Better water supply sought for hospital

Press, 4 December 1985, Page 6

Better water supply sought for hospital

Future developments at Burwood Hospital would put too much pressure on its water supply, and so the Canterbury Hospital Board and Waimairi District Council are investigating ways to improve it.

At present the hospital provides 90 per cent of its water, the council supplying the rest.

Although the supply was sufficient at the moment it would be inadequate for both domestic and fire-fight-ing purposes when the hospital expanded said the chairman of the board’s works committee, Mr W. L. Utley. Futhermore, the hospital’s water tower was old and rather unsafe. It could fall down in a big earthquake, said Mr Utley. The hospital was to be redeveloped and expanded to 500 beds in about five years, he said. It would also require an expanded and adequate water supply. The main question was how the supply would be met — either by the board, by the council or by both. Mr Utley said the board would prefer the council to provide all the water in future. Board and council representatives and staff met last Friday. At that meeting the Waimairi District Engineer, Mr John Lamb, said that if there was concern that that water supply to the hospital was inadequate, it would be preferable forr the hospital to have its own back-up supply. The council had deleted $170,000 from this year’s estimates for a proposed new trunk water main from its pumping station in Burwood Road to the hospital. The chairman of the council’s works committee, Mr William Freeman, asked the board representatives whether the proposed work

would have provided a satisfactory supply for the present only, or allowed for future demands. The board’s chief engineer, Mr B. Walker, said that the money would have provided a water supply sufficient to meet future requirements. The board’s chairman, Mr Tom Grigg, said the hospital should not be responsible for providing a water supply. It would meet its share of costs through excess water rates. The Waimairi District Council’s works, reserves and traffic committee decided last evening to discuss the matter further with the board.