WATER CONSERVATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 122, 15 February 1908, Page 4

WATER CONSERVATION.

FUTURE NEEDS. AUSTRALIAN STATES PROVIDE AN OBJECT LESSON. WORK SHOULD PROCEED GRADUALLY. With Wellington and its environments looking as di'ab and scerched-up as .it has ever appeared in the memory of tho oldest inhabitant; with the City Council gravely deliberating ways and means of curtailing the supply of water to the public; with the town surrounded with biscuit-colburcd hills; and the few remaining gardens languishing for the rains that coino not —the moment is surely opportune to point to the grave no-, gleet on the part of the city authorities in failing to, make adequate provision 111 the matter of water conservation. 1 Within . the j last couple of years it slowly dawned on some / that Wellington was becoming backward ,in , the matter of its water supply; that the resorvoirs that have done such faithful service for the past twenty, years were not growing with the pity; and that dry summers must bo reckoned with; This has beon ..realised, and fortunately ,Wellington is new provided with an extra dom at Karori capable at the presont moment of holding--60,000,000 gallons of water if the. brazen heavens would be kind enough to supply. There is, too, tho further proposal to' dam the faithful Wainui stream aoove the present basin at a point.called Solomon's Knob, tenders for which work will bo called within the next two months. . The Dam at Solomon's Knob. /With'praiseworthy foresight the City Engineer (Mr W. H. Morton), to whom Wellington's precarious water supply has been a veritable bogy ever sinco ho arrived from Victoria 1 , while deciding that the new Wainui dairi shall accommodate 90,000,000 gallons of water,;is arranging his plans'o! the work on such a • base that. the capacity of the dam can-at any future time be increased by - 50 per cent., i.e., ito hold 135,000,000 gallons. ■While 110 objection can be taken to this excellent proposal on the part of the City Enthere has been a lot of parochial tinkering with two questions that vitally affect the, city's water service—the provision of a neiv, pipe bridge and the duplication of the Wainui ni?in. The.city was thrown into a state of confusion last; winter by the old rickety pipe bridge being . carried away, main and all, by a fresh in the Hutt River, and only a few days' ago the City Engineer gave the writer the sopiewhat alarming information that the sole main the city depends on was too weak for the pressure it had to bear—that instead of being only i;inch cast iron it should -be lj-inch to ensure safety. This practically moans that instead of' pondering at the number of , mishaps that occur to the main, the wonder should be why they are not more numerous arid serious' in cliar-

actor. The city has been tinkering vith'tho bridge question at the behest of land syndicates'.at the' Hiitt/who* should never 1 havo been considered in the least degree. What lias a gravely ; important, matter such' as a weakness in the water main to do with a feW people .who naturally' want to use_ the opportunity to gain a. better or additional access to their land? It is satisfactory to soe. that the Council has' issued an ultimatum on the.'matter; it should havo dono so. six months ag0.... ' . '. . . . The Future In the Distance. ~ With tho two extra dams, a duplicato mam from' Wainui (passing through- an independent tunncl in tho Wainui lull)'and a stout pipo bridge, Wellington should be set*up for a few years to como. But is that enough? Should not- we look still farther ahead.vwith a iview to arranging deliberately . for : the. requirements of this city in - respect' to ■ water twenty-fivo' or 1 ' 'even \ fifty years' • ahead, t by securing, l while "the, opportunity yet remains to- secure; "watershod' areas within a reasonable distanco'.pf the'city?; , Wellington's population increased 15,000 in. five'years, .according .to "the last census returns,; and >1000 new-. servioes were 1 connected - to' .tho. city mains last year. If tho growth 'of...the place is to proceed at anything liko that pace, it is not only wiso but bald duty to look the situation.'in the face, and acquire of land that will prove convenient water-cups 'fijr tho city in "tho big days ahead. •<£ y. Tho Ctty Engineer; who was consulted on

tho*: : question, is of opinionthat Wel - lington : shouldlook ' farther ahead than Solomon's Kuob, though that will suffice for , some "years to. come, !aiid his recent, ramble over tno country .beyond thb AVainui reservation couvinccd him ' that ' the city should 'secure water : rights over the Orongorongo Valley, the' 'big ' dip':to; tho east of:' tlio Wainui, in ' order tnat when tho' occasion arosei as it assuredly will, the waters of tho Orongorongo stream coiila bo diverted» into the \Vainui Valley. This fine catchment area, . Mr/ Morton _is a Government forest reservation,'in which case* the city • should havo little difficulty in securing the water rights for all time. ; This would mean that this tract of country would be serving a highly practical purpose, while ; being conservod for all time as a nati6nal park, What the Australian states Are Doing. . n The moyomeht to conserve water: in large • quantities against tho future yhjis spread •throughout the Commonwealth, where some Avast- : works -are either in . progress- ui wu- - temptation., It is not so long--since Sydney, completed'the erection of dam,which'' contaiued over 5,000,000,000 gallons'last week. ■ A great wort has- been, commenced' *in • the-'.back country of• new South Wales in tho erection of .the Barren Jack dam, which is to hold 33,380,000,000 gallons of water for irrigation purposes. Mel- . bourne and its Stato; are also, active in the . matter of water conservation. Melbourne s line sourco of supply at Van Veah is not considered enough for the future, and the ypper • readies of the long-ilespised Yarra are now to ho tappod.for reservoir purposes.. There is, further, in ; contemplation tlio budding of a darn at, IVawool, some' seventy miles north-. east of Melbourne,, a great uam that .will . hold no - less than . 60,000,000,000 gallons of water, whicfi 1 is nearly double tho quantity held by tho famous Assouan darn ,on the upper' reaches of tlio N ilo in Egypt, and u ill cover an acreage greater-in extent than-lore-, .Jackson, v This dam, which,is.to conserve/ tho waters of. the Goulhurn River, for tho irrigation,of the surrounding district,.looks like an engineering coup, as the y requires to bo 1700. feet long, 140 feet in height, and it is estimated to cost only . £150,000. 11 Tho Lesson. If tho Australian . citios and . States are i awakoiiing to tholaot that safety, coin cm- \ once, and wealth ho'.in- a 'proper conservation of water, n .is surely. right for .this ' rapidly-extending'' oity' to -look ahead. .\\e aro gloriously fortunate in New Zealand in nbt having to'give very serious consideration to the matter of conserving -wafer for' irrigation purposes—though it would bo, yery welcome at the present time aH over tho ■ North,' Island—but posterity should,- not' exenso lis for failing W make adequate., provision for'its peoplo while tho chanco remains for us to'do it on . the best terms.' . . : It is not necessary that, this great work should be gone on' with at, once and' that tho public should bo frightened , out of its ♦ wits' by a gigantic loan to effect what,is desired, but tho Oity Council should have a settled 'policy regarding the wat-ef -supply, and'the need for. keeping, Well ahead,of re- : quirotnonts. If a' little were done at, a time ■ the desired result would be aomerdd, tntnout alarmiiit the ratepayers. 'When Wellington has been referred to, it must be read to mcludo tho close-up suburbs such as Miramar, Karori, Northland, 'Wadestown, ctc., which must in this connection bo- considered , an. v integral part of tho city.