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QUALITY OF CITY WATER

*&;V?V ' ■ ■■<*(►» ' ' " >• ' REASSURING STATEMENT, PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. ] SUSPECTED SOURCE NOT IN USE, ] A reassuring statement. regarding tho quality of the city water supply was ] nude yesterday by the Mayor, Mr. J. H. ? Gunson, in view of the warning issued ( that morning by tho chief health officer, , Dr. T. J. Hughes, to tho effect that a 1 portion of the supply had been found to j bo contaminated. It transpires that the 1 portion referred to was that taken from t the Western Springs. "Tho public need not bo unduly a alarmed about the report of the chief , health officer," said Mr. Gunson._ "Ho r is simply carrying out his duty in con- £ section with the condition of tho city water as he understands it to bo after his investigations at the .Western Springs. The water from tho latter source is an v auxiliary supply only, and is not used j except in the summer. For . many years t it was the main supply and at one time the only supply of the city, The City Council, before using this particular water has, during recent, years, at penodical times, had it analysed. Last summer the analytical reports were such tha. , tho council with conridence continued its use. It may be that .mow,. at the beginning of this summer, these _ conditions havo somewhat changed, ani in view of tho report of the health officer, and pendine further investigations by him, as also j by the council itself, no water from the Western Springs will be used. Neither will any of the water from that source j ho . again utilised unless it is adequately i established that it is safe, and then only , with. the. concurrence of the Health De- , Citizens can rest assured that, the main source of tho city water supply ( being Waitakero and Nihotupu, there , need be no concern, as the supply from ] those localities is both pure and adequate , at present. Of/ course in the event of a , dr" summer the loss of the Western , Springs supply will be serious unless wo can complete the auxiliary dam at Niho- j tupu. However, in view of what is hap- , polling at the Western Bpnira'ri is quite , clear that the council will.have to> exercise .very' much more stringent control , over the Waitakero and Nihotupu water- , sheds by excluding the public aitoMthcr. , At present picnic parties roam all ov ■ the catchment are* and down to the so ; of the impounding dam. This must be , flopped, as is the case in Australia, and , as I found to bo the case also in the . United States. I shall thereto ask he council to deal with this matUr as ho ; time is opportune to take this piecau tionary measure. ' • . il. "Tho reported contamination of the , Western Springs water, which the cpunci does not admit until it, has investigated further, will no doubt, if established, bo directly traceable to tho very insanitary condition of Point Chevalier/ continued tho Mayor, " and, as I pointed out to the ratepayers of that district soma time ago, tho drainage facilities are. altogether primitive and prejudicial to P U .J o .* ' If the district amalgamates with the city the first-thing the City Council will do will bo to put its drainage in order m the interests of tie, citizens at largo- . In . conclusion ''Mr. Gunson said the public could rest assured thatthe JjWJJ' Ability , entailed in connection with the mate of the water supply was fully realised by the council. . What It could . not do .in the public interests could not be accomplished at all,, inasmuch as it was doing all possible. But for the war, and the consequent shortage of material and labour, the d am would have been finished in 1918, thus obviating , the nso of the Western Springs supply. ■ . .. THE bacteriological ANALYSIS. ORGANIC POLLUTION DISCLOSED. In a further statement yesterday reBasssgSSpr water the'district health omcer, ( JJr. > J-. T Huith'es, said the examination revealed (1,. presence of a germ known a3 the coll bacillus in quantities' that indicated serious organic pollution.. The standard laid down as the test for wholesome .water admitted of the presence of these kc lUin limited numbers in a given I quality later, but > when these proportions . were exceeded to such an' extent as j was found on this occasion, it was regarded as an evidence of serious contamination. While the source of . the contamination was ■ a matter only of conjecture, it was reasonable to suppose, said Dr. Hughes, that it was to be found in the drainage from .tho populated slopes adjoining the springs. The analysis, had < not disclosed the - pretence of any typhoid bacilli, but the presence of the coli bacilli ■in such large numbers pointed to the fact that the water was seriously polluted organic matter. . , . Dr. Hughes said the higher levels of ' the city were hot affected by the water, regarding. which he had ' issued the warning to take the precaution, of boiling it. Only water in which the- Western Springs supply was mixed was 1 under the ban. That"water had now. been cut off, and the mains had been flushed out. Samples of the water in the Newton aid Khyber Pass reservoirs, coming from tho Waitakere and .Nihotupu supplies, ' had now been taken, and were being analysed,. and there was no reason -to suppose that these tests would prove.unsatisfactory. ' ' v , •, ' ' " ■ ONE ' TREE, HILL DISTRICT. ' RESUMING ONEIIUNGA SUPPLY;'" The water-supply for the One Tree Hill district is at present obtained from* the city supply, which comes from Waitakere, but i the district, in the' course of; a few weeks, ' will revert to the use of water ' from the Onehunga Springs. A few years . ago the use of unfiltered water from this ..source was discontinued, and the One Tree Hill Road Board ordered ;a , set of dechlorinating filters. These are now on th« ground, and' when y their: installation: is complete the supply will be resumed. The method of purifying the 'water by this process is to dissolve a minute' quantity of chlorine, a powerful disinfecting agent, in the spring water, which is then pumped •"into the- reservoir containing a week's fuddlv. and freed;from the chlorine by the

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19201210.2.91

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17650, 10 December 1920, Page 8

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1,028

QUALITY OF CITY WATER New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17650, 10 December 1920, Page 8

QUALITY OF CITY WATER New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17650, 10 December 1920, Page 8