WATER SUPPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 November 1923, Page 7

WATER SUPPLY

HIGH COST OF RESERVOIR. One of the matters which the Ratepayers’ Association, (caking advantage of the presence of the Borough Councillors, brought up for discussion at their annual meeting last evening was the question of Greymouth’s water supply. The President (Mr. H. 11. AHison) asked the councillors to explain the attitude of the council towards the present scheme. Cr J. W. Greenslade described the waterworks question as a mute point Iwith the council. A good deal of. money had been lost in the present works, and the question was how to find some solution oi the difficulty. The council had considered the mattor exhaustively, and had a project which they thought would save money. It was to buy a plant which was offered locally and substitute it for the present plant. The offer made by the council was however, not thought good enough. It was hoped that, had the plant been secured, the cost would be saved within two years, but the position was that if they went in for the plant at present it would have to be scrapped in two years, when the hydro-electric scheme would be an accomplished fact. The plant would have saved £2,000 per year which was the amount now set aside for works in the borough.

Cr J. O'Brien M.P., said that a better supply was wanted but it could not be' obtained from the present source. He still believed in the Ten Mile scheme, which he had suggested when he first joined the council. That was reported upon, but turned down. At the same time he suggested the scheme, jthe Runanga Borough Council, and the Cobden Town Board both required water schemes and it would have been possible to co-operate with them in obtaining a supply from the Ten Mile Creek. However, the opportunity was missed. They would have to get a better scheme sooner or later, and he thought a gravitation scheme would have to be considered. It was no use getting a scheme that was not adequate for a population twice the size of Greymouth as the town was going ahead. “There is not an empty house in Greiymouth, ’ declared Ur O’Brien, “and a hundred new houses would not go amiss, and we could do with 50 more each year!” The council would be in a better position as the revenue increased with the population. While he admitted that they were paying too much for gas, the fact remained that to give cheaper gas the council must increase the rates.

Cr R. J. Williams said that a good water service was very necessary. The present works, costing £4,000 per annum, the cost including a large quantity of gas. which was given at cost price. There could be no improvement in the position of the conning water was found. oil until a cheaper method of supplying water was found. Mr Richardson asked Mr Williams if filtering would prevent silt going into the reservoir. The silt nuisance was very prominent in flood time. Cr Williams said that there were lilter beds built of silver pine, Put they were choked. They could be cleaned at a large expense, but the men were required for other works, and if they were diverted there would be more complaints that works around the borough were being neglected. Crs Q’Brien and T. B. Baty had to be thanked for the work they had put' into the works. Both 'were of a ‘'‘mechanical turn” apd they had put in a. good deal of' time at the works. The number of breakages was apalling before they examined the machinery, but the plant was now in much better order and rhe supply of water had improved. Cr F. A. Kitchingham said that the waterworks plant once occupied the men for 21 shifts, but after Crs O’Brien and Baty had carried out their investigations the work was reduced to 15 shifts a week. When the hydro electric scheme was introduced the number of shifts would be reduced to seven. The gas at the pumping station cost £2OOO, anil the other £2OOO was. made up in wages and maintenance. With the hydroscheme the expenditure would be reduced at least to £2OOO.