CAMPAIGN FOR LOAN

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 104, 4 May 1937, Page 7

CAMPAIGN FOR LOAN

NELSON WATER

SUPPLY

THE RODING RIVER SCHEME

(Special to the "Evening Post.")

NELSON, May 3.

A loan proposal of £88,000 for a new water supply scheme from the Roding River will be placed before the ratepayers for decision next Thursday.

The improvement of Nelson water supply has received the attention of the City Council for a number of years, and after investigation of the various possible schemes the Roding source has been recommended to the ratepayers. The Roding River will provide a supply of 3,250,000 gallons per day m.dry periods, and will be taken t'.irough s tunnel over a mile long to Poorman's Valley, Stoke, thence to Nelson, a distance of four miles. The scheme provides for the supply of the areas adjacent to the city—Richmond borough, Stoke, and Tahunanui—and in order to assist those districts to take advantage of the scheme the Government has made a grant of £25,000 towards the cost of the headworks. In addition, a further grant of £10,000 has been made from the Unemployment Fund for the assistance of the city. The total cost of the proposals, including headworks, 'tunnel, and reticulation for the city will be about £130.000. The loan will result in an additional 3d rate in the city if the outlying areas join the scheme, and 4d without them. However, the Government subsidy of £25,000 towards provision for the country districts will be available if tns scheme is gone on with, as it is the opinion of the Government that the Roding supply is the only one which would prove suitable for them, whether they make use of it immediately or in future years. Among the alternative schemes investigated was one with the south branch of the Maitai River as the source of supply. The cost to the city for either the Roding or Maitai schemes was estimated to be the same, and in view of the advantages of the Roding in an additional 2,000,000 gallons per day being ayailable, and in helping the outlying districts, the City Council adopted it as the most suitable. Nelson normally uses 1,000,000 gallons per day (12,000 population), equal to 83 gallons per day per person. However, in dry seasons such as was experienced in 1934 the inflow from the Brook Stream into the present reservoir goes as low as 500,000 gallons per day, making restrictions necessary. In the past five yea* 500 new residences have been erected, and the Mayor (Mr. G. L. Page) and councillors in the loan campaign which is at present in. progress have pointed out that a serious position would arise during any future drought period if the supply is .not improved.