POLLUTION OF KAIKORAI STREAM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14156, 7 March 1908, Page 7

POLLUTION OF KAIKORAI STREAM

THE MINISTER TO BE APPROACHED.

„A meeting of the ratepayers of Kaikorai Valley and Green- Island districts, Zt " vened by Mr John Miller, chairman of th.raieriXounty Council, waa held in &- Marks Hall, Green Island, - last .night to dl « ou «'the, matter-of the drainage into, - and the pollution of, the Kaikorai Stream!. iu ""J*si? ' he M »y«r of Green leland 7 (Mr W. Geddes) was voted to the chair, ■and having explained the object of 'th, meeting, said he; would do his beet towards furthering its .object Their present idea was to get the Minister of Public Health to meet them. Cr M. Stevenson then moved-!' That this meeting ask tho Alinistor of Publio Health to meet the various local bodies interested in the drainage of the Kaikorai •xJ'j L He md the Taieri CountyCoun-: cil had had a Drainge Committee for, some years. Several conferences had been 1 ' held, and two sets of plans had been propared. The Minister of Publio Health had Men approached and asked to inspect the Va ley, but nothing had come of it. Roslyr and Mornington had advanced another' soneme, to drain through the tunnel: but tho Drainage Board would not entertain'" it. Roslyn at present did not undertake V to take steps in relation to many factories' now pollutinjr the stream, so'that scheme v would not bo of much benefit to dwellers in' the Valley. This meeting had'been held with a view of coming to a definite arrangement, to which all residents of.the> - Kaikorai • Valley should be parties. :' ' Mr J- Lindsay seconded the motion. The Chairman said it would be advisable to enlist the sympathies of the first of all. . There had been too : many conflicting schemes, and no one would

give in. "■' .' > ■-■;• Cr Freeman said that if the Roslyn Borough did carry out its scheme it would : rob: Borne residents of the Valleyof their riparian rights. f! Mr W. Thomson asked how much' this '■'' drainage business had cost the Taieri • County already. Cr Stevenson replied about £60. The' S?« ,># one' Schema submitted had been 121.700- for tho main drain, not including reticulation. 6 :

In reply to another question the Chairman said tho idea was to get an'area pro-,*, olaimed before anything else was done '■'' Dr'Will pointed out that there 'was'no possibility of sewage coming down pibds '■ without a. water supply. If all the water : - was used for this purpose there would bo no creek. -■.■■■< -Mr Thomson said that if the rent-roll ■ from the rateable area was insufficient-W--money-lender would fall back on the CountyCouncil The time had not yet arrived ■ for the formulation of.an elaborate drain-". ago scheme for tho Kaikorai Valley, whoso' '■ rent roll would be unable to bear.'it.'The v water must come first. It was his-'opinioii--.' as_ a ratepayer of the county, scheme as suggested was premature; . ; -'. Or Stevenson said that no liability would • t attach itself to the county or ratepayers. A bill! through Parliament would cause -' the.monoy to be borrowed under the, Local,, Bodies Act. TW district was'ready to bear 7 the, cost, whieVwrcwi only nm to 4d in the pound on The saleable value.of the pro- ' . perty. If Roslyn put in a separate J sewer/"' v leavuig tho rest of the sower untouched, his hearers would only be losers.. Dr Will asked what power they had to* prevent Roslyn from doin? things its own way?

ho M piy being forthcoming, Mr Thomson said, that 1 during the last two years his rates had been much higher, and ho did not see where this was going to stop. He would, like to know why all this taxation was going on. The Count* Council seemed to have no idea of reducing the rates. Ho would advise tho County Council to cry halt ■ ' ■ The motion was put and .carried. > 'The Chairman believed that Dunedin City m taking the drainage through the tunnel was doing,an unneighbourly action. ■Dr. Will said they had.boon told that W. in the pound would pay for the scheme. Would it pay for the depreciation and interest ov £40,000? He was in fa\our of dramago,. but wished to know where ho w » s - -Petter to have the "smells and the stinks than to be sold up. The first, scheme was only £15,000, and every scheme got bigger. The outlook was a serious one. Thoy/musfc go slowly. The Taieri County Council was only indirectly interested, but the residents were vitally so. A definite plan ought to bo formed and tho oost ostimjitfid before anything else was done. They had a mournful warning in other borough's ' that had gone in for larger schemes without counting the coat. Or Stevenson said it was only a niatte--of a few years for the Public Health De- ' partinent to step in. They allowed other boroughs to pollute their stream. If the ' Minister could get tho boroughs to come to a finality it would be an excellent thing. Thomson said the Taieri County Council had only come to Ihcm becauso they were "dead beat."

Fiirthor desultory discussion took place, '<--' till the Chairman reminded those present : '- that fcho business of the meeting had con--eluded with the passing of Cr Stevenson's motion. ■ . The attendance was only fair.