THE WATER SUPPLY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 70, 23 March 1907, Page 6

THE WATER SUPPLY.

HEED FOR GREAT CARE STILL NECESSARY. WORK AT THE PIPE BRIDGE. The rain which fell yesterday afternoon • and last night added only three inches to tho rapidly diminishing •torage in the Karori reservoir, •nd the city authorities desire us to again urge upon citizens to reduce their use of the water to the lowest possible quantity. Mr. Morton (the City Engineer) is of opinion that the people of the city could lessen the quantity they usually use by fifty per cent., and if they would only do this and deny themselves, by tho strictest economy, for some two weeks, there would probably not be any need for anxiety. As it is, there is a great unnecessary waste of water going on, and it is contemplated that strict measures will have to be adopted next week. During the past tiirre days the supply m the Karori reservoir has been reduced by 17 inches. The normal depth of the reservoir is 54 feet. This morning the register was 52 feet 7 inches, and it has to be borne in mind that the greatest a.rea of the water $the top portion) has disappeared, the dam shelving rapidly. The work preliminary to the reconstruction of the pipe bridge was continued through the rain yesterday till cill the pile-driving plant on the punts was ready to start work. By that time all the men had been drenched through. The river began to rise appreciably as ev-ening came on and it became necessary to remove the punts to a place of safety. This work was done after much difficulty by Mr. Hugo Wolf (Mr. Pulley's foreman) assisted by Mr. S. Yates and Mr. Arthur Pulley, the only three who had remained in the camp for fhe night. In the fierce wind and rain and ■with a strong current to contend against their task was a severe one, and not unattended with serious risk, but they succeeded ultimately. The river rose to ■within 2 feet 6 inches of its height last Tuesday, but was going down rapidly ■when a member of our staff visited the locality this morning. It was proposed to bring the punt back into position in a few hours and to commence pile-driv-ing this afternoon if the current was not .too strong. The rain and the fresh, delayed operations considerably.