[Report 1906] / Medical Officer of Health, Leek U.D.C.

  • Leek (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1906] / Medical Officer of Health, Leek U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    taken and used as previously described on land above tank level. The 6 acres of intermittant land were laid out in plots of i acre each, with underdrains of 4-in. pipes laid in straight lines 5 ft. apart, all connected to a main channel running the whole length of the farm, dividing it into two, while the 16 acres of broad irrigation land were underdrained on similar lines. The dry-weather flow, plus a certain proportion of storm water, was estimated at 200,000 gallons per day, and it was calculated that the farm would serve for many years, when possibly the increase of population would necessitate the purchase of additional land. Several years of working experience proved in what respects the works answered the purpose for which they were designed, while they have also proved that it is only possible to produce a satisfactory effluent from raw sewage, or sewage which has only been roughly screened, when there is sufficient depth of porous soil as a filtering medium, and further an area large enough to allow of a change of top soil from time to time by ploughing or other means. The 6 acres of intermittent filtration, after only passing the raw sewage through the small tanks provided and not allowing any time for settling, have always produced an effluent satisfactory in all respects, whereas the 16 acres of broad irrigation land have totally failed to deal with the sewage in a manner to render it fit to discharge into the river ; in fact the effluent from the intermittent area has deteriorated to such an extent when mixed with that from the irrigation land (as it must do in passing through the same main channel to the outlet into the river)