LEICESTER. 



HISTORY. 



Sewage was first pumped to the farm at the end 

 of September, 1890. Some details with regard to 

 the laying out will be found under the sub-heading 

 Treatment and Cropping. " For several years the 

 effluents were uniformly satisfactory and quite equal 

 to acknowledged satisfactory standards. The follow- 

 ing analysis, taken in October and December, 1891 

 — namely, twelve to fifteen months after the farm 

 had been in operation, is a fair average : Albuminoid 

 ammonia 009 grain per gallon and oxygen absorbed 

 0562 grain per gallon." [0*13 and 0'8 parts per 

 100,000.] (R.C.S.D., Answer 8,110.) 



REPORTS TO THE ROYAL COMMISSION. 



Conservancy. — Though a certain 

 The Sewage. number of privies and pail-closets 

 (under 5,000) remain, the town is 

 chiefly served by water-closets (about 37,000) — the 

 house slop water, however, in all cases flows to the 

 sewers. Separate or Combined. — The sewerage is 

 chiefly on the combined system, though in all new 

 streets for some years past the separate system has 

 been installed, but, pending the completion of this 

 change, connections have been made to the foul- 

 water sewers. The roads are mostly macadamised, 

 therefore a large amount of finely divided matter 

 finds its way into the sewers. Mixed. — The domestic 

 sewage is about 3,750,000 gallons per diem, and the 

 trade refuse 2,000,000 gallons. Of the latter there 

 are dense trade liquors to the extent of 500,000 

 gallons with a large amount of fibre and other im- 

 purities from wool-scouring. Effluents are received 

 from eleven dye works, ten wool-scourers and spin- 

 ners, two fellmongers and one currier. Manufac- 

 turers are required to arrest the solids by settlement 

 in small catch-pits, which if not regularly cleaned out 

 (and they are not) must of course discharge their con- 

 tents, more or less, into the sewer. Plans have to be 

 submitted for all new works, but the effluents may 

 be turned out at any time convenient to the manu- 

 facturer. Subsoil Water. — About 1,500,000 gallons 



of well and subsoil water are included in the daily 

 flow of sewage, the Dry-weather Flow thus amounts 

 to 7,250,000 gallons, and the Storm Flow to the 

 farm is in wet weather probably over 12,000,000 

 gallons. Water Supply. — Some 19 gallons per head 

 per diem is given as the water supply, and the 

 sources are various gathering grounds in Leicester- 

 shire. [It will be remembered that Leicester has 

 recently been very short of water, but it is partici- 

 pating in the Derwent Valley scheme, and will in 

 the future have an ample supply.] The Rainfall is 

 about 20 in. per annum, and the Drainage Area of 

 district sewered 1,970 acres. Flashing. — The pipe 

 sewers are cleansed by flushing manholes fitted with 

 quick-lifting penstocks. The Length of Stay in 

 the sewers is about one and a quarter hours from 

 the centre of the borough to the pumping station 

 and one hour from the pumps to the settling tanks, 

 the Distance being about 2 miles. Storm, Overflows. 

 — Two sewers, each 6 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 6 in., deliver 

 to the storm overflow chamber, whence there is a 

 5-ft. cast-iron circular sewer to the pumps. This, 

 with a fall of 1 in 600, gives a capacity, when run- 

 ning full, of 5,458 c.f.m. The corporation are re- 

 quired by Act to pump 60 gallons per head per diem, 

 but actually pump more. Prom the storm overflow 

 chamber a sewer 8 ft. in diameter comes into opera- 

 tion when twice the dry-weather flow is exceeded, 

 this discharges 3| miles away into the river Soar 

 near Wanlip. There are also seven local storm 

 overflows to the canal and the river Soar, and they 

 come into use when the rainfall exceeds 2 in. in 

 twenty -four hours, or f in. in one and a half hours. 

 The grosser solids are taken out of the sewage by 

 Screens, with f in. spaces. The Pumps convey the 

 sewage through two 33-in. cast-iron pipes to a dis- 

 tance of \\ miles, the rise being 169 ft. 6 in. Settling 

 Tanks. — There are two tanks, each 98 ft. 6 in. by 

 63 ft. lOf in. by 6 ft. average depth, and one similar 

 but only 63 ft. wide. They are fitted with scum 

 boards 18 in. deep, are worked continuously and are 

 cleaned out once in three weeks. About half of the 



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