THE WATER QUESTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XX, Issue 1112, 8 July 1863, Page 4

THE WATER QUESTION.

The question of water supply is now occupying the attention of the City Council, and from the report of Mr. Haast it may be assumed that the probability of obtaining a supply by means of artesian wells is open to doubt, and he suggests the construction of an aqueduct as a more certain mode of attaining the desired result. Those pioneers of civilisation, the Romans, long ago recognised the necessity of a good water supply, and constructed aqueducts of 100 miles in length, which even now remain as monuments of their skill and perseverance. Appius, the censor, advised and constructed the first aqueduct, and the consul Frontinus, who superintended the aqueducts under the emperor Nerva, mentions nine of them which had each 13,594 pipes of an inch in diameter. Yigerius also observes that in the space of 24 hours Rome received 500,000 hogsheads of water. Perhaps the greatest aqueduct of modern times is one constructed by Louis XiV. near Maintenon for carrying water from the river Bucq to Versailles; it is 7000 fathoms in length, and contains 242 arches. Still later and more familiar is the magnificent work of Sir Hugh Middleton, by which he brought a stream of pure water for the supply of London by the New River. Spring water invariably holds in solution compounds of lime, magnesia, and other elements detrimental to health, whilst river water is, to a great extent, free from mineral impurities, and, owing to its being exposed to the air and freely oxygenated, is far more desirable in a sanitary point of view. It is true that river water frequently holds in suspension both organic and inorganic particles, but they can easily be got rid of by filtration or deposition in the reservoirs. Anyone observing the stream of the river Avon must be struck by the limpidity of the water: objects being clearly discernible at the bottom of its bed. The construction of an aqueduct to bring spring water from a distance is, apart from the question of expense, an absurdity when we have a river of pure water running at our feet. Our countryman, Mr. Whitehurst, first suggested the ingenious idea of raising water by means of its momentum, and, acting upon his principle, Montgolfier, a Frenchman, invented the hydraulic ram, which is the most economical engine for the purpose ever introduced. It consists of a bent iron pipe of, say, 10 inches in diameter, laid in the direction of the stream. At the opposite end of the pipe to which the water enters is an opening on the top through which the stream escapes, and a valve is so arranged as to close this orifice when the velocity of the current is sufficient to raise it; the momentum of the water being suddenly checked, it rushes into an air chamber beyond through a valve opening inwards, a portion of water being admitted into an air chamber, the impulse of the column of fluid is spent, the valve at the exit orifice falls and the water issues as at first, when its motion is again checked, and the same operation repeated which has been described; the supply pipe proceeds from the air chamber, and could be taken to a reservoir in the centre of the town. The condensed air in the chamber re-acts upon the water, and forces it up the pipe at each impulse. This waterram requires no attendant as it acts spontaneously, and, from experiments, the effect has been found equal to between a-lialf and three-fourths of the power expended, which renders it superior to most hydraulic machines. The expense of casting and laying in the river two of these rains, sufficient to supply the reservoir in town, would not exceed £200, the cost of the reservoir being the most important item. There should be two reservoirs constructed, one with a filtering bed for thesupply of water to the inhabitants, and the other for the engines to play from in the event of fire. It is to be hoped that it will not need an extensive conflagration to rouse the authorities into action. The present supply of water for the engines, in the event of a fire, is totally inadequate, and the spectacle of the fire brigades standing idle at a fire would be a ludicrous one, if the consequences were not to be deplored. In a question of such moment, where the lives and properties of a comI munity are at stake, want of energy on the part of the " powers that be " is highly reprehensible.