WATER SHUT-OFF

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17453, 30 December 1930, Page 6

WATER SHUT-OFF

AIRLOCKS IN PIPE LINE' FINDING THE WEAK SPOTS The disagreeable consequences of an enforced cessation of the water supply were brought home to householders and business men to-day, when the borough was shut off for an extended period. The shut-off was occasioned by the. necessity for repairs to the pipe-line, resulting from the recent lowering of water in the reservoir and the consequent reduction of pressure in the system. .The. explanation of the situation given by the Mayor, Mr. D. W. Coleman, this morning should be of general interest, both in its application to the present shortage of water, and for future reference. This morning’s shut-off was necessitated by airlocks formed in the pipe--1 in,* during the, period of low pressure in the system on Sunda.v, when the level of the reservoir at To Arai fell 7ft. or Bft. During this period, air penetrated the pipe system, and when the level of the reservoir rose again, airlocks occurred which, with the. increase of pressure in the pipes, quickly found the weak points. It was during the repairs thus necessitated that to-day’s shut-off occurred. The Mayor commented with relief 1 upon the change in. the weather con-, ditions, and the. promise of rain ini the near future. The past few days had been a period of anxiety with regard to the water supply, especially in view of the possibility of insanitary I conditions arising in the event of a prolonged shut-off of the supply.