CARE IN USE OF WATER

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 15, 13 October 1942, Page 2

CARE IN USE OF WATER

Heavy Demands On Supply To Wellington

MANY FACTORS AT WORK

People acquainted' avith Wellington’s sources of water supply and its history are rather at a loss to understand why ■there should he any talk of a water shortage in October, which is actually four months away from the driest season of the year. But yesterday’s downpour was very welcome throughout the district, for Wellington’s spring has been on the dry side and the conservation area is not providing the quantity of water usually associated with the mouth of October. There are also other factors at work, 'Which the chairman of the works committee, Mr. Will Appleton, explained yesterday, to account for precautionary measures even in Uiid-spriug. “Only recently our figures showed that over GuO.ODO gallons of water a day in excess of the quantity usually drawn olf was being used in the Wellington metropolitan area,” said Mr. Appleton. “The cause of this is not hard to guess. Apart from the natural growth of population there have been wartime factors at work which have made heavy demands on our water supply. Even such increases might not have meant so much to us were the season normal, for usually October is not. by any means such a dry month. On top of' this we had the trouble with the Orongorongo main running right from the intake at Orongorongo to the Karori basins, which act as service reservoirs for the city supply. Immediately the Orongorongo supply is cut off the level of the Karori basins begins to fall, as they have n very small catchment area. A good downpour such as yesterday's would be helpful as a direct supply, but it would have to be continuous, or nearly so, to be of much practical value. The Orongorongo main was out of action for some 48 'hours, with the result that the Karori levels fell between six and seven feet. With plenty of rain this deficiency would soon be made good, but in dry weather it naturally takes longer. . Hence our anxietv to make good this deficiency. All we ask is that business people and householders alike take the trouble to think a little over the water problem, and to exercise all possible care anil economy in its use so that drastic restrictions may not be necessary, this side of Christmas. ’ The weakness in the water supply system of Wellington is its limited amount of storage. On paper the two reservoirs at Wainui hold 120,000,000 gallons of water, and the two basins at Karori 108,000,000 gallons; but, actually, the amount of stored water is not known. The silting up of the reservoirs at ■Wainui lias been such that they may contain only half the estimated amount. The only storage for the Orongorongo supply is that of tho Karori basins, and probably they are not nearly up to. the original holding estimate. The auxiliary supply at Gear Island, obtained by pumping ai'tisinn water, is only supplementary to the Wainui one, and does not represent any storage whatsoever.