Reservoir security hard to guarantee

Press, 27 February 1986, Page 5

Reservoir security hard to guarantee

A security fence round the Victoria Park water reservoir could not guarantee the safety of Cashmere residents’ water supply, said Mr Oscar Alpers, chairman of the Heathcote County Council. Some residents have called for a security fence after a chemical, believed to be a lime cordial extract, was put into the 60,000-gallon reservoir on Tuesday. About 120 households went without piped water while council staff flushed out the chemical.

Drinking water was supplied from vans until the normal supply resumed early yesterday afternoon. Mr Alpers did not believe that a security fence would stop a determined intruder. He said padlocks at other county reservoirs had frequently been cut, and he had no doubt that a security fence would suffer a similar fate. Part of the problem was that the Victoria Park reservoir was hidden from the road, he said.

The council could consider adopting different security measures, including stronger bolts for all covers, but even this could merely delay a determined intruder.

Mr Alpers said he had no knowledge of claims that the grill covering an air vent, through which the chemical was poured, had been removed some time ago and not replaced.

A steel plate has been fitted over this air vent. None of the county’s three other reservoirs had a similar vent, said Mr Weng Kei Chen, the county’s deputy engineer. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research said yesterday that the chemical used was probably a lime cordial extract, similar to that found on shop shelves. It was difficult to determine how much of the chemical had been put into the reservoir, but there had been no danger to the public. The police are still investigating the interference with the water supply. Several persons were yet to be seen, said a police spokesman. Anyone who can help the inquiry is asked to get in touch with the Sydenham inquiry office at the Christchurch Central Police Station.