Water right opposed

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 24

Water right opposed

An application by Southern. Bottlers, Ltd, for the right to take water from a bore in Chapmans Road, Woolston, has been opposed by several local bodies. A meeting of a special tribunal of the North Canterbury Catchment Board yesterday heard objections to the application from the Lyttelton Borough Council, the Heathcote County Council, and the . Christchurch City Council. The tribunal is Mr J. W. Levy, Dr B. W. Hunt, and Mr M. J. O. Dixon (chairman). Southern Bottlers wants to take 170 cu m of water a day from an artesian bore near its factory. The water, to be taken five days a week, would be used in making aerated cordials and syrups. Counsel for the Lyttelton Borough Council (Mr D. M. Palmer) said the council shared the well field with the Heathcote County Council. . ’ The Lyttelton council had experienced problems in supplying its own ratepayers with water and the field had involved it in considerable

expense, said Mr Palmer. Outlining Heathcote’s objection, the County Engineer (Mr D. J. May) said the council was already supplying the company’s water requirements satisfactorily. A proliferation of private wells would increase the' risk of contamination of the underground water supply and was not in the public inter6St. The Christchurch City Council objected to the application because it believed a local body could have trouble supplying the public if the water extraction limit had been reached. The plant manager of Southern Bottlers (Mr C. A. Mcßae) said his company had to shut its plant about five times a year because of council water pipes bursting. He said his company had a proved record in drawing water from an underground source. The amount to be taken would have a negligible effect on water levels in the area. The tribunal adjourned the hearing.