CITY WATER SUPPLY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3959, 28 January 1930, Page 61

CITY WATER SUPPLY.

REPORT BY ENGINEER. SCHEMES FOR INCREASE. lhe I ong-1 ooked-for report of the city engineer (Mr J. G. Alexander) on the water supply of Dunedin, and the means by which it may be increased, was released last week. The heavy expenditure required for an augmented supply of water for the city will not, however, make pleasant reading for the public. If one or other of the engineers proposals is approved by the council it vvill be necessary to float a loan, and it has to be remembered that the Government has just advanced the rate of interest on its own loan money to 5i per cent. Hr Alexander sums up his ideas in three schemes, with the rough estimated cost of each. They are as follows: — Supply from Deep Stream, estimated to give 5,000.000 gallons per day, estimated ‘■'’"t £380.000 Improve supply at Silverstreani to give *1,000,000 gallons per day, estimated cost 500,000 Supply from Lee Stream, estimated to give 5,000,000 gallons per day, estimated cost 390,000 The engineer favours the Deep Stream proposal.

AMPLE RESOURCES AVAILABLE. For the purpose of enabling member) of the City Council t” obtain a firsthand impression of the operations involved in the proposals of the city engineer (Mr Alexander) to increase the supply of water to Dunedin a visit of inspection was made on Saturday to the country from which he supply is to be draAvn.

The party included Crs Begg (chairman of the Water Committee), Scott, \\ ilkinson, \\ ilson, Lawrence, and Marlow, the town clerk (Mr Lewin), the chief clerk (Mr R. A. Johnston), the city engineer (Mi J. G. Alexander), the assistant city engineer (Mr Spencer Scoular), the president of the Dunedin Ratepayers’ Association (Mr W. Ferguson Forrester), Dr Newlands, and Dr Dereus.

The tour must prove of wonderful value to those members of the Citv Council Avho made the journey when the various aspects of the Deep Stream proposal come to be debated at lhe Council Chamber. The intimate knotvledge of the locality—which is pretty extensive in area—of both Mr Alexander and Mr Scoular went to slioav that they had devoted a vast amount of energy and time to their subject. Water, and to spare, of the finest quality for domestic use is in the Deep Stream. The engineering difficulties of bringing it in some 36 miles hold no terrors for the men in charge, and it noAv only remains for the citizens of Dunedin to say, when the details have been finalised, whether the water problem of the past is to be solved for practically all time.