THE NEW "WATER-TUBE" FOR LONDON.

Evening Post, Volume LXIII, Issue 87, 12 April 1902, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE NEW "WATER-TUBE" FOR LONDON.

Sine* the important question, of the? future water supply of London i* onc«-: moro to the fore, owing to the Govern*-* menfc proposals to buy out the Companies and constitute a Water Board, considerable interest attaches to an illustrated article oa "The Water-Supply of Great Cities," which is contributed by Harry Qolding to the February number of tho Windsor Magaiine. 'The population of 'Water London' is," he says, "upwards of she millions, of whom about a million and a half live dutside the strictly metropolitan area. The consumption amounts in round figures to 200,000,000 gallons per day. Thanks to the system df inter-, communication between the mains of the' various companies now adopted, there is rarely difficulty, at present, in providingtltis quantity. But London, especially Outer London, is rapidly growing, and there is every probability than in another thirty years no less than twelve million people will look for their mod«st 35 to 40 gallons per day. The Thames is an accommodating river, with an average daily flow of over 1,000,000,000 gallons, but can it bo safely jexpected to yield, during a prolonged drought, more than double its present quantity, and still leave plenty for the penny steamboats and .the newly-introduced talmon? The water companies say 'Yes,' and that, if necessary, no less than 400,000,000 gallons 'of water fit for use can bo obtained doily from tho Thames without reducing tho flow at Teddington Woir below" the necessary 20<J, 000,000, and another 225.000,000 gallons from the Lea und other sources. It is simply, in fact, a question of storage, of taking water in times of plenty and reserving it for times of drought. They are, uccordingly, constructing enormous reser- 1 " voirs near Staines and elsewhero, from which an additional 35,000,000 'gallons daily may bo drawn, or, in times of emergency, "45,000,000 gallons. The Staines reservoirs will bo capable of holding 3,300,000,000 gallons. The London County Council, on tho other hand, contend that not more than 300,500,000 gallons can be safely drawn from tho Thames and Lea valleys, and that though tho present supply is sufficient, at least 447,000,000 gallons a day will bo required by 1951. Consequently, the deficiency must bo made up from some other source, and thore i 3 no adequate watershed available nearer than Central Wales. They argue, too, that it ia extremely unwise to leave London dependent to so largo an extent on tho Thames, considering tho rapid growth of population in the river vullcy and the increased risks of pollution. The question is emphatically oilo for experts. All wo can So is to give an outline of Sir Alexander Binnie's scheme. Briefly, then, tho retiring engineer to toe London County Council proposed to bring by the simple action of gravitation, an additional 200,000,000 gallons a day all the •way from Wales to London. This will ensure ti total supply of 500,000,000 gallons a day, but if at somo distant date oven this enormous quantity should prove insufficient, the scheme provides lor a second line of aqueduct to bring yet another 200,000,000 gallons. The project involve* the formation of a reservoir in three districts. Tho great Yrfon Reservoir would form a magnificent lake of some 3000 acres, as nearly as possible the size of Windermerc. The total capacity of this lake would ,be about 39,000;000,000 gallons, tho capacity available 35,750,000,000 gallons. The top-water level would be 610 ft above tho 'sea. It would be formed by damming up the Yrfon River on the eastward sido with a great dam 166 ft in height. The reservoir on the Upper Wye would bo about 900 acres, and tbe Towy reservoir of smaller size". Both would be connected by tunnels with the great Yrfon reservoir, which they would help to feed. .The gigantic conduit woulß extend from. Llangorse Lake, in Radnorshire, right across tho counties of Hereford, Gloucester, Oxford, Bucks, and Hertford, to the Elsftee Hills, twelve miles north-west of Charing Cross, where it would discharge into an enormous reservoir, '300 ft above sea level, capable of holding 3,200,000,000 gallons, or sixteen days' supply. The aqueduct kwquld be 150 miles in length, and would bo formed of masonry and concrete, except at valley crossings, where parallel iron and steel pipes would be used. Tho . masonry portions would be 16ft in width", and the water would flow to ft depth of about lift. Thus the conduit would bo practically an underground "Tube," conveying water instead of people. ' And just as^ in the construction of electric railways', full advantage is taken of Tn- ' dines to lessen the amount of propulsive forca required, so the conduit would have a gentle fall the' .whole distance in order than tho water mighb run by simple gravitation, pumping, needless to say, being a very expensive performance. Tho watershed consists of 312,400 acres, or 488 square miles, in tho heart of Wales. Over this area tho rainfall is at least twice as heavy as in tho Thames Valley, and it is estimated that 415,000,000 gallons a day can be drawn after making every allowance for dry ssasons and evaporation, without depleting tho local rivers. The cost is put at £17,500,000, but the London water companies contend that is far too low. Should the second aqueduct (which it is proposed should serve the south of Lbndon from a reservoir at Banstead) be required, the cost would be more- than doubled. The work would take from ten to fifteen* 'years to complete.

Instead of the colonial salaried gchame assisting th© Tarannki Education Board , in the matter of securing teachers, the Board never had so much difficulty in* securing teaohors as now. ' The assets of the Napier Athenaeum (subject to liabilities amounting to £1500 and to existing tenanoies) are to be offered to the Napier Borough Council for the purpose of establishing a free library and reading-room. Whon carpenters have carried the work on a building to a certain extent they generally hoist a flag to intimate to. the owner that the place should be "wetted." Some workmen oo a building now being ranovated in New Plymouth have utilised the sign of the firm on the •old part of the lower story, and the sign as adapted now reads, "Dry-den." At a meeting of tho Victorian Political Labour Council, held in Melbourne, a letter was received from the Political Labour League of New South Wales suggesting that an annual national labour conference be hold to discuss questions bearing on the Federal Labour Party and its constitution, methods, and platform, members of the Federal and State Parliaments to have representation. The suggestion was agreed to-