Underground Water "Take-over Bids"

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31236, 7 December 1966, Page 22

Underground Water "Take-over Bids"

“Take-over bids” to control the underground water of the Christchurch metropolitan area were made at the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority yesterday after Dr. W. R. Holmes, a member of the North Canterbury Catchment Board, had said he was surprised that there had been no mention in the executive’s report of a matter of deep regional concern.

His comment began a long debate, which he later likened to a hornet’s nest, and led to a motion carried by five to three (only members of territorial local bodies have a vote) that the Government be asked to allow the work to be done by either the Catchment Board or the Regional Planning Authority.

Dr. Holmes said the catchment board was an existing authority with wide regional interests and it was proposed In the draft Water and Soil Conservation Bill that it would be constituted as a regional water board. Thirteen years after the Underground Water Act had been passed there was a proposal in metropolitan Christchurch for an underground water authority. Was it being formed simply to obstruct any attempt to place underground water under effective control? If not, then the new draft bill had stirred up unexpected action. He said he would be interested in any comments from the chairman. Mr E. J. Bradshaw, the chairman: Why invite me to put my head in the noose? The only comment he should make was that there was a feeling among the territorial local bodies that the proposals in the bill that the Catchment Board should be the authority had certain objectionable features and the local bodies had decided to form their own authority.

That apart, to establish an-

other ad hoc authority was to his mind a mistake, Mr Bradshaw said. Sitting around the table were those who represented the whole region and who could form such an authority. “It was rather interesting that the Catchment Board was not invited to attend the meeting, but we read in the papers that we are to have a member on the new ad hoc body,” Dr. Holmes said. “I feel very strongly against another ad hoc body being set up,” Mr A. R. Guthrey said, “and I am against my council on this. The sudden upsurge of interest is not really surprising. We are all conscious that the time may come when we may not have sufficient water, but in the past there was not interest in forming an underground water authority because Christchurch was blessed with plenty.” Mr R. C. Neville said he was also opposed to his own council's (Waimairi) view and did not favour another ad hoc body. It had been said the Planning Authority did not have the necessary technical staff, but its constituent authorities did and could be relied on for advice. “Almost Unparallelled”

“There was never any intention of obstructing anyone,” Mr G. D. Hataway said. The formation of an authority for Christchurch and the surrounding districts had been discussed on many occasions. Now all the local bodies in the metropolitan area were unanimous—something almost unparallelled in the area—on the need to form a committee to control water.

He questioned whether the Regional Planning Authority could act, and suggested that

its activities were limited to planning: but Mr Bradshaw said it could act on anything, that was for the betterment of the amenities of its region. If a new underground water authority was established it would build up an empire, Mr H. E. Denton said. It was far better to give the job to an established body. The Drainage Board was associated with the problems and would have apperciated an invitation, but the convenors had chosen to ignore it, said the board's chairman (Mr F. R. Price). Mr P. G. Secular, the City Engineer, who explained that the meeting had consisted of representatives of water supply authorities, said he could not see anything objectionable in the Catchment Board being the underground water authority. “In the last few years the control of underground water has been discussed quite continuously,” he said. “In the past there were attempts to form an authority, but they did not succeed because there was a majority feeling that there was no need for conservation. Now the formation of authority is extremely urgent, not because of conservation, but solely because of the danger of pollution of our supplies.” There had been proposals for the discharge of wastes back into the ground and air condtioning systems were proposed that would put back water, he said. “Would Be Panic”

“We have only got to get pollution out of one well in the area and there would be panic in Christchurch,” he said.

If the proposed bill went through the Catchment Board would become a regional water board. If the underground water authority was formed it would be on a lower tier than the regional board and responsible to it. He could see nothing objectionable to that. It would be in the interests of the board to have such a committee.

“The last thing I wanted was to initiate a series of take-over bids,” Dr. Holmes said in his reply. He still thought that the bill had had acted as a catalyst to the local bodies; but from the discussion he thought everyone had a clearer idea of what was involved.