ISiO.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



67 



We now come to the supply of water for the districts South of 

 the Thames : — 



No. IV. — The Kingston Project, 

 Whicli proposes to take its supply from the river Tliames, iibove 

 Kingston, and above the influence of the tide, wliere settliug^ and 

 filtering' reservoirs are to he formed and engines placed fur lifting- 

 the water; and thence the water is to be conveyed by 30-inch mains 

 to tlie reservoirs of the Lambeth Waterworks at Brixton. 



No. W.—The Waiulte Project 



Is to take the supply from the river Waadle, at the head ot the 

 last mill, before the water is discharged into the ri^■er Tliames, 

 and to lift the vvater to a reservoir to be formed on ^Vimbledon 

 Common of sufficient elevation to supply the whole of the Southern 

 districts; and thence the water is to be conveyed by 30' and 30-inch 

 mains as far as the Elephant-and-Castle, and then branch mains 

 are to radiate through the different parts of the district. 



For the purpose of preventing the Wandle being contaminated 

 by drainage or any impurities, a sewer is to be constructed from 

 Croydon to the Thames, with branch drains to intercept all the 

 drainage from Croydon and other towns and houses that now 

 drain into the river Wandle, and also to convey the impurities 

 from the different mills: by this means the water of tlie river will 

 not be contaminated by drainage. It is well known that the water 

 of the Wandle is from the chalk formation, and is of remarkable 

 purity, and was one of the sources proposed by Mr. Telford for 

 supplying London. 



We believe that we liave gone through the several projects that 

 are now before the public, and it is our sincere liope that Parlia- 

 ment will thoroughly examine tlie whole, and not allow tlie supply 

 of water to the metropolis to remain any longer a disgrace to the 

 nation and to tlie legislature. It is needless for us to enter into 

 the question as to how the present companies obtain their sup- 

 ply, as it has been so ably exposed in the columns of the Times, 

 and is unmercifully condemned by the public. 



WATER FROM THE CHALK FORMATION. 



Sib, — In the December number of your excellent Jonrnnl, I en- 

 deavoured to show that the lowering of the water-level of the 

 wells sunk under London through the blue clay to the chalk, must 

 arise from the condensed and impervious chalk underlying the 

 London clay, and communicating with the Upland chalk, and not 

 from any deficiency of water in the chalk hills surrounding London 

 to the north, west, and south. 



This is confirmed by the fact that the chalk under London com- 

 municates vvitli an area of more than 4,000 square miles of 

 UpL.4ND chalk, barely covered with a porous soil; and that i- 

 inch of water in dejith per annum over only one-half of this 

 area finding its way under London, would yield 19 niillioiis of gal- 

 lons of water for crerij day in the year, — while the total amount of 

 water lifted from tlie deep wells under London at the present time, 

 there is reason to belie\e, does not exceed 10 millions of gallons 

 per day. 



The amount of saline matter contained in tlie water yielded by 

 different deep wells under London varies, according to Braude,* 

 fi'oni 3R t" C9 grains per gallon. The base of this saline mutter 

 is princiiially soda, which seems to prove that a large portion of 

 the water beneatli the London clay is derived from salt water. As 

 the chalk formation communicates with the bed of the Thames, 

 from Woolwich to Gravesend, and also under the sea, this is 

 easily accounted for by supposing that the water in the chalk un- 

 derlying the London clay is fed to some extent from this source. 



At any rate, it is perfectly evident from the lowering of the 

 level of the water pumped from the chalk below London, when so 

 inconsiderable a quantity is raised, that a very partial communi- 

 cation, if .any, exists between the upland water and that procured 

 below the London clay. 



S. C. HO-tlEBSHAM. 



19 Buckingliain-ntrcet, Adelphi, 

 January '26tli, 1850. 



* See Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society of London for January, 18.10. HIn. 

 polyte Bailliere, -'11*. Regent-street. 



SOUTHAMPTON ARTESIAN WELL. 



Sir — As artesian wells are now become a subject of constant 

 discussion, and as allusion is frequently made to the experiment on 

 Soutliampton Common, it may not be without interest to your 

 readers to state the progress and present state of that incon' 'ete 

 undertaking. 



Southampton is situated in the centre of the great chalk basin, 

 of which the rim may be traced along the downs of the Isle of 

 Wight, thence under the channel to the Dorchester coast, — from 

 Dorchester through Salisburj' to AVinchester, and thence to the 

 coast of Sussex. 



Leaving geologists to determine — wliich they seem unable to do 

 . — the probability of our obtaining an abundant supjdy of water, 

 either from the chalk or the green-sand, I shall confine myself to 

 a few figures and facts. 



The London clay was readied by penetrating 78 feet from the 

 surface, through allu\-ial clay, gravel, and sand, the rusli of v.ater. 

 and loose sand being kept back by an iron cylinder 14. feet in dia- 

 meter at first, but narrowed, at difl'erent stages, to 8 inches, at 

 465 feet below the surface. The thickness of the London clay 

 formation is 304 feet; it is of all degrees of consistency, from the 

 loosest sand to the liardest stone, abounding throughout in the 

 usual fossils, beautifully preserved. A thickness of 97 feet of 

 plastic clay brings us, at 479 feet from the surface, to the chalk, 

 and into this a 4-incli bore lias been carried to an additional depth 

 of 781 feet, without any important increase of water: during the 

 time of pumping, the water continues within 80 feet of tlie sur- 

 face, rising to 40 or 50 feet when not interfered witli. By pumping 

 from this depth, .'30,000 cubic feet daily may be obtained. 



Tlie present depth was attained in 1846, since which time the 

 boring has been discontinued. Very lately, however, a ctnitract 

 has been signed with Mr. Clark to continue the boring 300 feet. I 

 apprehend, however, that progress will be stayed until the Report 

 of Mr. Ranger has been printed and circulated. Tliat gentleman 

 has lately instituted an inquiry, as Inspector under the Health of 

 Towns Act, into the sanitary condition of Southampton, which he 

 has conducted with admiralile judgment and laborious investiga- 

 tion. His impartiality, moral weight, and scientific knowledge, 

 have gained the confidence of all parties; and we anticipate that, 

 acting under his advice, we shall avail ourselves to the utmost 

 extent of the advantages which nature has abundantly conferred 

 upon our localitj'. 



John Drew. 



Southampton, Jan. 26th, 1850. 



FARM DRAINING AND WATERING. 



We extract the following from a paper on " Watering of Farm 

 Fields in Periods of Drought, and for the Distribution of Liquid Ma- 

 nure by Pumping, and a System of Pipes," by Mr. Smith, of Deans- 

 ton, which lately appeared in tlie JVorth British Agriculturist : — 



The farmer, although, no doubt, it must have frequently oc- 

 curred to him tliat much benefit would arise from the command 

 of moisture, yet, without possessing the knowledge necessary to 

 enable him to ascertain the practicability of applying water, arti- 

 ficially, over his vast fields, smothers his wish with a sigh, and 

 makes no furtlier iiKpiiry on the subject. It is for those who have 

 tlie knowledge of the whole subject to make the inquiry; and, from 

 peculiar circumstances, I have been enabled, not only to make the 

 inquiry, theoretically, but to have it put in practice; and I shall 

 now enable you to lay before your readers an outline of this im- 

 portant improvement. 



The pumping of w.ater and the conveyance of it in pipes costs a 

 much smaller sum than most peojile have any idea of; and there is 

 no limit, within fifty miles, to which it could not be transmitted. 

 It has been ascertained, from many practical workings, on various 

 scales, that the mere working of a steam-engine, to pump water 

 where coals are about 10.?. a ton, will not cost more than Is. for 

 30,000 gallons, raising it 100 feet high; of course, every additional 

 100 feet it is raised will cost as much more. The cost of laying 

 down the pennanent pipes, necessary for conveying and distri- 

 buting the water upon the ground, will amount to about two pounds 

 per acre, provided that pottery-ware pipes are used, which kind 

 will be found quite sufficient, where the pressure does not exceed 

 200 feet of water. In districts where there is high land within a 

 distance of ten miles, the water may be collected and stored in 



