WATER CRISIS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21606, 8 January 1945, Page 2

WATER CRISIS

WAIPAOA SUPPLY | ACTION BY COUNCIL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS With the flow in the Te Anti stream reduced to approximately 5000 gallons per hour, as against a normal summer consumption of about 40.000 gallons per hour, the Gisborne Borough Council last night faced a crisis in respect of the maintenance of the service for essential domestic and industrial purposes. To-day, at. a special meeting of the council, it was decided unanimously to pump water from the Waipaoa .River.into the main pipe-line, in an endeavour to meet the immediate ; emergency. It was emphasised that the water would be chlorinated at the intake. 1 near the .Waipaoa River bridge adjacent to the Bridge Hotel; and that boilj ing would make the water perfectly | safe for drinking. On this point, the | council had the assurance of the | medical officer of health. Dr. W. C. | Davidson, who attended to-day's special meeting, i Tne deputy-Mayor, Mr. IT. IT. Dc Costa, reported to the meeting that the engineer had informed him last even- ! ing of the serious fall in the inflow of j water at the supply headworks, and as la preliminary measure he had tele- | phoned a request to all hotels and boarding-houses that consumption of j water be reduced to a minimum. He | had received promises of the utmost j co-operation from all the proprietors. I and he had no doubt that some effect j would be gained; but the emergency I was such as to demand definite action j by the council. | Country Streams Drying Up i The borough engineer. Mr. G. F. i Clapcott. stated that in tiie toast few | days the position at the intake had j gone from bad to worse, owing to the drying-tip of the streams in the Aral ! and Mangapoike valleys. In the latI ter. the day-long accumulation of J water in the pumping pool was only ; sufficient to keep the pump going for I eight hour’s a day. and the reservoir j at the Waingake intake of the service j was now empty. The engineer recalled that two years ago a similar emergency developed, and that the council then resorted to ; pumping from a pool two miles below ; the intake. He did not think the present flow of water in the stream would r-ivc satisfactory results at present, and Ids impression was that it would be ! better to go at once to the Waipaoa River. The medical officer of health. Dr. Davidson, objected to the s : lt content of the river water, but agreed that it could be made satisfactory for human consumption by certain precautions-. To Mr. M. J. White, the engineer stated that the Taumata Hill reservoir was now only half-full, and that more water could not be introduced there under present conditions. This reserve was for hospital use and fire-fighting purposes. Boiling as a Safety Measure Asked for his opinion, Dr. Davidson remarked that the matter. obviously was urgent: and though Waipaoa water was not suitable for consumption in its raw state it could be made so by chlorination. A difficulty would arise in maintaining' the safety measures, of chlorination, owing to the varying content of organic material in the water, and it would be necessary to advise household users to boil the water before using it for drinking. Boiling, he assured the council, would make it absolutely safe for consumption. As an alternative to using Waipaoa River water, continued Dr. Davidson, he had suggested that certain rationing measures might- be effective, but the engineer had pointed out the danger of fires and other risks associated with a complete shut-off of the supply for any period that would effect a substantial saving. That was a matter for the council’s decision. Dr. Davidson added,- but he felt that Waipaoa water should be used only in the last resort. Boiling would make it quite safe, but many people would neglect this precaution, he expected, and so create a danger for themselves and for others. Mr. R. Morse suggested that the council, as a first step, should prohibit the use of water for all purposes other than essential domestic and industrial purposes. He considered | i that a stoppage of the supply for several hours might create a health hazard, and that any brief stoppage could not have any effect upon the shortage. Day & Night Consumption Compared In reply to the deputy-Mayor, the engineer stated that industrial uses consumed about 90,000 gallons per day. The normal night consumption averaged 20.000 to 27.000 gallons per hour, over the whole community, while daylight consumption was front 55.000 to 05,000 gallons per hour. ITe pointed out that if the mains were allowed to run empty there might bo ! considerable trouble with public and | private sewerage installations. After further discussion, Mr. M. J. White moved that in view of the council's opinion that no rationing system could be devised to achieve the effect desired, the council instruct its engineer lo confer with the medical officer of health with a view to Ihe safest method of using Waipaoa River water to augment the town supply, and that residents be strongly urged to boil the supply water before using it for drinking. The motion was seconded by Mr. F. Tolerton, who remarked that the , council had no option but to use the river water. The council was unanimous in support of the motion. It was further decided that the use of supply water for other than domestic and industrial purposes be prohibited, the effect of this decision being that water may not be used for gardening purposes. either by hosing or by bucket. The engineer stated, in reply to Mr. Morse, that the augmenting system probably will be in operation by tomorrow evening.