Line Break Affects Town Water Supply

Northern Advocate, 20 November 1944, Page 2

Line Break Affects Town Water Supply

Had partial restrictions not been m force, a break which occurred in the main from Maunu reservoir on Friday would have seriously jeopardised Whangarei’s water supply, the borough engineer (Mr. I. A. Cromie) stated this morning. Loss of water from Maunu resulted in the supply from this reservoir being shut off from midday to 7 p.m., and a fracture in the pipe-line was located at Tarewa Road. The town was without water for a period of about half an hour, but, for the remainder of, the day, the whole borough area was served from Whau Valley reservoir.

Main result of the Tarewa Road break was the loss of six hours’ supply of water to the town, approximating 1.250.000 gallons. Both Maunu and Whau Valley reservoirs had now recovered from the extra strain imposed upon them, Mr. Cromie said. This, however, was due only to the existing partial restrictions. The week-end rain, by decreasing the draw-off for town gardens, had- also assisted in easing the position. Referring to the water supply generally, Mr. Cromie emphasised the need for partial'control to avoid the imposition of total restriction. Last Tuesday, the day before the order had been made prohibiting use of garden hoses except between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m., the draw off from the borough’s reservoirs had been in excess of the supply’s replacement capacity. v, It is now apparent, he concluded, that residents were co-operating in their observance of the restrictions. Had this not been the case the supply .position would not have rectified itself over the week-end.