WATER PROBLEM

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 32, 8 February 1928, Page 12

WATER PROBLEM

WAITAKERE SUPPLIES.

GOING FURTHER AFIELD.

•10] NT ACTION URGED

(By T. WALSH.

The first Waitakere water reached the city in 1900, yet after 27 years of elabo- ii rate schemes and the expenditure of over u li millions of pounds the daily supply is under 0 million gallons when we have e had but six weeks summer. If it had not been for the fact that the Western t Springs has supplied 100 million gallons the city would in the last week of this 8 month reach a position of acute famine £ as regards water; for by that time, 6 unless heavy rains come, the Nihotopu t and Waitakere streams will be running v jointly only 2 million gallons daily, and the draw oIT the mains is 8 millions. n The city is virtually dependent on t rain water traps in the Waitakeres; they 1 are placed in two valleys, the Waita- 0 kcre and Nihotupu; feverish efforts are e being made to construct another in the a Huia. Everyone familiar with the 8 ranges knows that in years of average rainfall the mountain streams dry up s in early summer, and that only in very f wet weather can they be relied on to give * water. Tlie rainfall in the city is about i half that in the hills, but it was 53in 8 in 1927; that is lOin above the average 1 for the previous fiO years. From 1916 to * 1925 the average was 53in, and 1920 was 1 ft very wet year, so that the city water 1 supply should be ample. It has failed < 1o supply ordinary needs, despite the 1 fact that 2 million gallons are pumped 1 daily from the Western Springs. i Some Figures. ( The demand is given as "under 8 £ million gallons," so that excluding the Springs contribution, barely G million f i gallons is coming from the ranges. Re- i cently the city engineer informed the j North Shore public body men that 14 j 1 million gallons was running into Wai- ] takere dam and about 1:] million gallons j i into Nihotupu; making 7& millions , total. Either the draw off is greater than stated or the run in is less, for the ( engineer claimed that storage was yielding 4 million gallons daily. The Waita- j kere catchment is 2100 acres in extent, so that if it yields 1£ million gallons the , run in must be 715 gallons per acre the < day; this is much above the usual figure , taken by engineers, but the City , Engineer, before the Water Commission, I stated that "as a minimum run off in a , dry year the yield would be 1680 gallons , per acre per day." Realisations have , r been only half of the expectations; and , this has not been a dry year. It is ■ hoped by the summer of 1928-9 to have , portion of the Huia stream turned into ] the mains. The Huia is the same size ] as the Waitakere, for the engineer re- • ports that the yield from both will be 41 ( million gallons; next summer, if the weather and rainfall are not different, the Huia will not supply more than the Waitakere is now; that is at the outside H million gallons. The total running supply in Huia, Waitakere and Nihotupu will not be 4| million gallons, to which storage will add 4 millions; very obviously the old Springs will have to carry the city again next summer. Since December 16, 1927, the Western Springs have supplied 100 million gal- * lons, equal to the take out of 25 days from storage; in other words if it had not been for the Springs the. city would have reached the limit of its water supply 25 days earlier than March 17, the date fixed by the City Engineer when the ,i city will have only empty reservoirs and be relying on the miserable trickle Jn the Waitakere and Nihotupu streams. The city has been led to expect otherwise. On April 18, 1925, Sir Jas. Gunson told the public that "with the pipeline now being constructed, the daily delivery to the city would ba 19,000,000 gallons, so that within fche next few months that quantity would be available if and when required." The present pipeline capacity is 18,000,000 gallons; the filter plants %?511 have 1... 20,000,000 gallons capacity, and an aqueduct is .being built to carry 32,000,000 gallons; the present yteld is under 6,000,000 gallons, and with the Huia may not exceed 7,500,000 gallons next summer. > Lines of Action. The time has arrived when the city can choose one of two lines of action. Either it can say to the suburbs that it attempted an impossible task in trying to find water for them, or it can join with the suburbs in getting a dependable and adequate supply for uotli. If the first course was adopted, the suburbs would not murmur; they r?a lised three years ago that the city supply was going to fail, and essayed remedial measures; the city outmanoeuvred them, and with a useless heroism at tempted to undertake to deliver svatei that it cannot find. There is no doabt • that a declaration by the city that it has "come to earth," literally, in this matter of water supply would do r.iore than anything else to re-establish the good fellowship that once existed between the old city and the newer ones developing alongside it. If the second line was agreed on, the combined city and suburbs could jointly defray the expenses of a couple of en gineers in making a thorough survey of ! all sources of supply, and the vore of j the combined bodies could then determine'the future policy. These expei'scould examine:— , (1) Further schemes for spending another £1,000,000 in the waterless Walls - | keres. 1(2) The scheme for going to t'.ui Hunua and spending £2,700,000 and constructing 38$ miles of tunnels and aqueducts. The Hunua country is a replica of the Waitakere. (3) The scheme for lifting 15,000,000 gallons daily from the Waikato at Mercer for a cost of £700,000; this ifi-ia provides for pumping to a reservoir at. Bombay, and would have the merit jf finding a larger market for water. (4) The jdan for going to the lake at Arapuni or the river below it, and supplying the whole of the Waikato Valhy, as well as the entire city and suburbs This scheme has the advantage of being statesmanlike, for the wealth of the Waikato supports almost half of the ! city; in 25 years the development of the Waikato will be astounding, and. since the city is so dependent on the Waikato, anything that will help the latter should have consideration. The Issues. The issues aro clear; either the city and suburbs should part as friends ana each make provision for water, or as friends they can jointly plan for the future on lines that will definitely laj~ ! the menace of water famine and consequent disease by procuring abundant quantities of cheap, clean water. Now it j| S -v % . time to arrange a preliminary coi:■fercnce to define the line of policy. Sueli a conference could be approached without recriminations or references to past Roubles, but in all frankness for the "" definite decision of eepara- . %ot co-operation in getting water.