CITY'S WATER SUPPLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17361, 7 January 1920, Page 8

CITY'S WATER SUPPLY.

EFFECT. OF " DRY WEATHER.

RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE.

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR.

1 The rainfall of Monday morning seem* to have been no heavier on the Waito ranges than it was in the neighbourhood of the city, and has therefore had no appreciable effect upon the water jupply. Spoakiiitr on th subject yesterday the Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, said the - present position in regard to water was no worse and no better than that of other veara when the summer had been corra-, pondingly dry. The quantity now in storage was less than at the same period last year. In January, 1918, the Wm« takcro dam was still overflowing, which meant a full reservoir. Now the level of the water was 2ft below the sill, so that th*re was 47ft of storage water in the dan. Provided that the weather was not abnormally dry until late ia the autumn, there should be no difficulty in keeping up the supply in the city. Probably it wo •be considered advisable to restriction* upon the use of water for noil essential purposes, such as gardens an other forms o't consumption that could be curtailed without real hardship, Another serious factor .r. the water problem, added Mr. y, hiC |i some of the suburban local bodies, wJucn ordinarily took no water from the city, had lately been drawing upon Auckland supply to a considerable ©stent. *or in'stance, the Mount KortiJLt /°M m ni v cf had lor some years past had * ary its own,, but, owing, to the tempomy stoppage of its worts, it had or three 2 been dependent ®Pf the» cgj Again, the borough of Mount Albert had made application lor an increased supply, owing to tie falling oil in the water providea by its own works through the droatjht. These requests could not w*U be declined,' as the (Sty Councils policy had SvS been to aid the sister municipities in respect of water. The , ouUung boroughs, however, would be subject to whatever steps were taken in the city if the question of putting restriction* upon ho consumption had to be faced. . ■ Though the gravitation supply was being eupplemented by the resumption of pt"?pin? at the Western Springs, a serious diffi- ( culty arose owing to the trouble experiencad in procuring coal. At present there •was in hand only sufficient for three dayß op®nitidis, *snd unless the supply of coal cone/be augmented tio continuance of pine operations would be threatens. ihft waterworks engineer, however, bad , that-matter in hand, and the Mayor hoped that, nothing would happen to interrupt the site cf tne pumps, as the use of the Weitera Springs auxiliary supply was essential at the present moment. J Summing up the position, • the Mayor said there was no immediate ground for amis unless the council failed altogether iii getting its daily supplies of ccal, and the Taupiri Coal Company, from ■which tbeso were obtained, had always it, tie past kept up regular deliveries. With reference to the dependence of the Mount Albert Road Board upon the city for water supply, inquiry in another direction elicited the information that the strain from that quarter will now cease. The board las Jin abundant source flf water in the public reserve at the foot of the Three Kings, but for the last three' or four months its pumping plant has bfen idle, , while a new motive cower in the shape of a suction-gas engine was in course of installation. This work is now completed, Kid pumping by means of the engine lias just bean resumed. _ The machinery' is working Quite satisfactorily, and is capable of supplying about 100,000 gallons per day, or double the borough's ordinary consumption. -

' THE 2TEW BAM AT NTHOTUPU.

delay IN CONSTRUCTION.

"Tile complications that have developed in connection with the construction of the - new reservoir at Nihotupu have an im- • portant bearing upon the supply of water • to the city, and the arrangements that bare to be made for its conservation in * dry seasons such as the present. .It is now nearly four years since the contract van let to Langlands and Co., Ltd., at about ' £150,000, for the formation of the dam which is being laid across the Nihotupu stream, and which is to supplement the present 'supoly to the extent of storing 550.000,000 fallens bf water. , Under terms of the contract the dam was to have been completed by now, but the unfortunate accident at the works ""which caused the death of Mr. W. Lang- . lands, the head of the firm, some three * years ago, led to unavoidable delays in the carrying out of the scheme. In a statement on ths subject yesterday the Mayor, Mr. J. E. Gttnson, said tie Works Committee had made the very best arrangements that, wire possible in the circumstances, having regard to the difficnltv of obtaining labour and materials, including the necessary machinery for carryinz on i.he work. The policy of the council was to require the completion of the undertak.ng by the contractors, rather than have so large a responsibility thrown back upon its own hands, and all reasonable assistance had been afforded to enable then? to do so. Tho position of the contract from time to time had been considered. and all possible steps had been taken to conserve the citizens' interests and ftive due we.idit to the heavy financial questions involved.