518
Bowen Road or No. 4 Motor. Elevation to
Albany Reservoir, 350 feet above O.D., as against 430 feet, in the case of Pokfoo- lum. As the supply from Pokfoolum is relatively small, conditions may arise, as at the present moment, under which there will not be water enough to provide the motive-power for pumping even the present supply, far less an increased supply, to the Peak. Practically, therefore, the existing steam-engine is the principal means of pumping to the Peak, and the hydraulic motor must be considered as an auxiliary, to relieve the engine, and so save coal, whenever conditions obtain, permitting its use. It is not safe to trust to one steam-engine, especially to one that has been over-worked, and now requires thorough over-hauling.
23. A new hydraulic motor and pumps have been recently erected, in con- nection with the Bowen Road Filter-beds and Reservoir. It is so constructed that which it will it can pump a reduced quantity of water to the Peak, or a larger quantity to the raise water. 700 feet level, with equal efficiency. It was originally designed to pump to a proposed reservoir on Mount Gough, at a level of 1,550. As, however, the Mount Gough Reservoir, is not yet constructed, reduced high-lift pump-rams have been provided, so that it can pump a lesser quantity of water, to a height of 1800 feet. Therefore, No. 4 Motor at Bowen Road, can now pump 15,000 gallons per day, if not actually into the highest reservoir, on the summit of the Peak, it will, no doubt, pump into the large service-reservoir, which is 70 feet lower, and it will certainly pump into the general system of mains, when the pressure is reduced by the draw-off.
The Bowen
cannot be
a principal supply to the Peak.
24. The consumption of water at the Peak now amounts in summer to 70,000 Road motor gallons a day. Most of this is pumped by the existing steam-engine. Now the considered as hydraulic motor at Bowen Road can, with the reduced rams, pump only 15,000 gallons a day against the full head. If, however, the existing rams were replaced by larger ones, as originally proposed; it would then pump 26,000 gallons in 24 hours to the reservoir on Mount Gough. It cannot pump more, being limited by the supply of water for motive power, afforded by the Bowen Road filter-beds. The Bowen Road motor cannot be regarded as a principal or even an alternative source of supply to the Peak. The Bonham Road engine must be the principal source of supply, and the supply from Bowen Road must be regarded as secondary only. Moreover, the Mount Gough reservoir is not high enough to command the whole of the Peak Districts.
The Bowen Road motor may be
required
for 700 feet
zone.
New Engine and Boiler to be
Bonham
Road.
25. There is another reason for regarding the supply to the Peak from Bowen Road as secondary only. There appears to be a tendency to build above the con- duit up to the level of about 700 feet. The consumption of water, in this zone, is, therefore, likely to increase and it is probable that, before long, the Bowen Road motor will be fully occupied in pumping to the 700 feet reservoirs (it is provided with large pumps for this purpose). This is a further reason why Bowen Road motor cannot be regarded as a principal source of supply to the Peak.
26. These considerations shew that steam-power, at Bonham Road Station, must always be regarded as the principal source of the Peak supply. If the existing provided at engine were to break down, it is clear that the Peak supply would be reduced to the small amount that the Bonham Road motor can pump, a quantity again limited by the consumption of water in the District supplied by gravity from Bonham Road Station. There must therefore be a reserve pumping engine at Bonham Road Station. In laying down a new engine it will be well to have one which will provide for future contingencies. I therefore recommend the prompt erection of a steam-engine, boiler and pumps capable of raising 100 gallons per minute to the summit of the Peak. The pumps, like those of the Bowen Road motor, should be so arranged that they can, if required, raise a much larger quantity of water to the lower level (700 feet zone) thus utilising the full power and developing the best efficiency of the engine, under both conditions.