The Sewerage of Sea Coast Towns

by Henry Charles Adams

[Illustration: Fig. 2l.-Stoneware Pipe and Concrete Sea Outfall.]

With lug pipes, fewer bolts are used, and the lugs are made specially strong to withstand the strain put upon them in bolting up the pipes. These pipes are easier and quicker to joint under water than are the flanged pipes, so that their use is a distinct advantage when the hours of working are limited. In some cases gun-metal bolts are used, as they resist the action of sea water better than steel, but they add considerably to the cost of the outfall sewer, and the principal advantage appears to be that they are possibly easier to remove than iron or steel ones would be if at any time it was required to take out any pipe which may have been accidentally broken. On the other hand, there is a liability of severe corrosion of the metal taking place by reason of galvanic action between the gun-metal and the iron, set up by the sea water in which they are immersed. If the pipes are not to be covered with concrete, and are thus exposed to the action of the sea water, particular care should be taken to see that the coating by Dr. Angus Smith's process is perfectly applied to them.

[Illustration: Fig. 22.—Spigot and Socket Joint for Cast Iron Pipes.]

[Illustration: Fig. 23.—Lug Joint for Cast Iron Pipes.]

[Illustration: Fig. 24.—Turned, Board, and Flanged Joint for Cast Iron Pipes.]

Steel pipes are, on the whole, not so suitable as cast iron. They are, of course, obtainable in long lengths and are easily jointed, but their lightness compared with cast iron pipes, which is their great advantage in transport, is a disadvantage in a sea outfall, where the weight of the structure adds to its stability. The extra length of steel pipes necessitates a greater extent of trench being excavated at one time, which must be well timbered to prevent the sides falling in On the other hand, cast iron pipes are more liable to fracture by heavy stones being thrown upon them by the waves, but this is a contingency which does not frequently occur in practice. According to Trautwine, the cast iron for pipes to resist sea water should be close-grained, hard, white metal. In such metal the small quantity of contained carbon is chemically combined with the iron, but in the darker or mottled metals it is mechanically combined, and such iron soon becomes soft, like plumbago, under the influence of sea water. Hard white iron has been proved to resist sea water for forty years without deterioration, whether it is continually under water or alternately wet and dry.

Several types of sea outfalls are shown in Figs. 25 to 31.[1] In the example shown in Fig. 25 a solid rock bed occurred a short distance below the sand, which was excavated so as to allow the outfall to be constructed on the rock. Anchor bolts with clevis heads were fixed into the rock, and then, after a portion of the concrete was laid, iron bands, passing around the cast iron pipes, were fastened to the anchors. This construction would not be suitable below low-water mark. Fig. 26 represents the Aberdeen sea outfall, consisting of cast iron pipes 7 ft in diameter, which are embedded in a heavy concrete breakwater 24 ft in width, except at the extreme end, where it is 30 ft wide. The 4 in wrought iron rods are only used to the last few pipes, which were in 6 ft lengths instead of 9 ft, as were the remainder. Fig. 27 shows an inexpensive method of carrying small pipes, the slotted holes in the head of the pile allowing the pipes to be laid in a straight line, even if the pile is not driven quite true, and if the level of the latter is not correct it can be adjusted by inserting a packing piece between the cradle and the head.

Great Crosby outfall sewer into the Mersey is illustrated in Fig. 28. The piles are of greenheart, and were driven to a solid foundation. The 1 3/4 in sheeting was driven to support the sides of the excavation, and was left in when the concrete was laid. Light steel rails were laid under the sewer, in continuous lengths, on steel sleepers and to 2 ft gauge. The invert blocks were of concrete, and the pipes were made of the same material, but were reinforced with steel ribs. The Waterloo (near Liverpool) sea outfall is shown in Fig. 31.

[Footnote 1: Plate V.]

Piling may be necessary either to support the pipes or to keep them secure in their proper position, but where there is a substratum of rock the pipes may be anchored, as shown in Figs. 25 and 26. The nature of the piling to be adopted will vary according to the character of the beach. Figs. 27, 29, 30, and 31 show various types. With steel piling and bearers, as shown in Fig. 29, it is generally difficult to drive the piles with such accuracy that the bearers may be easily bolted up through the holes provided in the piles, and, if the holes are not drilled in the piles until after they are driven to their final position, considerable time is occupied, and perhaps a tide lost in the attempt to drill them below water. There is also the difficulty of tightening up the bolts when the sewer is partly below the surface of the shore, as shown. In both the types shown in Figs. 29 and 30 it is essential that the piles and the bearers should abut closely against the pipes; otherwise the shock of the waves will cause the pipes to move and hammer against the framing, and thus lead to failure of the structure.