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Pennsylvania
Sanitation
Company
BETZ BUILDING
PHILADELPHIA
THE PENNSYLVANIA
SANITATION COMPANY
Designers and Builders of
Water Purification Plants
BETZ BUILDING
BROAD ST. AND S. PENN SQUARE,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
library
SURGEON GENERALS OFFICE
NOV. -12.-1897
The company designed and built the sewage purification plant for the City of Reading,
Pa. (population nearly 100,000). The chemical and bacterial analysis of the crude sewage enter¬
ing the plant, and of the effluent water leaving it, were made in the Laboratories of the Jefferson
Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., by Doctors W. M. L. Coplin and H. F. Harris, Professors of
Pathology and Bacteriology. They report, as a result of their analysis, that the effluent water is
purified to the extent of 99.99 per cent., practically removing all animal and vegetable matter.
Business Propositions.
The Company is prepared to contract with any City, Town, Corporation, College, Insti¬
tution, Manufactory, etc., as follows: —
1st. To design, construct, and ecpiip the water purification system for a stipulated price,
transferring all patent rights to the city or corporation.
2d. To design, construct, and equip the water purification system, maintaining and
operating it at its own expense. The company to be paid an annual rental by the city or
corporation.
3d. To design the water purification system, providing full sets of general drawings,
specifications, detail drawings, supervision, and the transfer of all patent rights. The city or
corporation to place the work under construction in a manner it may deem proper and best.
WATER PURIFICATION.
BY
The Pennsylvania Sanitation Company,
Designers and Builders,
Betz Building, Broad St. and South Penn Square, Philadelphia.
Process patented in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
THE science of water purification, within the past few
years as developed in America and Europe, from
actual experiences and experiments, has given general
knowledge to the world in a way that is most useful to
suffering humanity. Its lessons of wisdom should be fol¬
lowed by all cities, towns, villages, and institutions that are
progressive and desirous of improving the health, happiness,
and comfort of their inhabitants by reducing their sick and
death rate, while increasing their life duration.
All surface waters that become the basis for the water
supplies of municipalities or communities, whether in stream¬
lets, creeks, or rivers, are dangerously polluted by the wastes
from habitations of men and animals that live adjacent to
them. These water courses are the bottoms or lowest points
of the slopes of all watersheds, and the collection basins for all
streams, creeks, or rivers that must eventually reach the
oceans. Every rainfall adds to the pollution by its washing
of the adjacent slopes.
The theoretical propositions and the practical demon¬
strations of water purification have reached a point, that it
should now be considered an exact sanitary science. Our
process demonstrates the certainty of it as exemplified in
existing works.
This company as designers and builders are prepared to
design, construct and equip water purification plants. They
can be located at the “intakes,” and directly over, or adjacent
to the reservoirs. The water may be purified either before or
after it reaches the pumps, watertowers, or reservoirs.
The absolute elements that are essential to perfect water
purification are combined and provided in the processes of
the company, viz : sand-filtration by gravity, without the aid
of chemicals ; constant aeration and oxygenation ; exposure
of water to air and sunlight ; culture beds to promote
healthy, active, living micro-organisms, and the destruction
of disease germs or bacilli ; oxidation and the generation of
electricity by the concussion of falling drops of water.
The filter beds are elevated above the highest water level
of the reservoirs, and are supported on wrought steel,
masonry, or combination of them with wood.
The water to be purified is brought by gravity, or forced
by pumping, to the usual elevation for discharging into a
reservoir. At this level the discharge or force main is
extended to the end of the filter beds with lateral pipes and
distributers, each line being controlled by a valve.
The structure should preferably be built of wrought steel
or cast-iron columns, supported on stone or steel beams and
concrete foundations, located in bottom of reservoir. The
upper portion of the purification beds consists of steel beam
construction with wrought steel plate divisions and girders.
The bed is divided into compartments, each of 1,000,000
gallons daily capacity, and the whole cluster is arranged so as
to work the compartments separately or jointly.
On steel tubes or bars about eight to ten feet above the
high water level of reservoir is placed the filtering material,
usually two feet in depth, consisting of layers of broken stone
in various sizes and of selected sand, and over the latter is
placed lattice screens.
The wide deck or gallery over the beds is provided with
a tramway to enable an easy handling of materials during
operation of the plant. From the gallery the attendant regu-
4
WATER PURIFICATION.
lates all the lateral valves, and from it, the entire structure is
visible to him at all times. The usual guard rails are provided
for safety.
The water to be purified reaches the laterals by opening
the gate valves on main pipe or conduit, and from these lat¬
erals there are open distribution troughs which fill up and
discharge the water in thin films by overflowing all sides of
them, thereby exposing the water to the favorable action of
light and air. The water in descending strikes the lattice
floors, scattering it in sprays and small parts, producing a
thorough mixture with the oxygen of the atmosphere. The
water is regulated so as to have about a foot head over the
entire area of each compartment, and aided by gravity it per¬
colates through the filtering materials. On the upper surface
of the filters are stopped and held all matters that may be in
suspension in the water, while within the bed the hardy bacilli
or micro-organisms are actively at work in the process of
purification of the water, converting all animal and vegetable
matter into a harmless mineral product. As the bed is ex¬
posed to the atmosphere both from above and below it, there
is kept up an abundant and constant circulation of oxygen,
which is absolutely essential to multiply and keep alive in a
healthy condition the millions of hardy scavenger micro¬
organisms who are at work within the beds. By this method
are destroyed all disease-producing germs or bacteria usually
within the polluted waters. The effluent is colorless, bright,
and sparkling drinking water, and free from all disease bac¬
teria.
To further oxidize the water, it leaves the bottom of
filter in drops like rain, so that, in passing through the atmos¬
phere for ten feet, the atoms of water are completely oxygen¬
ized by their contact with the large volume of air. Should
any microbes be present, they would be burnt up and de¬
stroyed by this oxidation.
The drops of water in their descent strike upon the
upper surface of the water in the reservoir, which concussion
charges it electrically, adding further to its purification.
The water purified by all these methods is sparkling,
bright, and clear ; in fact, it is substantially chemically and
bacteriologically pure, as from 96 to 98 per cent, of all animal
and vegetable matters are removed.
In operation, it is only needful to rake the surface of the
filter when it is clogging, and the removal of one-fourth to
one-half inch of sand every two to four weeks, together with
the sediment and gelatinous deposit upon it. Fresh sand is
used to replace the small quantity which has been removed.
The process can be used with equally satisfactory results
by constructing the purification beds on the ground adjacent
to reservoirs either above or below them, or it may be located
at the “intakes” from creeks or rivers.
The beds located on the ground are provided with com¬
bined effluent drains and fresh air supplies, with laterals at
close intervals, having outlets above the water level over filter
beds. By this method sufficient air is conducted to the bot¬
tom of beds, and is kept in constant circulation throughout
the entire area.
The purified water is conducted to the reservoir, or to
the clear water tank at the head of the supply, the water tower
or standpipe, or to the service main of city or town.
The upper portion has gallery distributing system, etc.,
etc., the same identically as provided over the reservoirs.
The area is divided into compartments for 1,000,000 gal¬
lons daily capacity, the divisions being tank steel, masonry,
or concrete work.
The filtration area, per 1,000,000 gallons per day, is ten
to twelve times greater than used or employed by any of the
companies engaged in filtration of water. All water passing
through the beds goes to reservoir or water tower for domes¬
tic purposes; none of it is used or required for washing
filters, as in most all other processes. The water is abso¬
lutely purified, not simply clarified, as is the case with other
methods employed. The reservoirs are kept free from sedi¬
ment, mud, or other deposits, effecting a large economy in
their maintenance and operation. It is possible by this pro¬
cess to utilize a sewage polluted stream as a drinking water
supply for any community.
WATER PURIFICATION.
5
C -- Ventilating Pipe
D — Inlet f»om Filter Bed
E -- Suction Pipe
G — Discharge P/pe
H — Ground Level
I - - Puddled Clay Wall
J- "Cut-off \Alveo
ft- -Intake Pipe
L~ -Troucjh
M- -D'3TRIBUTC«S
N- -Trough
Note-
. -1 . . y . j -
Elevated Filter Beds and pumping Station adjoining a Creek.
Capacity one million gallons every twenty-four hours.
6
WATER PURIFICATION
cf ^/Lje/L £u-0ri5/l<3vrtrfCf <jorrtjt» 4« .
Plans of Filter Beds adjacent to reservoirs.
Capacity five million gallons every twenty-four hours.
A.
B. -
c,
D.
E.
KEY.
-Cut-off Valves.
-4" Vent Pipes.
-8" Vent Pipes.
-Distributors.
-I Beams for Distributors.
F.— 6" Gutters.
G — 15" Gutters.
H. — Supply Main.
I.— Effluent Main.
This Key Is for pages 6 and 7.
WATER PURIFICATION.
7
Elevation and Sections of filter beds adjacent to reservoirs.
Capacity five imillion gallons every twenty-four hours.
WATER PURIFICATION
Plan of Elevated Filter beds located in and over reservoirs.
Capacity one million gallons every twenty-four hours.
WATER PURIFICATION
9
Transverse Section through elevated Filter Beds located in and over Reservoirs.
Capacity one million gallons every twenty-four hours.
WATER PURIFICATION.
/
Longitudinal section through Elevated Filter Beds located in and over Reservoirs.
Capacity one million gallons every twenty-four hours.
WATER PURIFICATION
View showing formation of the Elevated filter Beds located in and over Reservoirs,
WATER PURIFICATION.
VIEW SHOWING WATER DISTRIBUTION ON THE ELEVATED FILTER BEDS LOCATED IN AND OVER RESERVOIR.