The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1935. DRAINAGE BOARD ACTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 244, 15 October 1935, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1935. DRAINAGE BOARD ACTS

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the icrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that tee cati do.

Within a month of its decision to call in outside advice on the drainage question the Drainage Board has appointed two experts and fixed a date for the opening of the inquiry. Further, the Board has adopted an order of reference which should be sufficiently comprehensive to satisfy all the local bodies in the metropolitan area. This prompt and definite action will meet with general approval. When we commented a month ago upon the Board's proposal to, obtain an independent report we suggested that every effort should be made to have this report completed by Christmas. That appears now to be possible. Both the experts chosen are men of wide practical experience in drainage problems, and both have had to deal with the needs of rapidly growing urban areas. As drainage engineer for Melbourne, Mr. Borrie has had to cope with difficulties iji the treatment of sewage. Mr. Hart, whose knowledge of purification methods covers many years, has had in addition the opportunity of studying the question of drainage reticulation in the broken topography of Wellington.

Most of the data which will be required by the engineers is available, and their main task is to form a judgment upon it. The primary question is whether the sewage outlet of the future should be on the east or west. This boils down largely to a matter of cost. Mr. Watkins has already given it as his opinion that an outlet into the Tasman would be the ideal solution, but has ruled it out as too costly at the present time. The additional expenditure involved has been set down as at least half a million, and the time required to terminate the Orakei nuisance would be correspondingly prolonged. Financially, a West Coast scheme is a much larger undertaking than an outfall and works, as proposed by Mr. Watkins, at Brown's Island, but the public is by no means satisfied at present that the treatment methods would be sufficiently effeetive to justify the expenditure of a substantial sum in replacing the Orakei outfall by one further down the harbour. The opinion of the outside experts on this point will be awaited with much interest. It is possible that under their order of reference they may advise some division of the drainage How, which would involve the construction of an outfall in each harbour. Such a division would raise the question of the capacity of the Brown's Island system, and probably of any selected Manukau outfall as well. Again costs would have to be weighed, and an integral part of the problem would be the future disposal of Vyestfield trade waste.

These are some of the broad issues. Connected with them are numerous questions of local importance bound up in the allocation of capital and maintenance ccsts and control. It is easy to- appreciate that some loss of existing capital and some new outlay may be involved in areas which already appear to be I well >' served by drainage systems, but the objectionable feature is that each of these systems causes pollution to tidal waters. If, to protect the harbours and beaches, some wastage of capital is essential, the loss should be shared, and the experts will require all the assistance they can be given in finding a solution. In indicating the legislative and other steps necessary to the setting up of a new drainage authority they will also be concerned with questions not strictly for technical experts, and again will need the full co-operation of the local authorities. The Drainage Board, in deciding upon this inquiry and shouldering the whole of the cost, has done -all in its power to facilitate the sifting of data and the weighing of various local viewpoints. The local authorities can help by preparing a clear statement of their individual cases for the assistance of the experts when the inquiry opens a month hence.