BOROUGH WATER SUPPLY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7936, 5 March 1904, Page 2

BOROUGH WATER SUPPLY.

PUBLIC MEETING. MR CLIMIE'S SCHEME APPROVED. •, A^,? übl i c meetin g was neld in the Council Chambers on Friday evening to discuss the Hawera Borough water supply and the proposals for improving the headworks. ,, The , Mav °r < Mr B - °- Bobbins) was in the chair, and about thirty gentlemen, including seven councillors, were present! Mr Bobbins said he had been hopeful that there woud have been a larger attendance but the inclemency of t& weather no doubt accounted for the limited numoer present. The question they hat to discuss was a very important one, anc members of the Council felt they woul ' like to confer wzth the ratepayers, as th. improvement of the head-works' wou ' necessitate the expenditure of a large mil. of money. There was no doubt that th water service was in a very unsatisfac tory cond tipn. The speake? then wen on to explain the action that had so fa been, taken in regard to securing a repoi ° n t £??°£ ls Z ttom M» Clin^ C7E., whi<L Wf A *" W baton, the meeting, toffies with. a sketch plan showing the Sffi bered that three methods had been sul^i mX6fc i &**£ Climie > butlhe??ti Sec ?? d J had been abandoned. The thiri method to cost £1650. had practical! been adopted by the Councillors, iff ' sum, however, had provided only for X lUin. mam extension, and did not allow for a means of filtration. The detailed ' report now submitted provided for a 15in "}^ n . e ? ten , sio i n and improvements, which about doubled the sum of £1650 Those present, had no doubt seen the report of the interview with Mr Reynolds, and would have noticed that that gentleman had strongly recommended the laying of another main Mr Climie, on the other hand, said that, by adopting his method <ux ample supply of water would be procured and an increased pressure in town wild be secured The present pressure 40 *? mh ' to the square inch wouid be increased to about 531b., 1! Smu PPressure. ressure at ni ght time (now about 701b. to the square inch) wodld be increased to about 80/ That increase would be found very serviceable in case of nre, and the pressure could be further augmented by cutting off other streets in case of an outbreak of fire. This would bring the pressure up to 901b. to the square inch. The matter of finance was, of course, the most important consideration, ihe estimate now given by Air Climie was £3310, but that did not provide for the purchase of land or the first years interest. However, they had at present five acres of land and a cottage at the head-works, and there should be no difficulty in effecting an exchange Exclusive of the land the sum required would be about £3500. This would necessitate a special rate of not less than 3d m the £ on all ratable property in the Borough— a rate that would undoubtedly have to be levied. The speaker then read Mr Climie's report, which was as follows: "In compliance with your instructions, I have the honour to report further on the matter of giving a better and raors permanent supply of water to the lOin. main at the headworks. As the present line of 12in. earthenware pipes has proved to be unsuitable for keeping the 10in: : main filled, I am of opinion that the third method that I suggested in my repori of January sth should be adopted, bul in view of further requirements the ex tension of the main should be made witt loin, diameter spiral .riyetted pipes. Bj adopting these larger pipes enough watei would be delivered at the end of the pre sent iuin r main to supply an additiona -luJ .gallons per minute — more than an other two 10m. mains could carry. As suming that at the present time you ar< using 400 gallons per minute, thus reduc ing the pressure to 421b. per square inch by making use of the additional height o; the new intake and using the 15in. pipe; this pressure would be increased to 631b, per square inch, 'xne additional quantitj of water forced through the lOin. mair without reducing the pressure would b( sufficient for the additional houses at pre sent being connected with the sewerage system. In addition to using the largt supply pipes, ensuring 'a sufficiency oi water, I propose filtering the water int< a gallery and through earthenware pipe; under the bed of the river, and lettmc the water settle for . twelve hours in a tank, so that there will always be a largs supply of water to draw upon. There win also be an automatic valve opening direct into the river, in case the filtering tunnofl should not supply quickly enough in tne event of an extraordinary demand on the main. The annexed schedule shows estimated cost, and the accompanying sketch plan the present arrangements ai the head-works and also 'the proposed work. Trusting that the foregoing recom mendations will meet with your approval. I am; etc., W. H. Climie." "Estimate of cost of improving the water supply at the head-works : — Twelve chains filtering gallery, £330; 800 ft. earthenware, pipes untler river, £100; IS chains outlet tunnel, manhole, valves, etc., £446; 9 chains 18in. earthenware pipes and trenching, etc., £180; settling tank, including valves, etc., £422 4s; 64 chains 15in. wrought iron pipes at 5s 9d per foot, railway truck, Wanganui, £1214 'tis ; railway charges to Te Roti on 45 tons at 32s 8d per ton, £73 10s; cartage from Ie Roti railway station to, ground, £45 ; trenching, laying pipes, and jointing 64 chains, £122 15s; contingencies, 124 per cent., £366 13s; total, £3300 405. Mr Climie then explained the technicalities of his scheme, and stated thai one 15in. main would give an additional pressure of about 121b. to the square inch. Another advantage was that from this 15in. pipe two additional mains to town could be supplied. In repy to Mr Parkinson, Mr Climie said the lOin. main would easily bear the additional pressure; it could bear a pressure of 5001b. to the square inch, whereas the hydrostatic pressure under the new scheme would only be 1021b. Mr Whittaker asked what provision had been made for the protection of the intake tunnel or pipe, and Mr Climie replied it would be protected by a grating. A conversational discussion took place as to the pressure likely to be pnt upon the line of earthenware pipes, and Mr Climie said it was proposed to put in new earthenware pipes to a settling tank, from which tank the 15in. iron main extension would leave, connecting lower down with the head of the present lOin. main. The present line of ealthsanware pipes would be abandoned. Mr Pitcher asked upon what system the rate (3d in the £) was calculated, and the Town Clerk replied that a 2d rate would cover the charges. The Mayor remarked that it was better to over-estimate the cost. The Mayor asked Mr Climie if there was any fear that the suckers would silt up, as it had been stated they would do so in "one act." Mr Climie replied that such was not his experience. Tr Stratford similar suckers had been suc^bS' fully used for the past two years. Mr Ogilvie : That's a different rivec though. Mr Climie : Yes. but at the proposed site the river is more rapid, and there is kss silt than lower down. The Mayor reminded the meeting that for the present main cast iron pipes iiacl been used in preference to wrougnt iron, and he asked Mr Climie why it wis now proposed to use wrought iron spiral oiocs Mr Climie answered that wrought ir-in opes had been used in America, and a't"r having been used for 40 or 50 years wcie taken up, when it was found' that, the iron had been hardly touched by ;ust These pipes had also been largely adopted in Auckland, Coolgardie, and other pla- >s. Mr Tilly said that the new proposal w.is very costly, an<> he strongly believed that the first scheme with a settling tank and a connection to present earthenware piues would satisfactorily settle the question for the present. Cr Sargeson : You would then have the continual difficulty with the weir. The Mayor : Mr Mestayer reported that it would cost £250 to repair the weir, but upon tenders being invited none were received. Mr Tilly: What was Mr Climie's estimate ? The Mayor : It was £336 ; that provided for filtration also. Cr. Whittaker said they should go into the matter carefully before adopting any scheme. He thought there was a lot of additional information required. Mr Parkin said he felt somewhat dubious, as the present supply had been a failure from the beginning. What they wanted was a scheme that 'could be depended on. He would favour the larger scheme so long as they had an assurance that it would be all right. Mr Climie's work in connection with the Stratford supply had been satisfactory, and that would give them some, confidence. He would like to know if there was any sand in tlio iron main, as & good deall came through into the baths. He also asked if it was intended to have a permanent caretaker. If so that might cost £100 a year. The Mayor replied that some settler living near' would be prepared to overlook the head-works for a small consideration. Mr Whittaker said they would have *o look further ahead. He asked whether Normanby and Jfolantown, could be supplied under the proposed scheme. Mr Climie said if they continued to supply extraordinary demands, such as Normanby, factories, etc., another main would be necessary. , Mr Parkin asked what amount of revenue was received from outside tho Borougn. The Mayor : About £400, but of that, sum about half cornea from the Govern ment. Mr Parkin asked whether it was a fact that people outside the Borough were getting water cheaper than people inside the Borough. The Mayor : As far as can be estimat !•! outsiders are paying 10 per cent, more than those in the Borough. i - •_•_"■ H&£Aw>[ -

Mr Cameron said that after having visited the intake he was prepared to support the adoption of Mr Climie's third scheme, and he moved, That this meeting urge upon the Council the absolute * necessity for adopting an efficient scheme of water supply, and suggest that Mr Climie's third proposal be adopted. Mr Parkin seconded the motion. Mr McGuire moved as an amendment, That an inspector go round to prevent all waste; that he thought might get over the difficulty. The amendment ieceived no support. Mr W. A. Parkinson said he thought Mr Parkin had voiced the feeling of all; they desired to be assured of some fin' ality. So far as the present service was ; concerned a deal, of dissatisfaction had been expressed, and that dissatisfaction had been increased by having been told jy the engineer that he was restricted in the matter of finance. Mr Climie should' . not consider the financial aspect of 'the scheme, but its efficiency. ' Cr Whittaker suggested that Mr , Uameron should add to his motion that he work be done by contract, not by day ! 1 labour. ' ' J Mr Cameron declined to accept the sugS gestion. Mj? JPitckor said ho yras one of those who believed they should "face the music." He thought they should trust Mr Chmie, and he beiieved their trust would not be misplaced. The motion was then put to the meeting and carried without dissent.