ON THE TREATMENT AND UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE. 



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tlic wooden and charcoal screens between tlie large and amall chambers, and 

 a further deposit takes place in the small chamber, which is cleared once iu 

 six months ; but at the time of the Committee's inspection it had not been 

 cleared for nine months, owing to the constant visits of persons anxious to 

 inspect the process. Samples of the sewage at this stage of the process were 

 duly taken. From the tank or well before described, the sewage (after again 

 passing through a perforated screen containing 6 inches of rough charcoal) 

 is conveyed by a 12-inch pipe to the "Deodorizers," Avhich are, in tliis case, 

 at some distance from the fiecal tank. 



The " Deodorizers " are three in number, — the first and largest having a 

 surface area of nearly 200 square feet, and containing 5 feet G inches depth 

 of rough charcoal ; the second, with an area of about 70 square feet, contains 

 2 feet 6 inches of charcoal of smaller size ; the last is a small box containing 

 4 feet of fine charcoal, Avhich is in this instance supplemented by layers of 

 flannel and filter-cloth. It was stated, however, that cloth is not a neces- 

 sary addition if the tanks are specially constructed, in which case the last 

 deodorizer is arranged for upward filtration. This completes the process, the 

 effluent water being discharged into a small well, from which the samples 

 were taken for analysis. 



Tlie charcoal used at the time of the Committee's inspection was wood- 

 charcoal ; but it was stated that it was proposed to use peat-charcoal. The 

 practice is to remove the "spent" charcoal from the last deodorizer to the 

 second one, from the second to the first, and from the first deodorizer to the 

 ftecal tank. Samples were taken of charcoal from each deodorizer after various 

 periods of service, and analyses of them and of unused charcoal are appended. 



The flow of eflluent water for the period of twenty-four hours, during 

 which continuous gaugings were taken, amounted to about 2000 gallons 

 only, as against 5000 gallons of sewage received into the fiecal tank during 

 the same period. The deposit removed from the tanks with tlie refuse of 

 the establishment is utilized upon the farm belonging to the Union, -which is 

 cultivated entirely by the inmates. 



The following are the results of the analyses of the different samples of 

 sewage, eflluent water, and charcoal : — 



Stoke-upon-Trent Union Workhouse Sewage, Messrs. AVeare's Process, 

 Samples taken September 1871. 



N.B.— Samples taken every two hours during the day, in the proportion of -j-uVo °^' ^^"^ 

 flow per minute. Eesults given in parts per 100,000. 



1^72, 



