Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXXII, June, 1911 / Water Purification Plant, Washington, D. C. Results of Operation.

by American Society of Civil Engineers; E. D. Hardy

Figure 15—Turbidity in Applied Water.

Hydraulic Replacing of Filter Sand.—The author has adopted a method of replacing clean sand in the filters which will commend itself to engineers as containing possibilities of economy in operation. The first experiments in the development of this method at the Washington plant were carried out some three years ago, while the writer was still there. Substantially the same methods were used then as are described in this paper, but examination of the sand layer by cutting vertically downward through it after re‑sanding in this manner showed such a persistent tendency toward the segregation of the coarse material as to hold out rather discouraging promises of success. The greatest degree of separation seemed to be caused by the wash of the stream discharging sand on the surface. It was observed that, near the point where the velocity of the stream was practically destroyed, there seemed to be a tendency to scour away the fine sand and leave the coarse material by itself, and pockets of this kind were found at many points throughout the sand layer. The author states that, in the recent treatment of the filters by this method, there has been no apparent tendency for the materials to separate into different sizes, and it is fortunate if this work can be done in such a manner as to avoid this separation entirely.

It may be questioned whether a certain amount of segregation of the materials will make any practical difference in the efficiency of a filter. In all probability this depends on the degree of the segregation, the quantity of pollution in the water to be filtered, the rate of filtration, and the uniformity of methods followed in the operation, etc. For an applied water as excellent in quality as that of the Washington City Reservoir during favorable summer conditions, a considerable degree of segregation might exist without producing any diminution in efficiency. For a badly polluted water, however, such as the applied water at this plant during certain winter periods, or the water of a great many other polluted supplies, it might be found that even a slight lack of homogeneity in the sand might make an appreciable difference in the results of filtration.

As a result of the experiments herein described, however, this method may be applied at other plants where conditions seem to warrant it, with a largely increased measure of confidence; although, as in the case of the adoption of any new or radical departure, that confidence must not be permitted to foster contempt of the old and tried methods, but its operation must be watched with the utmost caution, until long experience shall have demonstrated its perfect suitability and defined its limitations.

E. D. Hardy, M. Am. Soc. C. E. (by letter).—It was not the writer's original intention to enter into a discussion of either the theory of water purification or of the experimental work on sand handling, but simply to present the main results of operation largely in tabular form. He is gratified, however, to have these sides of the question so ably brought out in Mr. Longley's discussion.

Mr. Hazen referred to the inferior efficiencies of the experimental filters for rate studies (as shown in [Table 20]) in the removal of the B. Coli from the water tested. This inferiority is really less than the figures in the table would indicate, as the tests for the experimental filters were presumptive only (as shown by the note at the foot of [Table 20]), while those for the main filters were carried through all the confirmatory steps.

From experiments[¹] made by Messrs. Longley and Baton in the writer's office, it would seem reasonable to assume that about one‑half of the positive results, would have been eliminated had the confirmatory steps been taken. In other words, the figures showing the number of positive tests for B. Coli in [Table 20] should be divided by two when comparing them with corresponding ones for the main filters.

Mr. Knowles seems somewhat apprehensive regarding the methods described in the paper of restoring the capacity of the filters by raking, and replacing sand by the hydraulic method, and yet, from Mr. Johnson's discussion, it would seem that the practice of raking filters between scrapings had recently been adopted at the Pittsburg plant.