308 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[AtJG-UST, 



highways. The Old Company has adopted tlie system of the Trent Water 

 Company, and now maintains a constant supply. Any company that pos- 

 sesses an ample quantity of water at Us works, and a sufficient reservoir in 

 an elevated situation, may adopt this mode of supply without dilhculty or 

 disadvantage, and indeed the difficulty and disadvantage is far from insuper- 

 able when an elevated reservoir cannot be obtained. 



" The term waste would imply an excessive expense for the pumping of 

 water. Now it appears, from one instance, cited by Mr. Wicksteed, of the 

 duty of a steam engine of good construction, that this one single pumping 

 engine, upon the expansive principle, and with coals costing 12s. per ton, with 

 labour and stores, and all except the interest on fixed capital, the cost of 

 raising 80,000 gallons of water 100 feet high was Is. ; that by another, Tay- 

 lor's Cornish engine, 1 lb. of coal converted into steam raises 10,000 gallons of 

 water 10 feet high : in other words, if a room 20 feet square were filled 4 feet 

 deep with water, 1 lb. of coal converted into steam would overcome the fric- 

 tion of the engine, and raise that water into a room 10 feet above it. Does 

 your own experience justify the conclusion from such instances, that when 

 the machinery and distributing (lipes are fixed, and there is an unlimited sup- 

 ply of water, as from a river, the expense of pumping additional quantities is 

 inconsiderable as an element of calculation? — Assuming the possibility of 

 varying our works without cost, the experience at Nottingham is to this 

 efiect, that we could give 8 or 10 times the present unlimited supply for about 

 a double charge ; that we could raise all the v\ater now taken 50 feet higher 

 by increasing the charge 5 or 6 per cent., and that were we to lower the head 

 to half its present height, the saving of expense would not exceed 6 or 7 per 

 cent, on the gross charge to the tenant. The answer may be otherw ise given 

 thus. The Trent Water Company supply houses at an annual average charge 

 of about 7s. 6d., at any level requireil, even into the attics of lour or five story 

 buildings; if the supply were aftbrded to the level of the pavement only, the 

 charge could n"t be reduced more than 6rf. per house, or for the labourers' 

 tenement not more than id. 



" It is stated that the daily supply of the metropolis is equal to a lake 50 

 acres of a mean depth of three leet, — » hat, on Mr. Wicksteed's estimate, 

 would be the additional expense incurred if the supply were doubled and the 

 additional quantity was raised by pumping 150 feet high? — On Mr. Wick- 

 steed's expeiience the expense would be £20 10s. per diem, or £9,300 per an- 

 num, which as about 200,000 houses are supplied by the Companies, when 

 divided gives Urf. per bouse per annum for the expense of the pumping to a 

 height of 100 feet, or IG^d. of pumping to a height of 150 leet. 1 wish it, 

 however, to be understood that 1 do not concur in Mr. Wicksteed's mode of 

 estimating the cost. It is quite true that the expense of pumping torms, in 

 nearly all cases, but a small portion of the total charge to the tenant ; but 

 Mr. Wicksteed's statement would afford a result fallaciously low. Mr. Wick- 

 steed's engine uses less coal, but employs more capital, so that the saving is 

 rather apparent than real. And again, the London and many other Compa- 

 nies would be unable to obtain a supply of fuel at the price assigned by Mr. 

 Wicksteed. 



"In respect to the apprehension expressed, that if the system of constant 

 jupply at high pressure were adopted much larger mains would be required, 

 what is the evidence of fact and experience?— Directly the reverse of the hy- 

 pothesis. If the supply cf water for ordinary purposes be the only consider- 

 ation, then, for the same reason that smaller pipes do suffice for the tenants' 

 communication-pipes, smaller mains will suffice for the system of constant 

 supply at high pressure. Where 20-inch mains are used on the system of 

 periodical supply, 12-inch mains would amply suffice for the system of con- 

 stant supply ; instead of the 7 and 6-inch mains, 5 or 4-inch would suffice ; 

 instead of 3-inch service-pipes for the occasional supply, 2-inch w ould suffice 

 for the constant supply ; indeed, for constant conveyance, sizes much smaller 

 than these would answer the purpose ; but as there are irregularities of 

 draught, it is needful to provide accordingly. The objection of Mr. Wick- 

 steed is founded upon a supposed state of things which never docs occur, 

 namely, of all the pipes discharging water at the same time. 



"An objection to the introduction of water into the houses of the poorest 

 classes is thus stated by Mr. Wicksteed :— ' Where a landlord has got 20 or 

 30, 40 or 50 houses, and requires a supply of water, if they are poor houses it 

 is frequently given by one common stand-cock to all the houses. If he was 

 to put a separate supply to those houses by a lead-pipe, the lead-pipe would 

 he there in the evening but would be gone in the morning.' Now, do you 

 find that tenants are apt, for the sake of the lead, to cut oft' their own sup- 

 plies of water ; and what, under all circumstances, is your experience on the 

 point? We have some of the poorest and worst-conditioned people in Not- 

 tingham, and we scarcely ever experience anything of the kind. In fact, the 

 water at high pressure serves as a police on the pipe. The cutting off a cock 

 with the water at high pressure is rather a difficult matter to do quietly : 

 ' knocking up' is too noisy ; and when a knife is put into such a pipe and a 

 slit is made, a sharp, flat, wide stream issues, very inconvenient to the ope- 

 rator; and when the pipe is divided there is the full rush of the jet to de- 

 nounce the thief. We have lead-pipes all over the town, in the most exposed 

 places, and I can affirm that such an event rarely occurs out of the houses, 

 minever within," 



"iDoes your own experience furnish any datum from which the expence of 

 supplies of water, including the wear and tear of engines, interest on fixed 

 capital for machinery and all distributary pipes, the necessary expenses of 

 management, in other words, the total expenses, may be judged of ?— Yes ; 

 the total expense is on the experience of the last five years 2SSd. per 1000 

 gallons. This is equal to 12/. per million gallons. 



" We are desirous of being informed of the several establishment charges 

 of a Water Company, or in other w ords, what charges are independent of the 

 quantity of water pumped, and what not, and their amount. Can you give 

 us from your practical experience, say at Nottingham, where you lift your 

 water 135 feet high ?— On an average of five years' experience of the Trent 

 Company, at Nottingham, they are as follows for each million and for each 

 thousand gallons." 



Tabular Statement of the Ej:penses incurred in supplying the Town of Nottingham 

 with IVater, according to the experience of the Trent Water Works Company, 



Description of Cliargea. 



Cost per Cost per 



1000 ; Jlitlion 



Gallons. Gallons. 



1. Charges nearly proportion- 

 ate to the Quantity supplied. 



Coals 



Oil and tallow 



Sundi'ies 



Hemp, leather, &c 



Repairs of pumping machinery 



(nearly = Did.) 



2. Charges v/iich diminish 



nearly as the Quantity pump. 



ed or supplied ijicreases. 

 Salaries of law clerk, engineer, 



office clerks, collector, &c. . 0-3720 1 11 

 Parochial and other taxes. . .. 0-1328 11 

 Wages of tuincocks, plumbers, 



&c 0-1295,0 10 Si 



Incidentals attending the man 



agement 0-046l!o 3 10 



Law charges and expenses of 



policemen 



Rents of various premises, ac- 

 knowledgments under Act 



of Parliament, &c 



Repair and maintenance of! 



mains, cocks, communica-i 



tion-pipes, and other works! 



of distribution j0-019C0 1 



Stationery, advertising, &c. . . I 0-0136|0 1 

 Compensations for damage,&c. 0-0089 

 Gratuities, medical assistance, 



&c 



:£. s. d. 



Total of each 



Class of Items 



per Millon 



Gallons. 



Proportion 

 per Cent, of 

 Total Charge. 



0-3882 



0-036G 



0-0300 



(nearly = Oft?.) 



3. Charges which diminish less 

 rapidly than the Quantity 

 of Heater pumped or sup^ 

 plied increases. 



Wages of engine-man 



Wages of stoker and reservoir 

 keeper 



Cleaning and other ordinary 

 charges of the lower or fib 

 tering reservoir 



Repairs of buildings 



Cleaning and other ordinary 

 charges of the upper or stor- 

 ing reservoir 



3 0^ 



2 G 



0-0049 



0-7940 



0-1063 8 lOJ 



00650 5 5 



0-0367 

 0-0215 



0-0107,0 lOf 



(nearly = 0J(/.)^ 02402 

 Interest on invested capital,' ! 



varying directly with extent 1 

 of works and inversely with [ 



amount of supply | 1'4570 6 



(nearly = Urf.) 



1 5 



Totals (nearly = 2irf.) 2-8794 



The income amounts to 3'\7d. 

 per 1000 gallons; the dif- 

 ference (0-29rf.) is applied 

 to extension of works. 



£. s. d. 



12 4J 



10-5-) 

 1-7 I 

 •5 J- 13-5 

 •4 I 



■4 J 



1-3 6 1J.J 



j-2;-6 



1 0} 



6 1 5 



14 19 Hi 



3-7 

 2-3 



1-3 



•7 



83 



50-6 



100- 



