THE WATER SUPPLY.

Southland Times, Issue 19395, 8 November 1924, Page 4

THE WATER SUPPLY.

The Invercargill Fire Board would be failing in its duty if it did not strengthen the hands of the Town Council by urging that steps must be taken to develop the borough’s water supply so that future requirements may be met. Members of the Fire Board are probably aware of the fact that the Councillors are alive to the need for development along these lines. The Mayor is an ardent advocate of the Dunsdale gravity scheme, and it is no secret that he favours action at the earliest possible moment. At the present moment the Corporation is compelled to put restrictions on the use of water on gardens in the borough, a movement which betrays official concern, and in the face of these steps it cannot be said that the future, from the fire-fighting standpoint, is free of anxiety. No doubt the fire brigade would be adequately supplied in the event of an outbreak of fire at the present moment — though we presume that on this there are still divergences of opinion—but with the development of the sanitary installation the capacity of the present plant will be so taxed that the fire brigade's margin of safety will be insufficient. Hie Fire Board is not concerned with the merits of the Dunsdale scheme, compared with those of any other method of supply, but experience shows that the gravity system finds most favour with the authorities, and it would therefore appear that in preparing for the future the Corporation’s efforts will be be directed to a scheme in which machinery will not play a vital part. The Fire Board’s resolution will provide the Town Council with, a chance to put thia questiDK. in the

forefront of its immediate business, because it looks as if action is desirable at once. If the matter is taken in hand seriously this year it will be 1926 at best before the change over can be made, and by that time the need for the large water supply will be so urgent that it will cause anxiety.