HIGH-PRESSURE WATER SUPPLY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12827, 11 June 1907, Page 9

HIGH-PRESSURE WATER SUPPLY.

■ __ --# MEETING AT ST. ALBANS. -V meeting of rntepnye.is to consider ' the high-prowi"" water nipply «l«a™ * of tho City Council was hr,ld at *>t. I Matthew's schoolroom, St. Albans, hunt ; Unlng- There was n largo attend- - aiioe. His Woiship the Alayor, Mr U. Pavling, presided. -Councillore J. Hydo and A. Williams wero pi-went. ! The Ala.orsnid the meeting was called with the view of his placingbcH.ru tlm ratepayers particular of tho proposed l.idi-prpssuio water supply to: ?t. llb-us. St. Albans was a proß.-ess.vo jiitrirt. and ho was tsuro tnat every true fried of the suburb would a__iM TJt*-W tho, proposal. Tho time was ripe ior discontinuing tho oil Stout of tapping the earth for private artesian supplies, in favour o a.i - efficient general water supply- Undor ff proposal of the City Conned, a water supply would be provided at a are-sed, nil houses woiiiu havo to bo connected with the main sower, in order to ensure thoroughly sanitary conditions. It would aLo, it corned out save a considerable amount m money in insurance premiums—prob--33, as much as lo per cent. Eignt miles 32 chains of sewers had I>een laid in tho district, at a cost ot £9100. tint of that milwigo, only GSO connections had been made between private housoand the seweis, and most oi them wore only for slop*, etc. In every street where there was a sower, _s ho had ,_aid the Council intended to insist on nil iiou-cs being connected with the «Biror Nearly a million of money had boon «-ponded in Christchurch und ■ miburbs on private artesian supplies. Largs privato expenditure would bo obviated if a general schomo for tho city was adopted. Mr Alsynard said ho had not noticed any fnlling-off in tho pre__ro of pri- " _it» supplies, and gavo an instance to the contrary. Tho Alayor had stated > t.»t » million of money had boon ox- ' «eiided on private artesian supplies. Wollld it bo fair to tho persons . who hud'BOM to the expense of obtaining private supplies that thoy should be ta-ed for a goneral schomo t In a letter iv that morning's "Pm_," signed "High Pressure," thoro was somo oritkiem of Dr. Chilton's letter, and it was stated that the new scheme was never intended! to be for household purposes, but was for 6anitury and fire prevention purposes. The Mayor said under the Council s nchome. water would bo provided for domestic purposes, high-pressure, and for sanitation, and all undor the one charge. * In reply to questions, the Mayor said he understood tho Drainago Board would bo prepared to adrvance money at a low rato of interest to enable connections to be mode with tho sower. The whole of tlie St. Albans ward t would bo reticulated by the now water schomo. . Air Hobbs aaid the sewage question bnd ft largo bearing on how the high's pressure wator schemo would be received. It wa3 probable that in the J cast of most ratepayers, the head would ', * say "Yes" to tho general scheme, but {,' the pocket would say "No." The exf peilse of connecting with the sewers r .as of great importance to tho poorer f class of people. P * In reply to a question, th© Mayor f. said ho recognised the importance of Q tlie drainage question, but that matter \ did hot oomo under tho control of the S4 Council. He often wished tho drain- (}■■ age of tho city was controlled by the _j M Council (applause). Ho believed it %\ nould bo a good thing, and would save 34k - {rouble in many ways. He added Hlfttliat the city had fourteen wolls, sovou s'Mof them were practically useless, and |p|||he others had decreased' in pressure IftfPto. ft extent. Ho made this re wt, 'mark in reply to a reference to tho dost' 4 yd'eaae in pressure owing to the largo ft* number of privato wells that had- been V sunk,,. . r A ratepayer said he failed to see I how the scheme would benefit a large b number of St. Albans residents for | l vorr twtiy yearn. h The" Mayor said he thought the whole I district would probably be supplied in |\ w about two yqara. St AnotJlier ratopayor said that about | fivß'ont or six residents of St. Albans m> . had to pump their wator now, owing io $j the failing supply. «*'. tbo motion of Mr Alaynand. a I' hearty vote of thanks was passed to »*, the Mayor for presiding, and for tho jL interest. ho had shown in the high- % water scheme.. E. . *o iirs itnrroii ov "tß_t raESs." f l , fl|r t —*I|n reply to your correspondf cnb "High Pressure," the Express CoraX psny's building is 120 ft high. Inspeof < tor Smith informs mc tlmt with his oldSjt est Are engine—i.e.' 43 years old—ho B' threw.water 25ffc over the parapet. The jl" proposed reservoir on tho Hills would r raise wtttor theoretically, i.e. bar frioJ tiofi in pipes, 2.oft from lovol of tho Square. But tho- pipes which will i Btamd a pressure of 2501b per square £ inch would enable water to bo raised } to a height of 678 ft. Unquestionably ■*, yoti can get the best results by discard- » ing n-ervoira and pumping into mains. * -—yours, eto., \ ■ ." ■ - JOSHUA LITTLE. to tw anrron ot "ra pubss." Biry-*By the courtesy of Dr.Chilton , I received this morning a leaflet on the rign-pfessuro water supply, in which t- ho sets out tho alternative scheme to | . that proposod by tho City Engineer, i. ' I am not quite sure whether I quite 'j, v follow Dr. Chilton's moaning, and as * othor.ratepayers may be.in tho Barae j position I will noto down the salient fi features of his proposal as I understand 3 it, and perhaps Dr. Chilton will kindh ly correct mc if wrong. J- I underhand tliat Dr. Chilton proj poses that there should bo about sixty X separate installations throughout tho \i[ citjr, each sorving about 1000 persons; fc that each should havo a water tower I, like that at Sydenham, or be fitted with A* a pumping station to pnmp direct into 1-' the mains. That for tho purpose of f thin scheme tho Council should acquire v* any privately-owned wells at tho 400 ft \ ? stratum, and, when necessary, should V sink others. Also that his proposal is k intended to supply the demands for } donwrtio use only, Bn d that in addition t ths city should supply a general schemo i (the dotails of whicli Dr. Chilton does not supply) lor firo prevention purpc«es. "' If thn above outline is correct, it would bo of further interest if Dr. (j* Chilton could give a rough estimnte of V the cost of his scheme ns compared with if that which ho proposes to supplant? i,, As I am merely seeking information, 'i and in no way criticising Dr. Chilton's y proposals, I will merely sign myself, B. jours, etc., ' Jtine 10th. RATEPAYER. ', TO tok tnrron ov tbsss." Sir,-—ln your issuo of this morning » 1 notice an account of on interview *' with one of the officers of tho Public a Health Department dealing with this subject of artesian -water in open .storago reservoirs. I cannot, of course. * say whether tho opinions expressed <■ by that officer to your reporter are J ' correctly put down m the report; but - taking tliat report as it-stands there aro a few points in it that perhaps fl j call for some explanation and reply on !r my part. Lot nt? in the first place A nako it perfectly clear Uiat I spoke |>, it an open otomgo reservoir, sticii as I that propce«T_{ by the City Council ii *o bo erected on tho Port Hills; nnd i f furturaiiy my reimuKS woutu: appiy ty "only to a much less degree to tho largo j|f tankfl at tho top of the Sydenham *jf Water ToWer, w__ch 1 presume are ,\\ closed, and which in any ca-_> do not t "- _oria p storage reaervoir, but are

simply for the purpose of giving sufficient head, so that the water may havo tho pressure, required' for fire pre- * vent ion and other purposes. .Moreover, I was particularly careful not to uuso tlio question of public health; I spoke only ol the water from the point of view or watei foi drinking, an«a contrasted tlie artesian water direct troni tho artesian pipe with tho condamn that that watei might assume m the reservoir, and 1 asserted, that no ono would thing of accepting tho latter if he could get pure artesian water. Aloreover, at tho {statutory imoting en Friday night 1 produce- proof of the statements I have made. The bottle of water tnat I produced, had, as 1 stated, not been di«.wu direct from tho tap into the buttle, but tho water had b=en allowed to How Iron* tbe tap into a bath, and niter settlement for some time the bot,tle of witter was taken from tho sediment-, eto., at the bottom ot the- bath. It t.ieretoro contained what might be called a concentrated essence of tho water. But there wes nothing whatever iv it that did not come from tlie service pipe; and, apart from the fact of its concentration, it was a 6ample of water that onco had been artesian, but that «tter being stored in tho reservoir was actually being supplied to tho consumers. Sour account cf tho interview seems to imply that my. description of tho water applied to its condition after 1 had kept it for some time, lhat is not tho case. Aly description of tho various living animals in that water applied to its condition at the time when I got it; and as I stated nt the meeting, it is now, after having been kept for some considerable time, much 10-s harmful than it, was then, for tho animals have died, and tho water now contains only some comparatively harmless vegetable matter and earthy sediment. 1 repeat tliat no ono would think of accepting water that even might get into that condition, if ho had his choice between it and pure artesian water. Naturally, I do not deny that if reasonable precautions are taken to keep storago reservoirs clean they may bo used without any detriment to public health; how could I, when every town that is not blessed with natural conditions such as those possessed by Christdhurch havo to depend upon such reservoirs? Aly point was that wo have in Christchuroh, under our feet, a "natural artificial reservoir" (if I may be allowed to uso an Irishism)—a reservoir far larger and far superior to any artificial reservoir that could be constructed. It lies four hundred feet below the surface. It contains not merely one million two hundred thousand gallons, but thousands of millions of gallons of the purest water possible. It is absolutely protected from all possibility of contamination by its great depth below the surface, amdl by two or thn:o layers of impervious strata. And I asBert that possessing, as we do, that .magnificent "natural artificial reservoir," it would bo madness to think .of going to the . expenflo of building another*reservoir on th j Port Hills, even if we could bo perfectly certain that tho water pumped into tho reservoir woui- not deteriorate. In you. account of tbo interview the public health officer, speaking of Storage Reservoirs says, "Thmost serious contamination of a w-ater Bupply is, of course, sowago. There is no question as to that.sort of contaminatio-. Perhaps not, if duo precautions are taken; but these precautions must ha taken to prevent the contamination of the well or small reservoir from which the water is pumped from surf.c.3 drainage, and the samo precautions have to be taken in connection with the main through which „i ewater is pumped to the reservoir. Aloiuovcr, the open re•orvoir, iis •_spesed to all Mc germs carle- by the wind, and, ns it is admitted! by the public health officer, it is necessary to take vac ordinary pre-cautions-to see that such a reservoir is kept reasoai-bly clean. As I stated above, 1 did not raise tht? question of the publio health, but, since it has been raise., let mc say. that when most of tho germs carried by tho wiiHi are doubtless harmless enough, there is always the possibility that it may carry with* it germs that are not so harmless, and there aro various other ways in whicli an open reservoir may ba contaminated, and it would not bo difficult to quote instana-s where epi__nics of typhoid ami otuor diseases havo been due to accidental contamination of storage • rc-jervoirs. Mot«>ver, in tho particular case untkr consideration, tho position of the reservoir on tho Port nilla which, as the City Surveyor said on Friday night, has not been yet actually fixed upon, will require very careful consideration, for the Consumptive Sanitorittm which is now being erected on tho Port Hilm, thanks to tho energy of the Public Health Department, will oertainly not lessen tho number of tubercoje baciiii in the neighbourhood, and tliis bacillus, as the Publio juealth Department has succeeded in convincing tho peoplo (and all honour to them for having so clone) is tho most deadly and destructive bacillus to which tho human race is at prtsent exposod Tho Public Health Officer may call this ovidenco unecicntiho or give it any name He please, but the important fat is that it is true, and! the dangers pointed out have to be guardled against. Ihe account of your interview concludes, "He (Dr. Clinton) ought to ■produce scientific evidence before making such a statement as he has done— a statement that may tend to make the ratepayers distrust the propose, scheme of the City Council." in writing my article J naturally assumed some degeeo of intelligence on tlie part erf my i.adders, and therefore did not think it necessary to state that the evidence which 1 advanced was brought forward for the express purpose ot making "tlie distrust mo proposed scheme cf tno Council" so iar as tho employment of an open storage reservoir is concerned—such, however, was my deliberate intention.—Yours etc., CHARLES CHILTON. TO THE EPITOR OJ" "THE rBES.." Sir,—Will you allow mc a few lines in which to reply to tho letter appearing in your issue of tho Bth inst,, over tho signature "W. C. H. Wigley." I write in the interests of tho'smaller householders, who cannot afford to obtain water from the artesiamj by means of rams, mechanical pumps and windmills, nnd on whom a great benefit will be conferred if thoy are given an ample supply of water for an annual expenditure of 3s per £100 of the valuo of their property, with a minimum of 10s. A property worth £300, at this rate, would pay 10s per annum; a property worth £400, would pay 12s per annum; and a property worth £500 would pay los per annum. Neither must it be forgotten that theso small householders, for the above annual expenditure, will, in addition to an ample supply of water, get better protection to their families and property against fire, disease, dust and dirt. Surely to c small householder this is worth 3d a week. "W. C. H. Wigley" states:— 1. "I am rotcd for a Sumner tenement for water *t £10." Observo that he does no£ state tho period in respect of which tho rato is asked, nor does he state the valuo of tho property. In Christchurch, under the present scheme, this rate would represent a capital valuo of £0000. 2. For another Sumner tenement returning £27 per annum, the owner is charged -or wator £8, but the period in respect of which this amount is due ia not stated. 3. For two houses in Christchurch a supnly ia obtained from an artesian well at a "nominal cost." And he concludes by saying that he

has no desire to pay water rates ia Christchurch for nothing. Whait has tho payment of £8 for a Sumner tenement got to do with the Christchurch scheme, under which we are told that tho ratepayers will not havo to pay more than the rates above mentioned, viz., 3s por £100? The two cases are not identical,' and a comparison might just as well have been made between the Christchurch Bcheme and the small private Water Supply Company for the residents on tho Cashmere Hills, where the minimum chargo is about £7 or £8 per annum, and which these residents gladly pay. With regard to Air Wigley's third point, "That he has a supply from a well at a nominal cost, and therefore does not want a high-pressure supply, will ho tell us— (1) Whether the "nominal cost" referred to is the original cost of sinking the well and putting in a ram, tanks, etc.; or whether it is only tho annual expenditure, and if tho latter is tho case, whether anything is included for interest on the original cost. • (2) What assurance there is that the supply from this well is a never-iailing ono, and whether it is not the case that the flow from hundreds of wells during the last few years have shrunk to such an extent as to render them useless. 3) Whether he has taken into consideration the moro efficient protection that will be afforded to himself, his family and his property from fire by tho high-pressure supply, and also tho othor benefits that will be conferred from the same source in the way of sanitation, street watering and cleanliness generally. Will Air Wigley ask his medical advisor whether it would be worth the 20s a year ho would have to pay per £1000 of property to have the dust nuisance reduced in tho principal streets, and will he bo good enough to let tho public have the benefit of that advico when obtained. —Yours, etc., SAIALL HOUSEHOLDER.