Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1910. NELSON'S WATER SUPPLY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 12 August 1910, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1910. NELSON'S WATER SUPPLY.

PIIOVIDINO FOR THE SUMMER. THE water question in Nelson lias boon advanced an important stage by -the resolution to seek confirmation of the City Engineer's scheme to obtain I he Roding River supply pending a reference to the ratepayers. .Simultaneously, and with wis-dom in view of the controversial issues involved, the proposal to repair the T-anglands dam at a cost of £9OO to provide a temporary supply during the coming summer pending the later completion of the Roding scheme was deferred. The two proposals have been much discussed bv the citizens since the Council meeting last Friday, and the interchange of views should prove of value in the future, especially as there is an inclination by all sides U> set aside local politics and. if possible, arrive at something like a compromise for the common well-being. The conditions with which the citizens are confronted are that, with additional drainage connections and a consequent lv larger consumption, the summer will have to be faced without -an emergency reserve of water, as tapping of the Roding river cannot be completed for some time to come. It is pointed out that the recorded consumption is greater tluin the yield of water from the source.- n iw available, and that as there is little storage there may be considerable trouble in the matter of wini tation. Hut it must be remembered that, if the worst came to the worst, the mere prohibition of the use of watei for gardens and irrigation generally

w.-in!J tide over the difficulty, for. Nt th" driest period known during the past decade, the ft. w ii.w depended upon !V.i tin- i ic;.-'.--. supply materially exceeded the purely domestic iind industrial con .-umption. Tlii-- point, therefore, is tli:it. in order t > obviate :t L.'eiicral pro-! liiliiin.ii of tlu- u-.-v tht* garden hose <ir in Ration taps, there slimilil ho a ti'ii 'lavs' KS'-i-M- supply at least. It happens, biwuvti'. —and medical men 1 ln-iii : t'lvfs admit il—-Unit water stored in .summer behind tin- l.anglands dam lj<-i-. iin.-s stagnant and of inferior qiialitv tin- i. >t i _;-•!■ a drought coin iiiiiL-s. Thtidea, i.l' llr-illg t hi' U.'itfl' S( i stored for ii-i-iir.-t-t i«in and purpose;5..1,-! v has t<, he abandoned, for the rea-.-on lhat.it caun.it he excluded .-imnita im.usly from the domestic supply. Consequently, any siic;geition to repair the I.aiiLjiands dam i.s '"out of court." as the cost would he money wa.-ted. and the result the depreciation of the ■ ptalily «'i' the water. The pressure <[ii- -1 i. .ut need not lie considered, fot there is abundant pVu;jf that with the lower dam in use the pressure id a!ui.;s{ a negliuible quantity. Rut Neiso.i is not dependent on the Langlands' Dam alone for a storage basin. The city did very well for years with the "Ri servoir." now the ".Middle Dam." and there is no reason why. instead of spending £9OO on the "Langlandei, Dam, the old reservoir could not be cleaned out and kept clean at a much less cost. It is admitted that the object of the expenditure If merely to provide against drought. for the period betweea the present and the connection with the Roding. % Under these conditions, then, even admitting a | tendency of the reservoir to be silted up bv thiods. the outside cost of clearing out and deepening the basin would be less than the amount it is proposed to spend on the Langlands dam. At the i same time, anything done to fully recommission the middle dam would ••dovetail" into the Roding scheme, whereas the l.anglands dam docs not so lend itself to combination. Some may urge that the silting of the old | Reservoir by flood would render it necessary C> devote an annual sum to the work of keeping the basin clear. But it must be remembered that floods are in:t frequent, and that such floods as the one which caused .some damage to tht upper weir occur only at comparatively rare intervals. Taking-the average of floods, it will be found that'an allowance of 12 a year is quite liberal, and an aiiowanie of a destructive flood once in three or four years is ample. In these circumstances the expenditure to be incurred should be no more, if no less, than that which Nelson had to provideas a regular charge during the years when the old r> servoir served the city very well indeed and met most require meats. » » » • » If il came to a question of a referendum on the choice between repairing the l.anglands dam and rendering the old reservoir eliicient for a temporary or permanent reserve as an emergency storage area there is little doubt which would receive a greater number of votes. The experience of the citizens has been that tlie lower reservoir, formed by the Langlands dam. is a failure from every standpoint. lint there should be no need for such a referendum if the City Council will only compromise by bringing the middle dam and old reservoir into full commission for the coming summer at a co.-t of considerably under £9OO. Whether the work be merely temporary or whether the. old reservoir should be kept clear for a- permanent reserve supply are questions that could be settled once for all after the Roding ri\er litis been tapped. Meantime, however, the only issue that needs consideration at present is adequate provision \:>v the coining summer pending the connection with the Roding. It is hoped that on the lines here indicated all parties in the Council will come to an understanding. Cr Neale's sole wish is

to provide against scarcity and inconvenience tu a possibly dry summer covering the period during which the Hnding river work is being done. If the end sought can be accomplished by clearing out and utilising to its fullest capacity a reservoir which ha«s proved its value in the past, and that at a Jess cost and with more satisfaction than the lower, or Langiands reservoir, there should be no difficulty in having the work done in ample time to remove all fear of scarcity.