NORTH SHORE WATER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 16, 19 January 1940, Page 6

NORTH SHORE WATER.

The following objections seera to nfc out Mr. A. G. Quartley's interesting proposals:—(l) The consent el the Auckland City Council would be needed to sell water on salvage rates, and it would fix the price, (2) The Nortk Shore would be faced -*ith the capital cost of piping that water from the Waitakeres to Lake Pupuke. (3) To safeguard the lake a«i a reservoir the whole of the lake watershed would hmve to be purchased, ring-fenced and guarded against possible human or animal contamination. Being the centre of a rapidly increasing population, this would become increasingly difficult. (4) The water before- consumption would h«w to be filtered and chlorinated, (i>) Existing differences between the North Shore boroughs as mentioned by Mr. Quartley would have to be settled. It is thus seen that to carry out this, scheme would take considerable time and would involve the North Shore in heavy capital expenditure, with interest and the sinking fund charges, which would probably make the water very dear. The Auckland City Council's* offer is that it will stand the whole capital cost of bringing water from the Waitakeree to the res[>ective boundaries of the four North Shore boroughs, and it will buiW a 24 to 36-hour reservoir sufficient to guard against all minor interruptions in the supply. The lake would always be available for any major emergency. The total cost to* the Xorth Shore boroughs would be 1/1 a thousand gallons for the first year and 1/ a thousand gallons thereafter. No borrowing or capital expenditure would be necessary. Mr. Quartley's scheme would probably take several" years to carry out, necessitating the continuance of the present unsatisfactory water. By accepting the City Council's proposal* there should be every chance of the work being completed beforn next summer, when every Xorth Shore home would he supplied with pure fre-h water. V. 11. M. WILLS. ■