ARTESIAN WATER

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 49, 26 August 1931, Page 11

ARTESIAN WATER

CITIES LATEST? MOVE

SUPPLY FROM GEAR ISLAND

The possibility of the .Wellington City Council getting artesian, water from Gear Island was indicated in a letter considered l>y the Hutt Power Board last night.

The letter, from, the City Valuer, read: "The City Corporation is desirous of prospecting a certain area of land near the mouth of the Hutt Bivor for the purpose, of ascertaining whether or not it would be suitable for the establishment of a pumping station to supply the city's mains with artesian water. The area in question is situated in Gear Island, on the land recently occupied by the, Wellington City ■Corporation-under lease, accommodate ing a bitumen paving.plant.... ..:-;■• '. "The Corporation desires in the first instance to put down, one or two small trial bores, and' if the results of these are successful to consider the leasing or! the aroa for the establishment of a pumping station. - If the results of the' boreß are not successful the wells could, be capped' or drawn to the satisfaction' of your board.

"I may state that the Corporation has obtained similar facilities for prospecting in several parts of the Hutt Valley from the Lands Department for a nominal annual rental of ss.

"I should be glad to know on what: terms your board would be prepared to grant the Corporation facilities for putting down these trial bores, and if the Corporation decides as a result of these bores to proceed further in the matter, at what rate per acre your board would be prepared to lease the land in question to th.c Corporation; also tho. length of lease your board would be prepared to grant the Corporation."

"We should got the Press to report this," said the chairman of the board (Mr. F. S. Hewer). That would give other local bodies a chance to object to the proposal, if they wished to. Tho city might take such huge supplies that tho flow for other local bodies might be detrimentally affected. He moved that the matter be referred to the Finance Committee for a report to the next meeting of the board. Mr. G. A. Chapman agreed that other local bodies should be notified of tho scheme. He thought that better results would be got by boring in Gear Island than in any other part of the valley. He had sunk seven wells there within a hundred feet of each other and none had depleted the supply eiven by the others. From a 2-inch pipe he had got 40 gallons a minute with a rise of 10 feet. In his- opinion there was enough artesian wa,ter available for the inhabitants of the Valley for the next 50 years. If the Wellington City Council could not get the water from Gear Island it would get it elsewhere, for there was nothing to prevent it from buying a section nearby. Mr. Hewer's motion was seconded by Mr. Chapman and carried.