WATER FOR EDGECUMBE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 302, 7 May 1941, Page 5

WATER FOR EDGECUMBE

COUNTY ENGINEER'S REPORT Owing to the difficulty at the present time of obtaining the necessary piping for the' installation of the proposed new water supply scheme for the Edgacumbe district, there is every possibility of the project being held over till after the war, The matter was the subject of a special report from the engineer at the recent County Council meeting, and was discussed: by the ridling- member Cr D. W. Spence, who said that the increased! cost on the original estimate was; due to the desire for an increased scheme which would cover the whole area of town and district. He said) he' appreciated the report which would be, a good guide to the ratepayers who were interested. The report read : The proposed installation of a water supplv for the township of Egdiecumbes is based on a minimiim of 52 houses bui being sufficiently flexible to cope with any reasonable expansion over a period of say ten years. The Health Department insists on the chlorination of any water taken from the Rangitaiki River for domestic purposes and a chlorination plant has therefore been provided for. From enquiries andi observations made it would appear that provision should be made for the removal of the fine pumice that is in suspension in the Rangitaiki River water. If this is not done in a scheme of this size any equipment installed for the accurate dosing of chemicals is likely to give faulty results owing to the abrasive and jamming action caused: by the, pumice. It would, appear that a filtration plant should be installed to ensure that any chemical (losing equipment will function with the river water in any particular state, but at the same time the chlorine dose required far sterilisation is considerably reduced owing to . the fact that suspcndadi organic matter and other materials present are removed prior to the adid'ition of the chlorine. As pumice and; organic matter absorb a large! quantity of chlorine it is therefore possible with a filtration plant to insuret sterility of the water with a lower chlorine dose, and in consequence prevent unpleasant taste and odour forming in the Avater. The proposed; system would consist of on.e 160 gallon tank to which would be< fitted one No. 4 standard Bulldozer pump of 620 gallons capacity and one No. 6 standard Bulldozer pump of 1000 gallons per hour capacity. A three phase, contact type of starter would: be required and also two separate pressure .witches would be incorporated with Ilia unit to enable the No. 4 pump to operate at pressures of SOlbJ? minimum and lOOlbs; maximum and the No. 6 pump would operate when the pressure fell to 601bs. Provision has been made l to suitably house the plant. The three inch main provided would be large enough for fire fighting purposes if required. The scheme provides for connections to property boundaries. The present scheme cannot be compared with the original one which was designed for a very linv ited number of people whereas this scheme would take care of the water requirements of Edgecumbe for a number of years to come and would also provide sufficient water for fi.iv fighting requirements if required. The cost of the; complete scheme would be £2, 000 made up as follows: 5000 lin. feet 3" G.I. piping at 3/9 £937 10s; Ghlcrination plant £170; Pumps, fittings and tank £215; Filtrationi plant £173; Installation, housing and wiring £170; Connections to property boundaries 1700' at 7%d £54 17s lid; Maim to Colebrooks 400 tin. feet %" £12 18s 4d; 52 connections £26; 4 air valves £16;s Labour on laying pipes etc. Contingencies £49 13s 9d. Total £2»OMT