WATER SUPPLY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 227, 25 September 1930, Page 9

WATER SUPPLY.

OPPOSITION TO BOARD.

CITY COUNCIL'S CASE

SCHEMES- COMPARED.

.-Mr. A.' X 'Entrican, chairman of the water "committee ]■ of - the .City Council, replies to-a 'statement from.Mr. E. .H. PotteiV ; Mayor'of Mount Eden, published inline ."Slar". on, Tuesday. - ' ,

"I am ; pleased that Mr. Potter has referred for corroboration of his statements'to the report of the Water Commission," said -Vx. - Entrican. "The gentlemen who sat on that commission had - every, phaee of the question put before them by the. promoters of: the present bill,- by evidence and by able counsel. /.The .commission admitted that tie-Auckland.City Council had.a right to a reasonable profit, and recommended that 'legislation should -be introduced so that any,, outside; local body taking its supply-irom.the council would have the right to.ask for an-arbitration ,if they charged an unreasonable profit. The council did at once promote, a hiUion/these lines. . . . Seasons for Increase in Price. v "Strange;.-to s eay, as stated in the House by Mr.:H.-.G.:E. Mason, the present' promoters'-"of 'the Provincial Water Bbar'd opposed..-the.-bill, and; because of their action the bill was not allowed to f. proceed : past the committee stage. The .prices,of water was ,increased . be-cause-in.the meantime over £500,000 had keen spent ■ in/capital' works increasing the 'capacity-of: the Waitakere dam, building a ,new dam. in the Huia, as well as: bringing, this supply •. to -the, city. and filters,: which cost about £i05,000'. ( The; loss on the: past : year'sWbrking of the •waterldepartment Tvaa over £3000,; and. so much has^beenVeaid'about the cost: ot> water it:is time the promoters gptfi. the bill f iOiat to^davAthe^water,.-. with i thev increased

capital charges, is costing llpjd per 1000 gallons. Mr. Potter. may rest assured that when the . ,City ■ Council's balancesheets come-back' from the audit office without a tag they may b& taken as absolutely correct. ' . "There can be no question as to the amount, of water available in the Hiinua Ranges.-There are :four streams available, Maungatawhiri, Mangatangi, Cossey's and- the upper reaches of the Southern Wairoa. During the summer of 1927-28, the hottest summer experienced iu Auckland for 25 years, there was in the. two first-named streams never less,than 12,000,000 gallons a day. In. January last there was running in the same streams 42,000,000 gallons a day, so. there .is no doubt. about. the quantity available. Mr. Potter says: 'Our engineers say the cost of the Waikato scheme will be £700,000.' The eviplaced foefore the Water Commission by Mr. Potter's engineers as to the cost, of bringing water from Taupo was £2,500,000, but the estimate of the commission was £5,250,000, only a slight under-estimate of. £2,750,000. So much for Mr. Potter's estimates. . A Million People. "From what we know from surveys and close estimates we do.not think the water can -be brought from the Waikato under £1,200,000, and it will ■be found on going into, details which have evidently not been included that this will not tie sufficient. What about the cost of filters, the double pumping, first. into filters, ■ then to a high-level reservoir? If only one pumping and the filter plant is on the high level how is the chemical effluent to be dealt with? It is costing the Auckland City Council considerable trouble and expense to dispose of this now.- ■ ■■■■■ "The cost of;Hunua water will be less per 1000 gallons, landed in a city reservoir than Waikato water, as the cost of pumping and chlorination will be saved. The supply is absolutely assured, and the combined supply from these pure mountain streams from Waitakere and the Hunua Ranges will be sufficient for a population, of 1,000,000 people, counting 50 gallons per capita. This can be secured from the present Waitakere supply, including lower Nihotupu and Maungatawhiri.' and Mangatangi, and six further-streame in the two districts can foe added. We are not making any profits oxvfc of water at' the present time; in -fact, the working account is showing an annual loss. We anticipate that the account will- right : itself in a year,or,two, and we "are quite willing to;reduce.the...charges as soon as the 1 revenue' is sufficient.".