THE UTMOST ECONOMY NECESSARY

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 114, 7 February 1935, Page 10

THE UTMOST ECONOMY NECESSARY

Restrictions on Use of Water in Wellington

MAYOR’S APPEAL TO CITIZENS

Restrictions on the use of water by citizens have been imposed by’ the Wellington City -Council. It has cut out the use of water for ornamental purposes, such as fountains, ponds, etc.. and the watering of gardens by hosing is absolutely prohibited until further notice. This applies to all installations, whether a meter is fixed or not, and non-compliance will be followed by prosecution whenever detected. It is requested that all persons use the utmost economy in the use of water for any purpose whatever, as, if the storage gets much lower, the quality of the water may deteriorate, and in addition the quantity available for fighting fires will be much reduced. One method of Saving water is by substituting shower baths for plunge baths. All taps should be visited occasionally to see that they have not been left turned on by children or others.

“The. present position of the water supply makes the notice prohibiting its use for the purposes of ornamental ponds, fountains, etc., or for watering gardens by means of a hose or other removable pipe, essential.” said the Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop. “Since the first warning given *ome time ago, when citizens were pressed to conserve water as far as possible, they have assisted greatly, and the draw-off has been diminished. However, the continuance of the dry spell has had a very adverse effect upon the storage in the reservoirs. The present rate of consumption is from 8,500,000 to 9,000,000 gallons daily, and the city engineer advises that at this rate the supply of palatable water will last only for 30 days if the present conditions continue. In the absence of rain after the thirty-clay period, the supply will cease entirely. Of course such a period of drought would be unprecedented, but w;e have to take precautions. It is therefore essential that the restrictions above referred to should be strictly observed. “Citizens can realise to some extent the extraordinary effect of the present drought when surface flow in the lower part of the Ohan- stream has entirely ceased, the only water remaining being in pools, while there are parts of the riverbed dry from bank to bank. “Every effort is being made to push on with the auxiliary artesian supply ■tcf avoid a recurrence of the present position in the future.”