48 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[February, 



TlKit all inquiries into alwiscs are good and desirable tlierc is no 

 denying, but it appears to nie that exaggerated statements liave been 

 made ol the abuses in Water Companies, and that it is not generally 

 borne in mind that if any increased outlay is necessary it may be 

 efVected at much less cost, eventually, to the tenantry, by those whose 

 works are established and whose experience is great, than by others; 

 and the fact that great works liave lately been executed by some Com- 

 panies, and that more ore about to be undertaken by others, without 

 increasing the rates, shows a disposition on the part of those engaged 

 in them to make the good of the public their first object. That some 

 are obliged to increase their rates, upon a greatly increased expendi- 

 ture, arises from the dilKculties being so great tliat the Company could 

 not be carried on without it, and unless other parties will undertake, 

 and be bound iinckr >iiij/:cttiit sicitriUea, (to be determined by Parlia- 

 ment,) to supply such districts at lower rates, an increase should not 

 be objected to. 



I am fearful I have too long occu])ied the time of the Society in ob- 

 servations which, as they are those of an individual only, cannot be 

 of much importance ; but thanking them for their kind intention, I 

 will conclude by an explanitiun of the mode in which a town is sup- 

 plied with water according to the present system. 



If any town be so fortunately situated tliat a supply of water may 

 be had from springs in the ntighbnurluiud, of good (pialily, abundant in 

 quantity, and at a sullicient elevation to overcome the friction created 

 by the passage of the water through the pipes, and to allow it to run 

 into the upper stories of the dwelling-houses, the arrangement for the 

 supply will be simple, and the annual expense beyond the interest of the 

 capital expended will be trifling. Jt is, however, but seldom that such 

 is the case. 



In general the water has either to be raised from the rivers in the 

 iunnediate neighbourhood at a great and continual expense of power; 

 or, where lhei(> are no fresh-water rivers w ithin a pr.icticable distance, 

 from deep wells; in which case the necessary power will be doubled ; 

 or, lastly, should there be a river in the neighbcjiuhood, and it should 

 be desirable to avoid the continual expense of steam ])ower, it may be 

 effected by bringing a cut from such ))art of the river that the eleva- 

 tion obtained by going a considerable distance up the stream produces 

 a sutiicient head without the aid of machinery, as in the case of the 

 New River. The head is obtained thus: the natural fall of the river 

 from whence the water is taken is so much greater than is necessary 

 to produce the required velocity for the water through the canal, that 

 the difference in levels makes the required head. 



If an ojipoi-tunity is alfbrded of adopting citlier the mode of bringing 

 it from a distance by means of a canal, or by jmmping from the river 

 by steam power, tlie choice will be determined by Uie result of the 

 estimate of the cost. The canal will cost more than the steam power 

 in the first instance ; and to determine which is the least expensive, 

 the interest of the capital expended added to the annual expense of 

 keeping the canal in repair must be compared with the interest of 

 capital expended for the steam power added to the annual amount for 

 repairs, and the cosf oj'futl and wear and tear of Hit steam pon'ti: 



In small towns one line of pipes communicating with the source 

 passes tlirough the streets, and each inhabitant is supplied at the same 

 time. In larger towns, wliere the number of houses to be supplied is 

 great, and the distance that the water has to travel is also great, re- 

 course is had to the following contrivance : in the principal streets 

 mains are laid, which convey the water from tlie source ; and branch- 

 ing from these mains, other smaller-sized pipes are laid, called ser- 

 vices; at every point where the services branch from the mains a cock 

 is attached, by means of which the communication with the main is 

 either opened or shut off; from the services small lead pipes branch 

 to each dwelling-house, anil wlienever the conununication is opened 

 with the mains, which are always charged, the houses whose lead pipes 

 are joined on to the service receive a supply of water. 



The necessity for such an arrangement will be made obvious by the 

 following statement : 



When water is forced tln-ough pivies either by a natural or artificial 

 head, or by steam or other power, friction is created in proportion to 

 the velocity of the water and length of the line of pipes. As the dis- 

 tance increases, the power must either be increased or the velocity re- 

 duced ; the shorter the distance, the less the power required to over- 

 come the friction ; if, therefore, it is necessary to exert a great power 

 to force the water to the extremities of an extensive district, that they 

 may be properly supplied, it is very evident that the power which is 

 exerted near to the source, not being required to overcome so great an 

 amount of friction as at the extremities, must be applied to increase 

 the velocity of the water through the orifices near the source ; and if, 

 therefore, such an arrangement as the one herein before mentioned were 

 not adopted, the effect would be that those houses whicli were near 

 the source would have a superubiindantsupply," while those at a dis- 



tance would have a very small s\ipply, if any; but, by means of the 

 system mentioned, when the inhabitiuits near the source havi' received 

 their supply the cocks on the services are shut down, and the water 

 in the mains passes on to supply the services at the extremities, 

 wduch will have a sufficient supply, because the water, not being used 

 before, must pass on to the extremities. That each may have an 

 niuaJ supply, those that are near the source have the communication 

 opened with the main for a sliorter time than those at a distance, in 

 ]H'oportion to the velocity with which the water is delivered. 



in addition to this, on every line of mains and services orifices of 

 about 2 inches diameter are made at certain distances, which are filled 

 up with what are termed "fire plugs," being nothing more than wooden 

 spigots made to fit the orifices; these are easily fitted and as easily 

 removed, and in case of a fire they are started, and a supply is given 

 directly. The strength of this supply is regulated by means of the 

 system before mentioned ; thus, by closing the service cocks in the 

 other parts of the district, the whole force of the water may be con- 

 centrated in that part where the fire has occurred. 



WIRE FENCES. 



