communications with the drains: one with the lower system, which might be closed at will; and the other with the upper, which would be always open. The lower system of pipes should be limited to those houses
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3