MUCH NEEDED RAIN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 66, 11 December 1917, Page 6

MUCH NEEDED RAIN

THE CITY WATER SUPPLY

NEED FOR INCREASE

Tho steady rain which fell last night was very badly needed in Wellington, and more especially on the ranges which arc the catchment area for the Wellington water supply. Last year tho city was on the verge of a water famine when the drought broke It had been the very worst drought, eioi experienced hero, and in spite of piicautionary measures and repeated warnings as to the neod of exercising care in the use of water, supplies wore almost on the point of being exhaisteel when tho rains came at the end of the summer. This year tho summer camo Tovel earlier-November was a very dry month-and the reserves of uater were even lower before tins ram camo than at the same time last year. No steps have >' ct , boen I t!, f l;r, . ni " on with the proposed work to 10m lip the Orongorongo basin with the W™™ l basin, and so double tlic available supply for the city. It is not possihlc to act, either the- men or the matoyal foi the work. In thei. meantime qniries and ii.ve4.ga ions are brmfi made. One of the drawback of present catchment area, as it will also be a drawback to the proposed now urea, is the steepness of the country lit still carries forest or bush, wliio does hol'l the moisture from the rams in "suspense for a littlc b , ut d a naL is very rapid, and the streams vary from torrents in rainy weather to verv much smaller streams m dry weather.' It is admitted that the streams show, rather too much variation of this kind. , ~ As soon as it is posiable to put h* work in hand some steps willMbetake to increase the supply of water for tho city The present scheme was not (resigned to give water to all the suburbs which have since come into the city, and the erowtlvof settlement in the area supplied from TVaintu h. • teen increasing rapidly for many years. Before the mains were duplicated fot the whole distance from the £»enorrs to tho city, it was not possible for t<re people to draw off the water at the pace which is now i-egular r . exhaustion. That duplication ■ •• effect of increasing the consumption at the rate of 2,600,000 gallons per day. until now the regular consumptioii of water in Wellington is about 5,500,000 gallons a day. One of the big factoi. in tho increase in the amount ofwatei used is the spread of the population in the suburbs, and the enthusiasm for the gardening cult, which has been so marked of late years, has also had its

Cff The boom in building which has prevailed in Wellington for many years now, and which has continue,J the outbreak of war has made diffienltiM for the municipal authorities. ol,e the classes of goods now tiuotocurable is that of cast-iron pipes f° r wal °. l ' Fortunately the city had a gooc' swplv of them at the beginning of the war, and but for the loss of a pnrticulai ship o'f tho coast of Africa some time ago would now liave had an ample supply-