COBDEN WATER SUPPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 June 1928, Page 3

COBDEN WATER SUPPLY

BOARD’S LIVELY MEETING.

CHAIRMAN v. THE REST.

Much water has flowed under Cobden bridge since the need for an adequate water supply for the riverside township was first mentioned, and the question is still exercising the minds of the Chairman (Mr C. Uddstrom) and the members of the Town Board. At a special meeting of the Board, held last evenipg, the matter of a water sujiply was again discussed, and the half-hour debate was of such a lively nature that the pencil of the only pressman present—a “Star” reporter — was kept moving at more than usual speed. For some time past, boring operations have been in progress at various portions of the township, in the effort to locate a suitable supply of pure water, which, unfortunately, have not yet succeeded; The majority of the Board members favour a continuance of the boring, particularly in Sturge Street; but the Chairman is in favour of looking elsewhere, and he supports as a likely source a rock “crater,” located at the top of the rifle range, at the northern end of Cobden.

The peak pressure was reached at last evening’s meeting when the Chairman refused to accept a resolution, moved by Commissioner H. R. Barrett, to the effect that the Sturge Street boro be proceeded with, Mr Uddstrom maintaining that the resolution could not be moved at a special meeting. Cr. Barrett finally altered the wording of his resolution, and it was carried, the Chairman being its only opponent. The Board will now continue to investigate the quantity of water in the present bore hole in Sturge Street. In addition to the Chairman, the following were present at the meeting: Crs. J. Walker, W. S. Clark, S. Martin, H. R. Barrett and M. Minehan. Leave of absence was granted to Cr. C. K. Miller, owing to indisposition. In opening the discussion, the Chairman said that he understood that the members who attended the previous meeting had decided to discontinue the boring operations. Personally, he would like to suggest as a source of supply the water hole near the hill, which was really a crater. Something should be done in connectiop with it. “I think we could get an abundant supply from there,” said Mr Uddstrom. “It would be about 20 feet higher than the last bore we put down. I understand that some of the townspeople know it quite well, and I also understand that it never goes dry. I don’t think there is any danger of it going dry.”

Cr. Barrett: Is there any outlet? The Chairman: There is water in abundance there.

Cr. Barrett: How do you know there is water in abundance? That is your opinion? i “I am giving you my opinion,” re- j plied the Chairman. “There is a fish < in the crater, and it looks as if it had lived a long time." ! i Cr. Barrett: is it a whitebait? ( The. Chairman replied that it was ( another type of fish. “I am satisfied < that there is a good source of supply < there, and I think we should investigate it further,” continued the Chair- ( man. “I always thought we should i not have commenced boring, except under the supervision of a qualified engineer, and I think so now. It is for the Board to decide whether w>should do any more boring, or leave the mat- , ter to an engineer. If all the memb.ers ; have not seen the crater, they should i have a look at it.” < DISCOVERER’S OPINION. Cr. Minehan: When I discovered the ' spring, I made it my business to go 1 around to members of the Board individually, and show it to them. Most 1 of them went, but did not Seem very 1 much impressed, with the exception ' of the Chairman, so I did not feel in- 1 dined to boost the thing. I would ' not like to say there is sufficient water : there. Mrs Batty has known the ■ place for a considerable time, and tells me that it is never dry. The Chairman described the place as being a rock crater. Cr. Clark: What height would the crater be? Cr. Minehan: It is on the level, right at the toe of the hill. That a pump be installed at the crater, for the purpose .of making a test of the quantity and quality of the water, was suggested by Cr, Clark. If the test proved satisfactory, it would be time enough then to get an engineer. The Board had spent a good deal of money on boring already, on the recommendation of an expert. The latter now recommended that a thorough test be made of the holes already put down. Cr. Clark said he believed that should be done before any other method was tried. If it was satisfactory, the possibilities of the crater could be ascertained. Cr. Minehan: That was my idea, right from the start. Cr. Clark pointed out that five meipbers, a majority of the Board, had decided on the thorough testing of the boro hole in Sturge Street The Chairman declared that some of the members had decided to do things, but the decision was made at an improper meeting. Cr. Clark retorted that the meeting was legal, all the members of the Board having been duly notified. The Chairman, however, did not attend. RESOLUTION REFUSED. Cr. Barrett moved' That the sinking of the shaft in Sturge Street be gone on with to a satisfactory level, and that Mr Phillips be engaged to do the work. The resolution was seconded by Cr. Walker. The Chairman: So far as I am concerned, this is a special meeting, and therefore I cannot take that motion. It may be moved at some other time. It is something that has happened since the notices went out. Cr. Barrett: I take it that this meeting is an ordinary meeting, subsequent to the monthly meeting, to deal with the water supply. Cr. Clark: I moved a month ago that a. meeting be held every Monday to discuss the water supply, until it is inaugurated. The Chairman: What I want to point out is that that meeting was informal, and you cannot do anything to spend the money of the people of Cobden at a meeting like that. CF. Walker: That is the motion before you now. The Chairman: You say it is already done. I Cr. Clark: Not at all! There is no money paid out yet. “You have started the work,” said th© Chairman. Cr. Clark: Yes, by the decision of a majority of the members.

The Chairman: You cannot confirm it at this meeting! Cr. Walker: We are moving that it be done. “Gone on with,” added Cr. Barrett, as additional explanation. Cr. Walker stated that Mr Warburton ,the boring expert) had said the plant he had was useless, because it got blocked with sand. He said there was a depth of twelve feet of water in the Sturge Street bore now, but he could not say how much was making. He advised that the shaft .be sunk further, in order to make a proper test. “We will be foolish if we don’t do it!” declared Cr. Walker. The Chairman: 1 am not going to dispute that fact at all. If you were to discuss the merit of the matter, I say that I don’t think you could get clean water for Cobden there. You have only got ten feet on top of the muddy stone. Cr. Walker said it was twelve feet. “Do I understand you to say we will not get sufficient water there?” he asked the Chairman “I am not saying that at all,” replied Mr Uddstrom. “I want to make out that you won’t get clean water there.” Cr Walker: You recommended it, anyway, after you tested the water next door!

The Chairman: I saad that I did not want to bore anywhere. “It is a rather peculiar attitude for the Chairman to take up!” commented Cr. Walker.

Cr. Martin said that the well at his property was on the same level, and deeper than the Sturge Street bore, but he had pumped his well dry in two hours.

“IN GOOD FAITH.” Cr. Barrett said he knew' as much about the previous meeting as the Chairman did. The members attended in good faith, to further the interests of the people, and they embarked upon a scheme to endeavour to find a suitable water supply for Cobden. It might or might not prove satisfactory. A majority of the Board members were present, and, after considerable discussion, it was resolved not to “dilly-dally” with the matter any longer. It was arranged then to get the services of the very best man available, for the ratepayers. They borrowed a man from another local body, and he was the best man in the district. What the motion did now was to sanction the work going on. The Chairman: You don’t understand. What I want to point out is that this is a special meeting. “It is not a special meeting!” retorted Cr. Barrett. “It is an adjourned meeting.” Cr. Martin: It is on the books that wo hold a meeting every Monday. The Town Clerk (Miss E. Davison) said it had been decided to hold special meetings after the ordinary meetings. The Chairman: Strictly speaking, I cannot take the motion. It is not right. Cr. Barrett: You have got to take it! There is only one thing to do. “Take it or leave it!” said Cr Clark. Cr. Martin: So far as I can see, it is not going to cost much money to finish the Sturge Street bore. It is down ten feet now.

Cr. Clark pointed out that if the well . was finished, and clear water secured, ( even if not in sufficient quantity for the township as a whole, the well could be covered over, and the resi- t dents could fill their buckets at it. . Addressing the Chairman, Cr. Walker remarked: Cr. Minehdn never com- t miffed himself to your scheme. { CHAIRMAN CRITICISED. Cr. Clark (to the Chairman): It 1 (the boring scheme) just doesn’t suit you. You are one of those people who, if you don’t get your own way in ( every shape and form, you are up against it! { The Chairman stated that the stone ‘ was only 20 feet below the level of Sturge Street. This led Cr. Minehan to point out ; that Mr Duncan, who lived not fifty ' yards away, had water all through the ( dry spell. People in the neighbourhood all carried water from Duncan’s well, and the speaker understood that it was driven to a depth of only fifteen feet. There was nothing in the wide , world to prevent the Board from driving the Sturge Street well. Cr. Clark dclared that the Chairman } had condemned the scheme without knowing anything about it. He could not see through stone. The Chairman: How much is this business going to cost? Cr. Barrett: It won’t cost £2O. 'The Chairman: It is spending money for nothing. Cr. Minehan:,lt is worth £2O for a Fire Brigade sump. If you save one house with it, it is worth more than £2O. Cr. Walker: The motion is that we proceed with the work. Cr. Barrett: I will change the wording of my resolution. It may please the Chairman better. I will move: That the Board continue to investigate the quantity of water in the present bore-hole in Sturge Street. As the seconder of the original resolution, Cr. Walker agreed to the alteration. It would be foolish do go away and leave the bore in its present incomplete condition, he said. The Chairman put the resolution, and it was carried, his hand being the only one raised against it. “Would the members of the Board like to inspect the crater?” queried the Chairman. Cr. Barrett: I am going up at the first opportunity, to satisfy myself. Cr. Walker: When we were there, it was not overflowing. "Yes, it was,” contradictor Cr. Minehan. “Water was running out of it, down to the creek.” Cr. Walker: Oh, no. It was not. Cr. Minehan: I’ll bet you five pounds to one that it is overflowing now, and . I’ll go up with you, if you like! Cr. Walker: It was not going into the creek the morning we were there. Cr. Minehan: Oh, yes, Mr Walker. “I did not see any overflow,” maintained Cr. Walker. . The Chairman: I will bet you anything you like against a cigarette! i At this stage, Cr Minehan gave a demonstration on the table, for the . benefit of Cr. Walker, showing the f position of the crater, and the direci tion of the overflow. Cr. Clark: Make a box of a certain r capacity, and see how long it takes j to fill. , Cr. Minehan: The Chairman is not depending on the overflow at all. He r reckons there is an abundance of water underneath, and that it is going to [ Lake Ryan. t Crs. Walker and Barrett supported the installation of a pump to prove . the amount of water. , ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE. ) Cr. Clark: I don’t see how the Chairman knows, because he is not a prol per engineer. I don’t know where his engineering abilities come in. We i have the same bump back at him now! The Chairman: So far as my engi-

neering ability is concerned, you could not learn what 1 know.

“I wouldn’t like to do so,” replied Cr. Clark. “My head would be bigger than it is now!” The Chairman stated that, even if sufficient water was secured in Sturge Street, it would cost a lot. of money to pump it up. Cr. Walker: Where will you pump it to?

The Chairman: 1 want to leave that to an engineer. I have wanted to do that all along. I don’t think members should waste any more of the ratepayers’ money It should he left to a qualified engineer to decide. Cr. Walker: That is just the reason why the boring was stopped, to save the ratepayers’ money. We went down and took it upon ourselves to see that it was finished.

The Chairman suggested that, it might be possible to secure sufficient water for Cobden from the Greymouth supply.

Cr. Barrett: They have not enough pressure at the Greymouth Hospital now to the tops of the windows. The mud was left on the windows. Greymouth cannot supply themselves with water.

The Chairman: 1 understand the Hospital is not the only place. I would like to move that we get a track blazed right around the crater on the rifle range. It would be only one day’s work. Cr. Minehan said he did not think that was necessary. The Board members could go around the whole thing in half a day, blaze their own track, and so save the ratepayers’ money. He would make one of the party. “Make it a Saturday or a Sunday,” suggested Cr. BaVrett. “Then everybody can get there.”

PUMPING ARRANGEMENTS. The Chairman: “Let us all go. not half of us.” He asked whether any arrangements had been made for a pump, for the Sturge Street bore-hole.

Cr. Barrett said that Cr. Minehan had agreed to supply a length of piping, and a small pump was also available. It wSuld be enough for the eatly stages. The Chairman said that at least 100 gallons per second would be required to supply Cobden, but this estimate was questioned by members. Cr. Barrett explained that he was talking about the early stages, when a pump would be required to keep thfe water down while the man was sinking the bore. Cr. Minehan said that if there was twelve feet of water there, the hand pump would not be powerful enough. “If we can get enough water in that hole to keep a three-inch pipe going,” he said, “we will get enough water for Cobden.” The Chairman said he did not think so. Cr. Barrett; How many gallons of water are the people of Cobden using per day? ' The Health Inspector (Mr M. Bettel) placed the amount at 100 gallons per head per day. The Greymouth people, he added, used over SO gallons per head per day. Cr. Barrett, with paper and pencil, began to work energetically. Asked what he was doing, he expressed his intention of trying to “blow up” the Chairman’s estimate of the amount of water required. Basing his calculation on the requirements of a population of 2400 (the present population is approximately half that number), he estimated that 240,Q00 gallons would be required per day, or 10,000 gallons per hour. x The Chairman: No fear! Cr. Barrett: But I say, “Yes fear.” Cr. Walker: Supposing we get half that quantity, we can use it, and try to get the rest somewhere else. The Chairman reconsidered his estimate, and admitted that he had made a mistake. His readjusted figure called for six and a-quarter gallons per second. Mr Bettel said he understood that Mr J. Hart had a pump that might be suitable. He undertook to get into communication with Mr Hart, and endeavour to arrange for the use of the pump. The Chairman: Will the members of the Board give the crater a chance? Cr. Barrett: Most decidedly, so far as I am concerned, after I have had a look at it. Then the Board went on to other business.