NEW WATER SUPPLY.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20427, 23 December 1931, Page 4

NEW WATER SUPPLY.

I ■ - | Progressive Rangiora—Water Reticulation Completed

Modern High Pressure System WORK COMPLETED BELOW ESTIMATE. . Instead of having to depend on pumps and windmills for its water supply, as has been the case up to the present, the borough of Rangiora now possesses one of the most modern high pressure water supply schemes in the Dominion. The most conspicuous part of the scheme is, of course, the * tower, which, rising as it does to a height of 111 ft 6in, makes a remarkable landmark, easily eclipsing any building in the district. From the tower a magnificent view is obtainable. It is possible to get a birl's •eye view of the country on three sides, while, looking towards Pegasus Bay, one may see steamers entering and leaving Lyttelton Harbour.

The waterworks will be opened to-day ', at 3 p.m. by the Mayor (Mr W. A. Bowse), who with the Mayoress will subsequently entertain visitors at, his residence, King street. Pumping Plant. The pumping plant consists of t\vo centrifugal pumps each driven by tViro 30 h.p. slippering motors. There is also u one pump with a capacity of 110 gallons per minute, which is driven by a 7J h.p. motor. The motors are all auto- ; matie starting, controlled by Igrantio devices. The two big pumps working together are able to deal with 50,000 a gallons of water per hour. The capacity of the tank is 44,000 gallons. Nos. 1 and 2 pumps can be run parallel or in series for boosting. The capacity of the tank is 44,000 gallons, and the pumpß deliver against a total head of 130 ft, The electrical equipment was erected by the Borough Council's own electrical staff under Mr H. Matthews, Eesident Engineer. The use of hydro-61ectricity, together with tinae switches and float control gear, has given the engineer the opportunity of providing a scheme almost wholly automatic. It will therefore be possible to close down the pumping station, merely visiting it at intervals to replenish the lubricating supply of oil! Underground Spring Water. The water which is used in the high pressure supply is obtained from a well sunk in the pumping shed. The well is 30ft deep and the water, is wonderfully clear, coming as it does from underground springs. Such was the force of the flow that it was necessary to obtain the services of a diver from the Lyttelton Harbour Board to concrete the well. As the town of Bangiora does not possess buildings that are lofty and closely built it .was not necessary -to provide an instantaneous maximum high pressure water supply for fire .fighting purposes. Therefore, the ordinary domestic supply pressure was considered sufficient to deal adequately with an outbreak of fire caught on its incipient stage qe for the few''minutes which would elapse before the pumps coudd be diverted to deliver fire-fighting pressure direct into the mains. There ia such a bouittiful supply of water mailable that the pumps will be used very sparingly. In fact it is not considered that it will be necessary to tuo them for more than an hour or two per day. In case of fire there will be ■ superabundance of ■prater at hand. The new system will render the Fire Brigade's motor pump and steam boiler less essential than they have been up i to the present. The height-of the tower \ will provide sufficient pressure to deal wHb any fire in the borough, but the brigade's pump will no doubt.be found useful to boost the pressure when such a service i* required. •Tie Mains. . The larger main, called the "Fire Fighting Service," is laid as close as practicable to the building line—the distance out being governed by the space necessary for fire-plugs and valves. Fire - plugs or hydrants are spaced at three- , chain intervals 'in congested parts of

it is required for any other purpose provision is made for three periods of cutout. In planning the supply the engineer allowed for a daily consumption of 30 gallons per head. In his opinion the works could supply sufficient water for Christchurch. At its present of progress Rangiora is assured of a more than, adequate water supply permanently. The system was given a trial a few days ago with satisfactory results. Some considerable time must elapse, however, before'ithe whole of the prospective consumers can be connected with the mains, so that it would appear that there is a busy time in store for plumbers. The contractors responsible for construction were:—G. L. Bull, Christchurch, well and pump house; Turn- • bull and Jones, Christchurch, pumps and motors; Keir and Thompson, 4 Rangiora, ! water tower; James Mayo and party, Rangiora, excavating pipe lines; Spiral Pipe .Company, Wanganui, steel fire mains; Farmers' Co-operative Association, Rangiora, galvanised wrought iron domestic supply pipes; W. H. Price and Son, Christchurch, gun metal fittings; Booth, Mac Donald, Christchurch, cast iron fittings; Jas. J. Niven and Co., Christchurch, galvanised wrought iron fittings. A SAFE LADDER. FAINTING WITHOUT FALLING. No doubt a considerable amount of interest will be shown by engineers in the type of ladder erected beside the new w.ater tower at Rangiora, for it is the claim of the engineer . who designed it (Mr W. H. Stevens) that it is absolutely safe in all circumstances. The ladder runs up the side of the tower, but instead of it being necessary to mount the rungs on the outside, it is possible to make the ascent from the inside, that is with one's back against one of the concrete posts supporting the tank on the top. By so doing, a climber may rest at any stage of the upward or downward journey •rtritli ooinplete safety, and should he faint he would be in no ✓danger of falling. In fact, before he could drop it would be necessary for him to draw his legs clear from the metal rungs of the,ladder, at the same time releasing his hand hold. But in case the attraction of climbing the ladder may prove too much for the small boys of the district, it is intended to erect a fence around the base of the tower. Mr Stevens told a representative of The Press that a -good many years ago, when an apprentice, he had been j frightened when called on to climb the ladder attached to the tower of the' old tramway power house then being erected in Hobson street, Auckland. He luid since given much i thought to the problem of how to erect a ladder which would obviate the risk of a' fall, and before deciding on the design of the ladder at Rangiora had carried out ex- ■ periments with a framework in an office, the results giving complete .satisfaction, \ FLOURISHING INDUSTRY. STEEL PIPE MANUFACTURE, If all the pipes manufactured by the Spiral and Lock-Bar Steel Pipe Company of New Zealand, Ltd., and supplied to municipalities. Government Departments, and private companies throughout the Dominion were laid end to end they would reach from Auckland to Wellington and then from Christchurch to Dunedin. Pipes have laid by the company in nearly every city and borough in New Zealand; In 1908 the company supplied the Christchurch Municipality with a large quantity of spiral pipes, and since that time has received many repeat orders. A contract in 1926-27 was for 42 miles. The present quantity of pipes installed in this City is approximately 500,000 feet, comprised as follows-: Inch. Feet. « ... ... 260,000 G ... ... 106,000 8 69,130 10 22,00u 12 - ... ... 42,000 15 ... ... 11,000 18 ... ... 6,300 Among the big contracts secured by the company were pipes for the Orongorongo-Karori scheme, supplied to the Wellington City Council, and pipes for the trunk main from Titirangi to Auckland. The company also supplied the pipes used in connexion with the Rangiora scheme. The present management took control of the company at Wanganui in 1802.

luiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiim MAYORS OF BOROUGH. Rangiora was constituted a borough in 1878, when Mr H. Blackett was elected Mayor, the first Councillors being: Messrs Burt, Robinson, Johnston, Boyd,*tJood, White, Cone, Throne, and Luxton. The complete list of Mayors, with their terms of office, is as follows; H. Blackett—lß7B-1880. J. Johnston—lßßo-1883. A. Ivory—lßß3-1885. H. Boyd—lßßs-1887. H. Blackett—lßß7-1888. E. R. Good—lßßß-1891. G. Cone—lß9l-1892. J. Sansom—lß92-1894. T. Keir—lß94-1896. O. I. Jennings—lß96-1898. E. R. Good—lß9B-1899. A. B. Blackett—lß99-1901. J. Sansom—l9ol-1902. J. Carmichaet—l9o2-1908. E. W. Relph—l9os-1908. C. W. Bell—l9oß-1910. A. B. Blackett—l9lo-1911. . E. R. Good—l9ll-1912. J. Sansom—l9l2-1914. ' C. I. Jennings—l9l4-1921. F. B. Lane—l92l-1921 (Three Months). W. A. Banks—l92l-23. W. A. Rowse—l923-1925. R. Mcintosh—l92s-1927. W. A. Rowse—l927-1929. C. S. Ayers—l929-1931. W. A. Rowse—l93l—-

LOWEST RATED BOROUGH.

RANGIOIIA'S DISTINCTION. SMALL PUBLIC DEBT. Rangiora possesses the distinction of being the lowest rated borough in the Dominion, being rated £5.78 per £IOOO of capital value. It is ideally situated on the Canterbury Plains, twenty miles to the north of Christchurch, with which it is connected by rail, in addition to regular motor services. The installation of the new water reticulation scheme makes the borough now one of the most up-to-date towns in the Dominion, for it is electrically 'lighted, possesses a town hall, public library, a volunteer ftrc brigade, and fresh water baths. Stroets. Lighting, Etc. Rangiora is .noted for the excellence of its streets, the main ones being dustloss, while similar roads lead in and out of it. In all there are fifteen miles of road in the borough, which is lighted by 115 electric street lamps. Another source of light and heat is the Municipal Gas Works, which, built in 1907 at a cost of £13,000, produces a revenue ,of £3500. From the electric power distributed by the borough from

the borough, and four chains in sparsely settled areas. Sluice, scour, and air <valves are provided, and angle-cocks for household supply to all existing premises. The small main, called the "Domestic Supply," is laid close up to the building line on the opposite side from the fire-fighting service. Shut-off valves and angle cocks ale also provided on this main. The depth of both mains is such that all danger of the water freezing is obviated and existing gas services not fouled. Breaking up of the carriageways occurs only where the mains cross between blocljsi all other construction being on the footways where surfaces can be more economically restored. A feature of the scheme is thttt the mains can be tapped at any time for house connexions without again disturbing the footways. This is also the case with respect to the sewerage system recently installed by Mr Stevens. By means of a system whereby pipes * branch off from the tower in two different directions, ultimately functioning, it has been found possible to make use of mains of a smaller diameter than would be expected. Such a design is economical, avoiding as it does dead ends and the accumulation of stagnant wator. Should a break occur in a section of the delivery main the area of break is isolated'- by shutting >down the nearest sluice valves and the water supply to consumers outside that area will not be affected. Water will pass down a nineinch diameter stand-pipe on leaving the elevated, tank—the lower end consists of a breeches pipe with two six-inch diameter Jjrancheq connected to and forming part of the delivery mains. The nine-inch stand-pipe having a capacity of slightly more than the combined sixinch mains ensures the latter being supplied to full capacity. * ' Money Saved. That it sometimes pays to hasten slowly has been well exemplified in the present instance for the whole of the scheme has been completed at a little under the estimated cost of £13,869. By deciding in favour of the present highpressure system the ratepayers of the Borough "have saved themselves a considerable amount of money. A gravitation scheme would have meant laying down pipes to bring in water from the Ashley over a distance of about eight nules from the point at which the elevation would be sufficient for the purpose. Because of discolouration it would have been necessary also to provide for two tanks, one being a settlmg tank. It would also have been necessary to install a chlorinating plant to ensure that the waten would at all times be pure end this would in its turn have necessitated the provision of dechlorinating plant in order to minimise the unpleasant taste which would have been created in the water. On no fewer than three previous occasions proposals for the installation of a high pressure water supply were rejected by the ratepayers of the borough. On a fourth occasion the proposal was carried, but by so amiill a m . a J° nt y that it was not proceeded with One scheme, providing for a gravitation supply, was so expensive that-the pipes alone were estimated to cost ab6ut £48,000. An important advantageof the present scheme is that there will be no cost at all for pumping, the felectrical power which is to bo used for the purpose being obtained free of cost as it is only tapped when otherwise the power would go to waste. So that the power will not Be taken when

iiiiiiiiimiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimmimiim WATER ATTRACTS HIM.

the Lake Coleridge power scheme a revenue of £SIOO is obtained. •jßangiora's library contains 3000 volumes and is the property of the borough. The town boasts a silver band subsidised by the municipality to the extent of £SO per annum. The Town Hall is a modern building in all respects and Avas erected five years ago at a cost of £12,000. For six months of the year the borough fresh water baths are open to the public and are well patronised. Valuation and Public Debt. The present population is about 2175, tho area of the borough 877 acres, the capital value .£624,120, and the unimproved value £165,220. The total borough rates amount to 51d in the £ on unimproved value. A rate of Jd in the £ is collected for the Ashley River Trust. In 1579 the ordinary receipts were £1613, and in 1931 they had grown to £16,200. There was no public debt until 190G, but at the end of the last financial year the loans amounted to £50,650. Next year, of course, there will be an increase of £13,800, this being the amount of the water sup'ply loan, the rate in connexion with whicli is 2Jd in the & spread, over a period of twenty; years.

MR y. WEBB'S CAREER. Mr W. Webb, who has been responsible for the jointing of the steel mains at Rangiora in connexion with the new water supply, is an old Canterbury boy, having been born about half a century ago in Lyttelton. For the past' 34 years he has been a resident of Wanganui and for the greater part of that period has been ah employee of the Spiral and Lock-Bar Steel Pipe Company of New Zealand, Ltd., lor whom he has undertaken high pressure water supply pipe installations in many parts of the Dominion. Apparently water has always had an attraction for him, for when 16 years of age lie was racing with some success at the Akaroa Regatta, and later gained the distinction of being the first New Zealander to win tlie World's Professional Sculling Championship. iiimmiiimiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiii