THE POWER BOARD.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 128, 13 March 1939, Page 6

THE POWER BOARD.

I Sir,—lt lias been mentioned several times lately iat meetings of the Borough Council that the water tower has been emptied at awkward moments mainly late at night, through the unreason able use by some residents of garden hoses. Because of this, apparently, restrictions have been placed on the use of hoses and an even stricter control is pending. That is half the truth. Here is the other half. The Power Board collects from the Council a large sum of money per annul to keep the water tower filled* The Council, it is presumed, has an agreement with the Board to maintain the water level. Will the Council investigate my allegation that on more than one occasion the emptiness of the tower has been the direct result of the fact, that the tank having been filled, the pumps have been shutoff early in the evening or in the late afternoon, leaving the water supply to fend for itself? What is the nature of the Council’s agreement? Does it call for a constant level of water in the tank, or docs the Power Board (urn on the pumps when someone feels in the mood ? How many times have, the pumps been left on, the tank full, and countless thousands of gallons of water permitted to go to waste through the overflow? The Council has paid for that pumping, all the same . Who has charge of the water system ? The Council? The Power Board? The Board seems to do pretty much as it likes and gets away with it. Take the sub-station, or whatever it is, in Chalmers Avenue. Take that infamous and definitely illegal charge of twopence a unit which it adds to ivo, accounts. How many hundreds, more likely thousands of pounds_has it deprived the consumers of through this charge ? One lias only to refuse to pay the extra, after “the last day,” to realise that the Board knows it cannot compel payment. How much longer b it to be before someone fights the Board on the way it barges roughshod over everyone? How long is it to be before the town people wake up to that subtle juggling of charges which gives concessions to the farmers and makes the town consumers pay the extra? Finally, how many times have officials of "the» Power Board impatiently asked the Fire Brigade how much longer it wants the water when the Brigade is attending a fire? There is more in it than that, of course. Who is going to get at the truth? “I SPY.” “It is admitted that sometimes the tank has’been empty and , sometimes overfull, but that has been due to the lack of reliable indication of the statcof the tank on the Borough Council's indicator, which was recently finally destroyed by lightning,” said the Engin-eer-Secretary to the Power Board (Mr H. G. Kemp), when the above letter was shown to him. “The Borough Council has authorised the installation of an automatic appliance and this is being built now. It will switch on the pumps when the level of the water in tne tanks gets down to a predetermined point and will switch them off when the tank is full. It has been, impossible to' accurately gauge the demand for water at any period and in the day time the staff keeps an eye on the tank indicator by means of field glasses. Once the tower is full, the pumps are shut down and it is then a question ol estimating how long it will be before they have to be put on again. This is almost impossible with the fluctuations in demand that are recorded in the peak of an abnormal season like , the present one. The Council pays the Board £IOO a year to run the pumps, pays the cost of pumping and of repair material and labour cost on the big repair jobs. During a heavy pumping season this means keeping someone on duty at the power house. There is someone on duty from 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. almost every night and visits are made to the tank to see that all is well, the final call being made at 10.30 p.m. The pump is put on a time switch after that, the staff having to estimate the possible demand; if the demand is greater than anticipated, then we are liable to be caught. “The. tank has been empty only three times this season and then for only two or three minutes at a time. Even if the tank is empty when a fire breaks out, the pumps are delivering 28,000 to 30,000 gallons an hour ana the other gallons, can raise the level in the tank against any demand for water for a fire. Water has been pumped to waste, but that lias been due to the lack of a reliable indicator, and the cost of pumping being 1 l-3d for 1000 gallons, a considerable quantity can be wasted without involving the town in much expense . “In regard to the charge of 2d a unit, this is an integral part of the Board’s charges and the Board has had legal advice on the point several times, being informed that it :s quite in order in making the charge. “The suggestion of a juggling of charges to give concessions to the farmers is ridiculous. “We have no knowledge whatever of the reference made in the last paragraph of the letter. The telephone exchange tells us when there is a fire and extra pumping is at once arranged for. A f aid tin a n usually attends a fire and afterwards ho makes a report to us, when the pumps are shut down.. The Brigade does not notify us of fires, ofr when it is finished with the mains.”