Fires and Water Supply.

Southland Times, Issue 5048, 4 October 1884, Page 3

Fires and Water Supply.

PUBLIC MEETING.

A public meeting was held in Sloan's Theatre yesterday evening to consider what steps should be taken to supply the town with adequate means for extinguishing fires. The Mayor presided, and over 300 citizens were present. The Chairman, after stating the objent of the meeting, said he, with those who had signed the requisition, recognised the imperative necessity for some steps being taken so as to ensure the proper subjection of tires, and the prevention of such disasters as thrt of the previous morning.

Mr John Macphersnn said what had induced him to move in this matter was the frequency of firea in Invercargill. "When he arrived in Melbourne on his way back from England, he was almost ashamed to say he was going to Invercargill because of the banter he was sure to meet with about the fires. This was doing a great deal of injury to the town, and to him seemed to indicate a worse state of things than bad bankruptcies would. Since he returned, the fires had been numerous. It •track him that a steam engine should be procured, which would do the work of extinguishing effectively. The Puni Creek was in the middle of the town, and it was suicidal not to utilise it. There had been a difference of opinion as to whether the fmgines should be procured by the Borough Council or whether the Insurance companies si.ould assist. He would not express an opinion on the matter. He supposed the companies knew their own business best. Perhaps it paid them to have fires, but it certainly did not pay the people of the town. Mr H. Carswell moved the following resolution: — "That this meeting is of opinion that immediate action should be ult?D *° &YaU ourselves of the means at our disposal for ext^"!]''' 1 " 11 * fireß by immediately obtaining the most approveu modern appliances." The subject of dealing quickly with fires had been forced upon their attention a great many times during the last few months. Many people doubtless felt the state of thiDgs very keenly, and wondered why they had so long put off getting appliances to put out fires before they caused ruin to some of the citizens. The town was similarly situated in this respect to Christchurch. There they had the river Avon flowing through the town, and even although they had a steam engine they were often at a loss when a fire occurred, the town being so scattered. In Invercargill they would be able, with a good steam engine, to put out a fire before it got any headway at all. He believed LIOOO would procure the means of in many cases saving the citizens from heavy loss, if not absolute ruin.

The motion was seconded by Mr Macpherson. Mr John Kingsland said the thanks of the ratepayers were due to the gentlemen who had arranged for that meeting to consider the very important question of a water supply. But they must be careful in considering the question not to take a one-sided view of it. If they went in for a watar supply they should not only be influenced by the late fire, but they 'should \ consider how to get a supply of water adequate for all the requirements of the town. He could safely say that no town had expended money in procuring a supply of water for fire-extinguishing purposes only. That was perhaps the least important consideration in connection with a supply, as they could insure against fires, which, in fact, frequently did some good by clearing away old wooden buildings to make place for new brick structures. What they wanted was not a temporary arrangement, but a permanent supply. Not only did they want water for extinguishing fires, but also for domestic and sanitaiy purposes. Any temporising with the matter would be ; injudicious and would only mean a loss to the towD. There were several ways proposed of getting a supply. One was to take it from Puni Creek. That would do for fire-extinguishing, but not for sanitary purposes, such as flushing drains and watering streets. At the very time water was most required the creek was at its lowest. In die summer there was only a thin stream of water, and it consisted of the drainage from the cemetery and the southern portion of the town. Would any man with the slightest knowledge of sanitary laws propose to water the streets with such water ? There were also practical difficulties in the way of using the creek during fires. If they had the engine in the town with a long length of suction hose to the creek it would be very costly, and the slightest defect in the hose or the couplings would cause imperfect working. Then, if they placed the engine close to the creek their delivery hose would be very long, and every fireman knew what difficulty they would have in working it. The Puni Creek being 15 feet lower than the rest of the town, so much force would be required that the pip«s would probably frequently burst, and all knew that every foot of delivery pipe meant, because of the friction, so much less force. He wonld be in favor of getting a fire engine, but the only way it could be used would be to connect th* different wells with pipes — ultimately to form part of the reticulation system — to act as syphons, so that when occasion reqnired they could all be exhausted from one. The water from a well would be exhausted by a steam engine just at the time a little was required to keep the fire subdued, and therefore the engine would fail were there not a proper water supply. It was almost unnecessary to speak of the necessity for a water supply. During the last twelve months there had been as much money lost at fires as would have paid three times over for an efficient supply. The people of the town had eventually to pay the losses of the insurance companies, fey means of increased premiums. In re§ard to the sanitary aspect of the question, c would point out that the sewage of the town percolated through the light soil from the drains, so that none of the water from the wells was fit for domestic use. "But," it was said, «we have tanks." So long as the sparrow and the pigeon nuisance existed, and while they had the high winds to blow dust and dirt on to the housetops, the tank water would be unfit for drinking, or e7en a bath, unless .filtered. Wherover cholera, diphtheria, or other epidemics bad been prevalent, they had beenjdirectly attributable to bad drain"age and impure water, and so it p.ppeaved "to him thst it might be well to have an epidemic of fire to show them the necassity for action. It had been said that this water busineea was his '< fad." Well, he |Le gbipgta work hart, as he badbyen

from 1878, at his ** fad" until the Council carried it out. He then detailed the various motions he had brought before the Council while a member of it, all of which had been negatived . He read an extract to show that Mr Gordon's Dunsdalo scheme was based on the hypothesis that the population of the town would be 9000 in 1884, whereas i it was only 5000. Neither the present population nor the rateable i value of the town would justify them going into the large expenditure required for the Dunsdale Bcheme. The estimate was L 86,000 without contingencies, but with contingencies the amount required would probably have increased to L150.0G0. As jsg--Council had only borrowing power for water to the extent of LIOO.OOO, they would have to get their power increased', and that meant, as was shown by the example of Oamaru, that they would be over-burdened with rates. In Victoria it had once been said there was no wat6r underground, but since then the supply from that source had been found to be plentiful. Within the last six years there had been an entire change in the system of water supplies, in fact as much progress had been made in that respect as there had been in the application of electricity. In America, England, and elsewhere aarface supplies had been abandoned where underground water could be obtained. The reason was that the water from a surface supply got more impure every year. The New River water might be pure enough at present, but with the increase of population and the additional drainage and sewage it would soon become unfit for domestic use unless filtered. With the pumping system the water would always be pure and the supply certain. The town was resting on an alluvial drift, through which it was reasonable to suppose all the water from the surrounding high country percolated to the sea. As the surface of Lake Wakatipu was 1000 feet above and the bottom 3000 feet below the sea level, and as a greater volume of water enters it than left it by the rivers, the probability was that the water found its way to the sea through the alluvial drift and all over Southland. His opinion was that they should call in competent engineers to experiment and discover whether or not there was a sufficient supply under foot. It might cost about L3OO, but they should remember that it wad L3OO against an expenditure of over L 70,000. He wanted them to look at the thing fairly, and to take the opinion of men upon whose judgment they could rely. He then proceeded to describe the Holly direct and self-regulat-ing pressure system of pumping by steam engines, and contended that the well at the railway station was proof that an underground supply was available. The only objection to the water there obtained was its quality, but he did not think it was a fair analysis, as the water had been taken from a swamp. He did not ask them to adopt his scheme ; he merely wished them to get competent engineers to experiment and settle this water question once for all. If it was found there was a sufficient supply uC !. hould advocate the borough borrowing money for the uraluago and water schemes, and to pay off their overdraft The dispute would never end if they went oa as at present, but the result of an investigation by experts would settle it. They did not need to go back to the proposal of six years ago ; more progress had been made in the matter of water supply perhaps than ia any other direction. — (Applause.) Mr Jaggers complimented MrKingsland on his good practical speech. He favored the Dunsdale scheme himself, although he would not object to the experiment suggested being tried to settle the matter. There could be no two opinions in regard to a water supply. The people of Invercargill ought to be ashamed of their position in that respect.

Mr Kingsland did not wish to throw cold water on the steam engine business, but he desired them to avoid being lulled into a false footing of security by getting one. The engine could be sold after the permanent scheme was completed. Mr Carswell said it had hardly been the intention of those who signed the requisition that the question of a permanent water supply should be discussed at the meeting. That matter had been considered and talked about for seven or eight years, and they were now as far back as ever. While they were discussing it the town was getting burned down. He denied that there could be any advantage gained by fires, as was hinted by Mr Kingsland. They all tended to raise the insurance premiums, and therefore the public suffered. He had no doubt but if they could hare poured the Puni Creek through a steamengine into the fire on the previous morning the conflagration would have booh been stopped. If one engine were not enough to pump the water up from the creek let them get two, or even three if necessary. It must be two or three years before they could get a permanent supply, and then they could Belli the engines. Mr R. W. Jones explained that even with the water at their disposal they could have confined the recent fire to Mr Smith's shop had they had sufficient force. If they had proper appliances they would not experience any difficulty, as they did at present, in getting good men to join the brigade. He *vas quite sure that if they had a steam engine the water at their disposal would be quite sufficient on all ordinary occasions. The coat of Thursday morning's fire to the Corporation for labor was LSO ; with an engine it would only have been LlO, including everything. All engineers agreed that the fault of artesian schemes was uncertainty.

Mr John Kings'and moved — " That this meeting is of opinion that the Municipal Council should employ a competent engineer to conduct experiments with a view of determining the quantity and quality of water underground, and whether it can be made available for domestic sanitary, and fire purposes." In regard to Mr Jones' remark as to to the uncertainty of the artesian scheme, he might say that he knew of many cases where surface schemes had failed, but not one in which the artesian scheme had failed. Blenheim had got a scheme such as he proposed for LIB,OOO, and Invercargill should therefore be able to do it for L 25.000.

Mr Jaggers seconded the motion. He did not believe there was enough water under foot, but he thought L4OO or LSOO might well be spent in asceitaining the fact beyond a doubt. If it was found that there was not enough water then all opposition would be removed for proceeding with a proper gravitation scheme.

The motion was put and carried unanimously.

The Mayor announced that he would communicate the results of the meeting to the Borough Council. He might say that the Council had already written to ascertain tbe price of American and English engines. That step had been ta,ken before the recent fire.

The meeting closed with the customary compliment to the chairman.