NORTH SHORE WATER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 135, 9 June 1932, Page 3

NORTH SHORE WATER.

FUTURE SUPPLY. XAKE PUPUKE DWINDLING. NO IMMEDIATE CONCERN. "There is not the slightest need or desire to create a scare or the impression that there is a shortage of water." said Mr. IT. F. W. Meikle, Mayor of Devonport, this morning, when asked about his remarks at last night's borough council meeting, when he drew attention to the ultimate necessity of looking to some source other than Lake Pupuke for the borough water supply. lie explained that he was quite satislied the present source would serve the North Shore for the next ten years, but in these matters it was necessary to take the long view, and the public should be fully informed the position. At one time it was thought the lake was fed by hidden springs, but his observations convinced him that it was dependent solely on the rainfall. In round figures the present consumption was 190,000,000 gallons a year, and the rainfall, according to iigurcs taken over the last (10 years or so, was only 1-10,-000,000 on the lake and its watershed, so that it was obvious a point would eventually be reached where the borough would have to look elsewhere for its water. There had been a fear ut one time that when the lake got below sea level the salt water would infiltrate, but the level had reached that point to-day and there was not the slightest sign of the entry of any salt water.

Dislike of Chlorination. Now was the time to look round and see where the Shore could take its water supply of the future. Mr. Meikle said he had been all over the Waitakere ranges, and he was convinced that was the natural source of supply for Devonport. The city had developed practically all the available streams, and when the time came it would be necessary for Devonport to come to some arrangement with the city—probably to effect a '"swap," for by that time the city might have been compelled to go further south for its own supply, say to the Waikato. Personally lie did not altogether like the idea of taking water from the lower reaches of the Waikato, as it would have to be heavily chlorinated. It was not yet known precisely what effect chlorination had 011 human beings, and he had seen too much of it in the war to relish the idea of being dependent on a supply treated as the Waikato supply would have to bo treated. Of course, if they went to Lake Taupo, they would get a pure supply, but that would mean a tremendous outlay. Value of Waitakere. Mr. Meikle said ho quite disagreed with people who considered the city had adopted a wrong policy in going to the Waitakere ranges for water. The ranges were Auckland's natural source, and even if it eventually became necessary for the city to go to the Waikato River the system of water conservation ou the Waitakere hills would never be scrapped; it would always be retained as an auxiliary supply, and if some future scheme developed further south was ever interrupted by earthquake or some other cause, the people might be very glad of their Waitakere system. In the same way the Lake Pupuke supply would never be scrapped; it was the natural source of the North Shore and would always be kept as such, though augmentation would undoubtedly be necessary.

At the present time, concluded Mr. Moiklc, Devonport was mainly concerned in facing the fact that in ten years' time it would have to look elsewhere than Lake Pupukc, and all that was necessary in the meantime was to educate the people to that point of view and to set on foot investigations so that when the time came the borough would be fully prepared for it and not be caught) napping.