Skegness Magazine

FOUND SKEGNESS WATER
Death of Mr. Percy Griffith
THE DEATH has just occurred of Mr. Percy Griffith, M Inst C E., aged 75. He was the consulting water engineer who was engaged by the Earl of Scarbrough in 1905 to advise upon and carry out the construction of the new waterworks for Skegness.

Previous to this time the Skegness supply was obtained from a boring, first in The Park, and later from the installation at Burgh Road. This supply became objectionable due to its salinity, and the yield also was not sufficient for the growing demands of the rapidly developing town.
There was considerable misgiving at the time, but the choice of the site at Welton-le-Marsh for a boring into the Spilsby sandstone has since proved to be a particularly beneficial one for Skegness.
The town, after the completion of these works purchased the water undertaking, and Mr. Griffith was again in the year 1925, engaged upon their further development when he devised the means of overcoming the trouble of infiltration of sand from the borings to the pumps by the construction of an adit between the borehole and pumping well. The new pumping station was opened in June, 1929.
The water tower at Burgh Road was constructed at the same time with a view to reducing the excessive peak demands on the 10 inch gravitation main from Welton thereby obviating the burdening of the already heavily capitalised under- taking with the necessity of facing, at that time, the heavy cost of providing a further nine miles of cast iron pipe line. The water tower was the subject of much interest as a settlement took place which put the structure out of the perpendicular. The tower has since proved to be of very great value in equalising the pressure throughout the town and in giving a very useful reserve supply at Skegness.
Mr. Griffith was a water engineer of wide repute and the author of a book on “Waterworks Law for Small Towns.” He was one of the original members of the Institution of Water Engineers and for 21 years was the secretary.