The Sullivan Air Lift Pumping System

Drop-^Submergence = Starting Submergence. Among the advantages of pneumatic pumping may be noted: i. Quantity: More water can be secured from the same wells than Advan- by any other system. tages of 2. Quality: Improvement in the character of the water, due to the Air aeration, as to purity and solubility. Lift 3. Temperature: Reduction in temperature, due to absorption of the heat in the water, by the air. 4. Durability and Simplicity: There are no moving parts in the well. 5. The apparatus is always in order, and is not affected by mud, grit, floating sand or by long shut downs. 6. Sustained Efficiency. These advantages may be explained more fully as follows: There is no question but that more water can be secured from a Quantity deep well with the air lift than with any other method of pumping, provided the conditions are proper for its use. This is especially true where it is desired to increase the yield from a flowing well; as, by mixing the ascending column of water with a small amount of air, the column is lightened and the head against the inflowing water reduced without in any way retarding the flow. The deep wells of industrial and public ownership are found to Quallty be remarkably free from disease germs, as the casing, driven down to hard pan above the gravel formation, or into rock, shuts off con- tamination from the surface. Gravel beds in or near a river may be made the source of a pure water supply by drilling wells and casing them low enough so that the water will pull down through the sand and gravel. The erosion of the river keeps the top of the infiltration bed clean. Aeration is acknowledged to be one of the principal methods for purifying water in filtration plants. If this occurs with air at low pres- sure, the perfect mixture of air and water in an air lift should and does cause much more complete purification. Free sulphur gas is encountered in many underground waters. This gas is almost entirely removed by the action of aeration in an air lift system, and the water from many sources of supply that is unfit for domestic use, on account of sulphur discoloration when pumped by a direct acting pump, is entirely freed from its odor and staining effects by the use of the air lift. The aeration of water containing large quantities of iron causes a precipitation of this solid in the shape of a yellow mud, and while the freeing action is not as rapid as with sulphur, a large percentage of the iron can be eliminated by allowing time for settling. 3