THE WATER BOARD

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 55, 13 September 1928, Page 8

THE WATER BOARD

HUTT COUNTY STAND PROPOSALS OPPOSED HUTT EIVEE FIRST Following upon tho very warm discussion at yesterday's meeting of tho City and Suburban Water Supply Board, at which the representatives of certain of tho local bodies concerned came in for criticism for their unexpected opposifion of the Bill, before tho Local Mils Committee of the House, JYIr. S. Dyor, the representative if tho Hutt County Council upon ' he board, and Mr. D. E. Hog*ard, the county chairman, gave reasons for the stand taken «.t last evening's meeting of the County Council. The opposition of the Hutt County Council, as the Mayor remarked at the meeting of the Water Board, was not unexpected, for this body had expressed its objections to the proposals from the first. "Any trouble that tho board is cxperiencing,*said Mr. Dyer, "is clearly through attempting, as soon as it is sot up, to get away from tho agreement entered into after very full consideration and conferences with tho local bodies concerned." Mr. Dyer pointed out that when the Water Board Bill was passed many points thought desirable were waived by Hutt County in order not to obstruct the measure. Very early after tho Water Board first met suggestions were made to remove the'Vestriction on the amount to be expended in any one year. He felt sure he waa expressing the Hutt County Council's views in objecting to any such step. It appeared to him quite unnecessary to expend any more money at that stage and a distinct breach of tho agreement under which the county had participated in the scheme. Tho chairman of tho Water Board, added Mr. Dyer, had told the board more than once that it cannot possibly have a comprehensive report on the best source to develop for tho supply for months to come. The streams, ho said, required careful gauging • and watching at low and high levels, and a great deal of data must be collected before any definite decision could bo arrived at. They had not yet had a definite pronouncement that tho Orongorongo might not be developed further. That aspect had also to be taken into consideration, even though probably tho council and the majority of the adjacent local bodies had no doubt but that the valley scheme should go on rather than any further development at Orongorongo. Mr. Dyer maintained that a constructive policy for the board was first of all to decide where the water was to come from, and not one single acre of land should be purchased until that was definitely decided. A great deal was heard of the reveuuo that was likely to accrue from the board's property from the sale of firewood, opossum trapping rights, etc., but he did not consider that anything like the amounts suggested would materialise. No doubt this sanguine anticipation of revenue was a factor in tho board's decision to appoint a forestry officer. No proposal for increased expenditure should, in Mr. Dyer's opinion, be supported until the board had made full investigation and had formed a welldefined policy. When it knew what land it needed it would be time to buy land, but indiscriminating purchasing as now desired was wholly unwarranted. '