WATER AND DRAINAGE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 62, 14 March 1911, Page 8

WATER AND DRAINAGE.

——————— ——..-——..^ TO THE EDITOR. ' ]>.j> Si,., —By the courtesy of M^A.'jD. Dobson, City Engineer of^fftirist©hurch, a small party were enroled .to inspect the various pumping stations for the water-supply and drainage system of that city op March 3rd lest. The first \ isit was to Sydenham, a.nd as this is the water-supply of which our suggested scheme l; largely a facsimile,, may 1 ha.ye your permission to describe it. Three artesian bores (4-inch pipes) are the source of supply. These flow into two concrete -fca'nks very similar to our public baths, but deeper. Thenca the water is lifted!, by pumps into a 40,000-gallon tank erected on a stand onfc hundred feet high, whence it is supplied to the connections.' It should be explained that until lately Sydenham was a borough of itself, hence the reason that the water-supply b separate from the city, of which the borough is now a part. The power operating the pumps which lilt th© water into the -elevated tank is supplied by two electric motors, which equal 60 horsepower whert fully working, the electric po\w.- being prodiieed; by 'steam engines at the desiruefcor. Th© city engineer assured us that .these machines had bfeoiiat v/ork for nine years nearly, that they were attended to by the yardman, fcliafc they had cost nothing for repair^ during the whole tinie, and thafft working expenses were' reduced to a minimum. There are 4000 connections to bhisi system, equalling (at least) a Supply for 12,000 people, and there has been no hitch -whatever in the ..supply from the •.iniatidn until the present time, nine •jears within a month. Asked d& to • th© reliability and sufficiency of cur suggested 40 horse-power, Mr Dobson « stated that be had very carefully com- . puted the necessities, and felt assured that quite sufficient power was provided. Your readers will note that even were our scheme carried out in • its entirety there would not be more . than 1000 connections, so ~thai it ; would seem to point to, the conclusion that plenty of power is provided for us in our proposal. I was staying in Sydenham during my visit to Christchurch, and can vouch, for the excellence bcth of water ,and supply. The second 'visit was to the main source of water-supply for thie whole ; cfty (other than Sydenham), and was--of great interest. A large deep ■con-: : creto tank is built below ground and covered in to exclude the light, which promotes growth of-vegetable matter, howover pure the.wa-ter. Into this tank is poured tho outflow of four artesian wells (two 6-inch and two 8-inch pipes) from a depth of eighty feet. This is pumped into a reservoir about a mile distant ■on the Cashmere j Hills sufficiently high, to ensure plenty of pressure throughout the whole city The capacity of this reservoir is 1,300,000 gallons, and the engineer anticipates shortly the excavation of another reservoir, as there will soon be 70,000 people to supply. The pumping plant at this station is operated by producer gas engines, the one at work being of 116-h.p., and the ■quantity of water being pumped under easy working was over 51,000 gallons per hour. The amount of coke being used at our visit was .6 of a 1b per horse-power per hoar. The en- , gines have been at work two years, and th«j engineer (a fully certificated marine engineer ot tho first-class) assured me that ihess engines: of this •kind were really good, providing they were kept carefully cleaned.. The floor of tho engine-room wan beautifully tiled, and a notice outside the door requested visitors to clean boots of all . grit and to shut- the door to keep out the grit of the coke chamber, all this for the purpose of preserving th© engines and machinery. That there is: an ample supply of water is evidenced hy the fact that all over the city and suburbs the--water-channels are daily flushed with, a plentiful Sow of water. The third visit watss to the pumping station of the Drainage Board in Linwood (Mr Dobson is not the engineer for the> drainage system) and here the party saw the pumping plant which forces the city sewage ;>omo miles out of the city, where it if; deposited on land prepared for its reception, and is the means of creating large areas of tortile country from waste lands. Jl/verything here was working with smoothness and efficiency, and °>he citizens ars so appreciative of the toenohts accruing from a good watersupply and proper drainage scheme that there is absolutely no desire to return to the old, bad. haphazard ways, .and no complaint of the cost of what is rully realised as a great conyanieiico and source of health is

beard. Our circumstances in Blenheim' are so similar to those of Christchurch, only on a greatly reduced scale, that' these particulars should be ot' interest as showing that the burgesses have no need to fear the adoption of the proposal to be somewhat vp-to-dato iii our sanitary methods. The benefits to be derived are so obvious that it can surely be only misconception that will hinder the adoption. > Tho fuller the discussion therefore the better, and there is nothing more certain than that whatever may. happen at this particular juncture, the lr.&tter'is up, for siettlement, and discussion will proceed until accomplishmentisenSUredk H.PENNY.

IO THIS EDITOB. Sir.—l am very much surprised at Councillor Parker's wild and erratic statement regarding the three wells i:or the fire engine to draw its supplies from in case of fire. These wells would cost £5 each. There is a good volume of spring water always running through the spots I mentioned. £15 mentioned by. me, as against Councillor Parker's possible £2000, is too ridiculous. Be more caretul Councillor Parker, with your statements. I don't mind it a little; 1 am well' used to your ways. But you know it might create' a false lnipres-; sion. All ratepayers are well aware that Blenheim is built on the lowest land on the Plain, all rivers practically meeting in the centre of^ the town, and is simply a basm for holding water. When the rivers are in flood and the flood waters at times up to the top of the>flood-banks,land, a power of water pouring through the big flood-gates, with no storm water channels working, what a brilliant prospect a great majority of those connected with the sewerage will have of getting luxurious fertilising matter right to their doors and all over the back yard! An extract from the-engineer's letter to Councillor Parker reads as follows: "In j case of a flood submerging .the streets ' the sewers, would /fill with -flood-water , 'through the various sumps and venti- ■ lators, and would pour out again from , the -ventilators and manholes at the lowest places." 'Very heavy rains would, in my opinion, have the same effect. From a financial standpoint, is the population sufficient to warrant the expenditure? '"If/the loan is carried we shall practically have a mortgage on all properties of 33 per cent, of their ratable value. We shall have to reduce the expenditure on our roads by about 30 per cent., i.e., with striking all the rates the law allows. On top of all these rates comes the river rate, a very considerable item' indeed. Then again, ratepayers wOl be called upon to connect with th*e water and drainage at a cost ©?" anything from £25 to £40. according to' requirements. No provision is made for putting the streets back into the same ret>air as before the work starts. This will cost over £2000. Personally, if the loan is carried I will be a strong supporter of the gravitation scheme. ,

FRANK ADAMS