PURE WATER SUPPLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14133, 7 August 1909, Page 6

PURE WATER SUPPLY.

the WAITAKEREI reservoir.

A deputation from the Auckland City Council waited upon the Waitemata County Council yesterday with xepecfc to the conservation of the purity of. • the city water supply from ihe Waitakerei reservoir. It had been suggested some time ago that the present eon-West Coast Road passing by the Waitakerei impounding dam should be closed owing to the possibility of its becoming a source of contamination to the water in the big reservoir. At that titfce there had been opposition from one pw» perty owner, but the City Council had extinguished this opposition. by buying the property.

At yesterday's meeting of the Waitemata County Council Mr. P. M. Mackay, a member of the City Council, explained that all the settlers concerned, save one, were agreeable to the closing of the road in question in favour of another route. The City Council had gone to very great expense in acquiring land, and in .public work at tho impounding dam, but they considered that while this Waitakerei-West Coast Road existed there would • always be a danger of getting the water contaminated. The City Council, therefore, now asked the Waitemata Council to close this road, and would be quite willing to meet the County body in regard to the expense of making a new road. ( Mr. J. Carlaw, waterworks engineer of the City Council, said that during the recent wet weather he had been obliged to stop gravitation four or five hours at a time after heavy flood, solely owing to the water carrying clay off the road and so discolouring the water as to render it unfit for the city. While the road was there it would bo'absolutely impossible to prevent discolouration of the water in the dam after rain. As for the settlers, a road formed to come out at Swanson would meet every requirement. There was also the danger of children or others going out there with picnic parties climbing on the bridge-railings, falling into the dam, and in the event of a drowning accident it would mean the running off of the whole 200,000,000 gallons of water in it. Some discussion followed, in which it was suggested by a member of the Waitemata Council that the City Council should undertake to form and grado a new road, whilst the Waitemata Council would put its own engineer on to survey it. The chairman then informed the deputation that the matter would be considered, and the Waitemata Council's decision forwarded to the City Council. •;