DOUGLAS WATER UNDERTAKING.
The year 1934 marks the Centenary of the conferring of powers by Act of Tynwald to the Company formed in 1833 to provide a supply of water to Douglas.
The opening of the filtration scheme is thus a suitable commemoration of this occasion.
The first reservoirs constructed by the Company were at Summer Hill. This source of supply is still in use to provide water for street and window washing, shipping, etc., and is a valuable adjunct to the potable supply.
The next augmentation of the supply was obtained from the Groudle River by an intake in Glen Rosa, with service reservoirs at Ballacain and Ballaquayle. This source of supply is now being brought into use again to augment the Summer Hill supply.
The first of the large works undertaken which are still used for domestic supply was the construction of the Clypse Reservoir, an impounding reservoir with capacity of 20,000,000 gallons. Subsequently a pumping station, now disused, was erected near the mouth of the Groudle River. This pumped water from the river and an adjacent stream into a small reservoir which may be seen from the Howstrake Golf Course, and from which the water gravitated into the Ballacain main in Onchan.
The undertaking was transferred to the Town Commissioners in 1890, and the construction of Kerrodhoo Reservoir was at once proceeded with.
This reservoir is situated lower down on the same stream as the Clypse Reservoir, and has a capacity of 50,000,000 gallons. The work was completed early in 1893.
In October, 1897, the Council, acting on the advice of Messrs. G. H. Hill & Sons, their Consulting engineers, adopted the West Baldwin Reservoir scheme, and an Act was obtained in 1899. The scheme comprised a large storage reservoir, capacity 300,746,000 gallons, situated on the West Baldwin River, also a 12-inch trunk main from the reservoir to Douglas.
No augmentation to the supply has been necessary since the construction of the West Baldwin Reservoir, but in 1926 it was found necessary to lay a second main, 15inch, from this reservoir to Douglas.
FILTRATION SCHEME.
On January 27th, 1933, the Council adopted a report from Dr. E. V, Suckling, M.B., B.S., D.P.H., etc., their consulting analyst, in which filtration and sterilisation of the supply were the main recommendations.
The Council subsequently adopted the Filtration Scheme prepared by the Water Engineer, Mr. T. C. Greenfield, B.Sc., Assoc.M.Inst.C.E., M.Inst.,W.E. This scheme was sanctioned by Tynwald Court on June 13th, 1933, and work was commenced immediately thereafter.
The scheme provides for the treatment of the water from both sources of supply at one point, situated as close to Douglas as possible, and for the treated water to pass through service reservoirs before going to the consumers.
FILTRATION PLANT
After careful consideration, and. examination of various types of plant in use on the mainland, the mechanically agitated type of pressure filter, having provision for air scour in addition, was adopted, and the tender of Bell Brothers (Manchester), Ltd., for the manufacture, supply, erection and setting to work of the installation was accepted.
Postscript – the end of the Glencrutchery waterworks…
The Glencrutchery water treatment plant in the later named ‘Greenfield Road’ Douglas, was closed at the end of February 2008 after 75 years continuous service. It still continued to supply some 60% of the drinking water in the Isle of Man at the time of its closure. It’s replacement, first planned in 2003 and situated just around the corner in Homefield Road took 3 years to construct.
The Greenfields 