THE WEATHER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20330, 11 February 1928, Page 13

THE WEATHER.

WELCOME FALL OF RAIN. NOURISHMENT FOR PARCHED AREAS. INVALUABLE TO THE COUNTRY. The change which took place in the weather yesterday afternoon can best be described as one of the greatest benefits reaped by the community since the be ginning of the year. Practically ever since the holidays the weather has been extremely warm, with the result that pastures and vegetation have been more or dried up, especially on hilly country, while the anxiety of residents in the country districts, where the water supply is dependent upon the capacity of the household tanks, has been considerable. A fortnight ago somo of the people in the country were wondering what they were going to do if rain did not fall very soon, and with the continued dry weather their plight must have been dccidedlv unenviable. “The best weather experienced, this year,” will undoubtedly be the verdict of those who have the welfare of the country at heart when they considered the conditions prevailing last night. No doubt thousands of people were caught unawares, having become so used to the sunshine that thev never gave a moment s thought to the question of providing themselves with pro tcction against rain, but, no doubt, they were sufficiently philosophical, to realise that a wetting" was worth while in view of the value of the rain to the community generally. It is safe to say that no one welcomeu the rain more than Or Begg (chairman of the Water Committee of the City Council), who has had a very anxious time during the last few weeks in his efforts to safeguard the interests of the community in regard to this very essential commodity. In convcration with a Daily Times reporter about 6 n.m. yesterday, Cr Begg stated that the fall up to that time had not been sufficient to relieve the situation to any material extent, but that if it continued for some hours an improvement would un doubtodly result. Judging by the conditions prevailing during the next few hours Or Begg’s hopes are likely to be realised, and the question of a shortage of water should not obtrude itself for some time. It was a gentle, steady rain, which is infinitely better than a heavy downpour. Cr Begg also made a reference to the water supply in the Anderson’s Bay . district. It was mentioned in Thursday s issue that when the pumping was first started a flange gave way, necessitating a delay extending over a few hours. Repairs were promptly effected, and operations were resumed at 10.50 on Wednesday night Undcr normal conditions a pressure of 1601 b to the square inch ,is sufficient to supply water to the Glendmms Home, "hich , lS highest point in the . locality, but after the pump had been in very short time a pressure ' reached. The city engineer (Mr J. G. Alexander! then decided that it « S imc to call a halt and the pump was dosed down. That the City Council s efforts to as- . J the of nonreciated is shown by the tact tnat early on Thursday morning a telephone message was received from the licensee S thl Shiel Hill Hotel (one of the highest points in the district), who expressed his thanks to the Water Depart-• ment for the excellent supply he had revived* Almost immediately afterwards Mr J. H. Hancock, who is now living in the Anderson's Bay district, rang to thank the city engineer for having irrigated his garden. The surmise is that the pressure was so great that some ot the fittings on Mr Hancocks premises gave way, and that he received a copious SU §)he purapi which was installed at Ross’s, Corner was put in as an experiment, and the initial operations proved so successful that it was decided to proceed further in the direction of permanency. This involved the disconnection of the pump for the time being to enable a concrete bed to be put down, with the result that operations lave been suspended in the meantime. “ I was oofc there with the city engineer this afternoon, ’ said Cr Begg, “ and the workmen were just putting tfie finishing touches to the motor, which has been put down in quick-setting cement. Everything is now in readiness for a resumption of pumping at any time it is required.” . „ .. ‘•The effect of the pumping, said Cr Begg, “coupled with the prohibition of hosinc enabled the residents qt the district g to get sufficient water into their cisterns to meet their normal requirements, with the result that the position is considerably better now than it was previously. If normal conditions prevail from now onwards it will be necessary to use the pump only at intervals. It may be mentioned that on one day this week the consumption of water in the city and suburbs amounted to no less than 6,500,000 gallons, which meant an average of about 8U gallons per head of population. The normal consumption is about 75 gallons per head per day, but the amount quite recently soared as high as 85 gallons per head. The relationship between sultry weather and an unduly heavy consumption of water may best be indicated by stating that on one day this week the draw-off exceeded the amount flowing into the reservoirs by no less than 2.060,000 gallons. If this had continuejd for any length of time the effect can easily be imagined. An application to the City Council for a special permit to water a private garden in one of the suburbs in view of a function to be held to-day met with a prompt and decisive refusal, especially in view of the fact that the garden comprised about three-quarters of an acre. RAIN AT QUEENSTOWN. QUEENSTOWN, February 10. A fairly heavy shower fell this morning, and was followed by dull and theratening conditions. At 5.30 p.m. rain again commenced to fall? and since that rime it has ben coming down steadily. ihe barometer is still high.