“ACUTE SHORTAGE”

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19803, 3 December 1938, Page 4

“ACUTE SHORTAGE”

GISBORNE WATER SUPPLY START OF RESTRICTIONS USE OF HOSES LIMITED THREAT OF PROSECUTIONS Concern over the acute position ol GiStoorne’s water supply was expressed to-day by the borough engineer, Mr. E. R. Thomas, who said that it would be necessary for the council to employ inspectors to prosecute persons using unattended hoses if there was no immediate relief.

“So acute Is the situation that we will have to stop the use of hoses altogether within a day or two if there is no week-end rain of any extent,” said Mr. Thomas. “The fall at midday was of no consequence, barely Jin. of rain being recorded at the headworks.”

It would be of assistance to the council if the residents would report any leakages in the mains, and also have any of their leaky household taps attended to promptly.

The reservoir, Mr. Thomas pointed out, was now only half full and the inflow overnight was not sufficient to make up the daily draw-off for the requirements of the town, especially with the excessive use of hoses.

For the purposes of fire-fighting the desired pressure was from 50 to 601 b., but the position now was that there was generally only 251 b. pressure on the outer rim of the reticulated area and that dropped almost to nil at 6 p.m. each day, when the draw-off was at its peak. Outside the reticulated area some taps had been placed on the reads by the council, the water for those taps being drawn from the borough mains. Mr. Thomas stressed the fact that the water from those sources must be used only for household purposes and not for washing cars and watering stock.