THE WAER PROBLEM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16202, 12 April 1916, Page 9

THE WAER PROBLEM.

Sirl can assure the Herald and the public that the water . f i h- WaiUkert supply is a fir.st-cix-'s ou.Ji'v, a:id the Waitakerc v..r, rshed ;/ wiu of tho finest in the world, awl thai, filtration is quite unnecessary. The whole trouble is that the watershed is not properly, treated. There are two miles of old roads leading down to and up from the impounded lake, and in wet weather these two miles are nothing Jess than two great streams of clay, filth, and decayed vegetation pot:; ing down into the dam! Let ihe council stop any traffic on these roads, or any others that lead down to the darn, fill in the watercourses thereon, soil and sew grass seed, and cut diverting drains thereon at frequent intervals to divert the surface water into the virgin bush, and there would then bo a natural filter, arid ,tho present state of things would not eicist. Perhaps wo should not expect the ('itv Council's expert engineering staff to divert their attention from their search for. dam foundations elsewhere to such an insignificant matter as the prevention of the pollution of the water such as they now have, or aro likely to have, for years to come. Arnold Wu.ki.vs.

Sir,-It is apparent tlio City Council is taking little notice of tlio dig- ' satisfaction as to the impurity of the • costly supply. The supply at* mv resi- •»»'• deuce is of a bronze colour. The scarcity of fives owin;; to tho war has no doubt set the inventive mind at work, but there is no reason why we should bo compelled to drink " experiments." At tho opening of our drainage works experts then stated that the filtering was so perfect that the sewage was as clear as crystal, equalling in colour the city's water supply. This opens up a very wide door for discussion if impure water should be filtered for domestic purposes, as tho 4i sewage crystals" still remain vividly in my mind. Several prohibition orders have boon broken through the impurity of our water, and if it is not remedied tho State will have to purchase more islands. We spend too much time criticising recruiting schemes. Those responsible for theso schemes have now a splendid opportunity to demand on inquiry as to the obvious neglect in not giving tlio public pure water, as no pol : is required in this instance, only attention to one's own business. Processor or Economics. April 8, 1916.