PRECIOUS WATER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 106, 28 January 1908, Page 8

PRECIOUS WATER.

THE CITY'S DIMINISHING STOCK. URGENT. NEED POII CARK. Wlicn seen yesterday,' the City-Engineer (Mr.- V; --H,- 'Morton) said that, the present serious position in connection with the water supply continued unchanged, and thern Was the. most urgent necessity for. householders to • exerciso earn. in • the' use of water: He. felt sure'that, in spite of. tho warnings already issued, there was still a gr.eat deal of. waste going oh through the medium, of defective fittings.' This could often only he. discovered at>night,' when the pressure was 50 per .'cent;- greater than'in - the' daytime. Householders 'should have such fittings re-' placed immediately. '' ' ' ' Mr.-Morton/stated,'in reply to a qijestipn, I that the daily, consumption : ofwater in Wellington 'froni' tho municipal supply at, the' presont time is approximately 60 gallons per head of population. • "AboutioOiOOO people are. being.'supplied, '3,200,00(j.-'gallons a day, is coming from ; Wain'ui, /avd . a -.matter of. 100,000 gallons a . day from Karori- for the ! high levels'. Iri Melbourne-just now (by way of comparison) the'consumption of water per head per day is 80 gallons. The average in London is . from 20 to 36. gallons, according to tlie. season,,, in ..Glasgow > gallons, in Manchester-. 31 gallons, and Liverpool 24. The average; throughout England is rec-koned'to-bb 2/5 gallons per individual per day. In 'Berlin, : wlicro' all..tho water, is metered, .the, people manage somehow with--, a daily. average; of 16 gallons. each. The general average.! for Germany is '12 to 28 gallons. , Mr. Morton not at all -inclined to argue from' these figures that in -Wellington, with its consumption 'of 60 gallons per jlay, Vwere- : extravagant. . He considered that for - a ; cleanly people, who takeplenty' of baths,- in such a climate as ours, 50 or 60 gallons' a day was not an. improper, allowance. .Incidentally, he mentioned -that .in some American "towns the daily individual avorage'was'-J.20, gallons, but this was partly due to letting the'taps run for'hours together during.the winter to prevent freezing.. Tho ' consumption ,of water 'in Wellington does not yary much throughout the year. .It is pe'rha-jis hot-'generally known ,'that tho city by-lays not only provide, for penalties for' the''improper' use of water, but also for rewards to persons giving information as ta.,th'<jr nlisdceds of others'-in this connection.- . - ; .-.r-- - , j HOLIDAY FOR RAIN CAUCES. TheSe arc holidaytimes: for the Government rain .gauges in \tlie Wellington district. An enquiry"was made from, Mr. D. C.. Bates,. Government ..Meteorologist,.'yesterday, as .to what the' actual rainiall—the words sound rather iarcical -in'these droughty times —has' been during tho past' two month's: Mr. Bates says thai tho.official record taken at the rain gauge ait Mount, Cook (above Buckle Street} for December was 1.38 inches, made up as follows:—December 6, .33; 11th, -.28; 19th, .63; .24th,.- .7;- 30th,. :?.■ Tho rainfall, for tho. present month as far as it has gono has only, been .40 inch, made up ns follows January o, .9; 16th, .31. -