Hydrodynamic water-oil separation breakthrough

A separation apparatus comprising:

• a separation vessel;
• a tube provided in the separation vessel;
• inlet piping attached to an inlet disposed along an upper portion of the tube, the inlet piping adapted to introduce a fluid mixture into a separation portion of the vessel where the fluid mixture separates into a gas, which gas collects in a gas layer at a top portion of the separation vessel, and into an oil layer and a water layer, which oil and water layers collect within the separation vessel below the gas layer;
• an outlet for the water layer provided within the water layer in the separation vessel;
• a water leg operably associated with the separation vessel;
• wherein the outlet for the water layer communicates with an inlet of the water leg that regulates a level of interface between the oil layer and water layer within the vessel, and an outlet provided on the water leg for discharging water out of the water leg,
• wherein the water leg is provided with an inner tube concentrically located within an outer tube and an adjustable height upper end of the inner tribe serving as a flow over weir allowing water entering the water leg from the separation vessel to travel upward within the water leg and crest over the flow over weir to flow downward within the water leg to the outlet provided on the water leg,
• wherein the water leg includes an internal slip-sleeve that is configured to raise and lower relative to the inner tube, and
• wherein the water leg includes an internal pipe section attached to the inner tube and the internal slip-sleeve is disposed to raise and lower on the internal pipe section.