WATER SUPPLIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27042, 29 March 1949, Page 4

WATER SUPPLIES

DUNEDIN AREA EARLY REPORT PROMISED A survey of the possibilities of a supply of water being obtained from the Taieri River to augment the city water supply will probably be presented to the Dunedin City Council before three months have elapsed. This information was given to the council last night by the chairman of the Water Committee, Cr N. D. Anderson. He added that the report would include any other scheme that was considered practicable. Cr Sidey said that the services of an outside expert should have been obtained, if one were available, to submit a report. He asked what had happened to this proposal. Cr Smith said he also recalled that a motion was carried by the council recommending that an outside report should be obtained. He asked if the Water Committee had turned down the recommendation and had instructed the city engineer, Mr S. G. Scoular, to go ahead. He also asked whether the city engineer would do nothing else for three months. Cr Wright expressed the opinion that the committee was wise in setting a time limit of three months. In his reply, Cr Anderson said thai the committee was empowered to obtain the services of an outside engineer. but it had decided to avoid delay and ask the city engineer to do the work. An independent engineer would take some time to get information now possessed by the city engineer. By a re-organisation of the staff, he said, the work could be done within three months. No other work would suffer as a result of these investigations. Cr E. J. Anderson said he thought Mr J. M. Stewart (who had sunk the bore at Taieri for the council) should be given an opportunity to address the council on the city water supply. He had plans for using water stored at Mahinerangi in the city supply in periods of emergency. Cr N. D. Anderson agreed to convene this meeting. He added that m the past three weeks the water position had improved from a total storage of 84.526.000 gallons to 108,786,000 gallons at present. The supply was only about 38,000,000 gallons lower than capacity. Others present at the meeting were the Mayor, Sir Donald Cameron, and Crs Jolly, Barr, Barnes, Armitage and Hayward.