NORTH SHORE WATER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18388, 2 May 1923, Page 11

NORTH SHORE WATER.

REPORT AS" TO ) NEW SUPPLY,

NORTHCOTE AND TH BOARD.

BENEFIT OF-CHLORINATION.

An interim report prepared by Mr. j F. E. Powell for '■ the Lake Takapuna ! Board of Control recommends a source, which does away with '.' Lake Takapuna altogether, according to a statement made by the Mayor of Northcote. Mr. W. E. Richardson at the. meeting of the Borough Council last evening. This supply, however, will not be available for at least five years. ; '■-' ; j Mr. Richardson said the Board of Control '.;. was hopeful that the. proposed scheme would solve the difficult problem of the water supply. A temporary scheme would be provided, pending the necessarywork in connection with' the main supply. Beyond this, the information was so far confidential. ' . . . j At the conference between the Minister for Health, the Hon. C. J. Parr and the Mayors of the four marine boroughs the .day before, continued the Mayor, he had disagreed with" the views advanced by Messrs. Gould and Greville, who had expressed satisfaction with the operations of the board. He had voiced his _ own and the Northcote Council's dissatisfaction with the lack of energy displayed by the board. He could substantiate this view by the number of meetings held during the last year, which did not exceed four or five, . whereas the board had resolved to hold monthly meetings. -.: -He blamed the constitution of the board for this unsatisfactory • positron, rather < than, the chairman,; who was a busy commissioner of lands. ■'■:'■ He had been converted to the view that - the special exemption, of Lake Takapuna from the Health Act, 1920, should be rescinded. Every other source of water in New Zealand •; was amenable, to the authority, of the medicaL officers of health, which he considered the proper authority to enforce measures to ensure the purity of the water .where the controlling body failed to do 50.,; ' j The : -Mayor added that good results were being obtained with the chlorination : of the water at Northcote and Birkenhead.:.., -.'';■;- ■ •'..■•;■■'-'• 'I

A letter was received from the Department of Health intimating that, with; regard to . chlorination, an analysis by the Government bacteriologist of water from a tap in Northcote, showed that bacillus coli was ' absent .in • 100 cubic centimetres of the water. The Mayor pointed out that this was a marked improvement upon the previous report. >'