TAUPO WATER SCHEME.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 188, 11 August 1925, Page 13

TAUPO WATER SCHEME.

ArrLICATIOI* TO WORTH SHORE DISCUSSION AT DEVOKPORT. After the close of the ordinary business of the Waitemata Chamber of Commerce at the meeting held in Devonport last night, Mr. W. A. Gray, one of the engineers, -who has reported on the Lake Taupo water scheme to the provisional committee of the proposed Auckland Provincial Water Board, addressed the meeting on the subject.. Amongst those present were the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Devonport, Meesre. J. Lamont and John Henderson, the Mayor of Takapuna, Mr. J. D. Morrison, Mr. Slinger, engineer of Takapuna borough, and others deeply interested in the subject. With the aid of a, large map the scheme was very fully explained. The speaker pointed out that Lake Taupo was the largest lake in New Zealand, its area being 240' square miles- and an average depth of between 300 and 400 feet. Its distance from Auckland is 135 miles and its elevation above sea level is 1211 feet which would enable a gravitation supply to be made available for the Waikato Valley towns between Waikato and Auckland itself and the marine suburbs with their extensions. The scheme aims at tapping a source of supply of. water of ideal quality, and, for all practical considerations, of unlimited quantity. He said that an idea of the storage capacity of the lake may be gained from the fact that the supply proposed, 15 million gallons per day, could be drawn from the lake for 10 years before Hβ level would be reduced one foot and that was on the supposition that no water entered the lake during that time. The enormous possibilities were shown when actually between 200 and 300 times that quantity ie continually entering the lake by the streams which feed it, and leaving it by the Waikato river. The engineering of the scheme was straight forward and the speaker eaid that the height of the lake was such that it would be possible to deliver 15 million gallons a day through pipes of soin to 42in in diameter to a height of 500 feet at One Tree Hill, entirely by gravitation. He favoured cement lined pipes , being used, because corrosion would be almost entirely eliminated, and he thought such pipes would last twice as long as life of the loan, which would be 36 years. The point of particular interest to the North Shore boroughs, would of course, be the feasibility and cost, of crossing the harbour, and he quoted how the Liverpool watt«r supply, from the Welsh hills, is carried under the Mersey, but that was because the river was shallow, and needed dredging. There was no euch difficulty here and the pipes could be laid across the bed of the harbour, on the proposed line, without any chance of being disturbed. The work could be completed, after a loan was carried, in from two and a-half to four years. Mr. Lament said he thought the cost of the Taupo scheme was its greatest drawback and he believed there were better and cheaper schemes nearer hoirg, and he favoured going more fully into , some of the other projected schemes • Mr. J. D. Morison confessed he liked the Taupo scheme and did not favour such eche-mes aa the Wairau, which jhad never appealed to. him I Messrs. Heldt and King, thought the j question of cost was not the most important thing to be considered: what they wanted was a pure supply of water and plenty of it. Mr. Gray was heartily thanked lor hie address, .and a request was made that he address a public meeting at a later date, when the Mayor of j Mount Eden would be agked to be pree--1 ent. It was also decided to- ask Mr. Armitag* to address a meeting on the Wairau scheme, «o that the detail* of that scheme might be placed before the public.