Watering the Desert.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12179, 30 January 1903, Page 3

Watering the Desert.

COOLGARDIE'S. WATER SUPPLY. MR CHAMBERLAIN'S CONGRATULATIONS. ■; Unitedr Press Association.— By Electric Telegraph.— Copyright. \; Fremantle, uannWry-24. In connection with .the Coolgardie water scheme, Mr Ohatnborlam has cabled congratulating Sir John Forrest on the completion of this, groat* t enterprise and , on . his courage and statesmanship*.^ ,■ -' A. little, over twelve years «ays • the Sydney Morning Herald have passed , since ( Western , Australia -recaiv«>d responsible : government, and a .little over, ten since Messrs Bay.K>y -and Ford made their rich discovery •, of gold on the spot where the to\»n of Coolgardie now stands. Teleg.uphic communication between Southern Cro^ss, Coolgardie, and KalgoorUe followed in 1894, and next' jvar a contract was let for the construction of the railway from Southern Cross to Coolgardie. The railway was opered early in 1806, and. a few months later it was continued to Kalgoorlie. , The great want of the goldfields— a ftgu!lar, plentiful, and cheap' supply of water— had yet to be met- ' Hon who joined in the rush following upon <*he announcement of Bayley's. discovery -were met by returning diggers who warned them €o wait until there had" •been a good, fall of rain. In the early part of the rush so much as , half-a-crown. was' gladly given f6r> a .small watern&gfol, and men. fought with, each other vn their eagerness to ob- ; tain supplies at /this price. ' Greater care was later taken in the preservation of the scanty natural supply, and in 1894, the year when telegraphic - communication was established, - betweep! tl^e, goldfields, water could be' obtained at a shilling a gallon. Early in that year, a. visitor to Coolgardie, a Mr . J. S. Talbot, was struck with the feasibility oi supplying ib\e. field, with a plentiful and. regular .. supply oi water by aqueduct. He .was, not- 'aya v .professional man, 'but he had seen the great pumping station ,on the bank di Lake 'Michigan from which. Chicago is supplied with waterj and" it struck him that a similar enterprise could be es~ tablisHed - in: Western Australia. Mr Talbot was brought before Sir ' John Forrest's Government by Mr Muher, and the 'then Premier took the matter up, and successfully pressed it on Par r liament. To all these persons, and to the Tate Mr C. Y. O'Connor, the" En-gineer-in-Chief, on wnose design 'the aqueduct was constructed, tie credit is due of having: manfully, perseyered ■under difficulties in the Vonduct of the undertaking. . ' The object of the Coolgardie , Water scheme is to supply the goldfields of Coolgardie and the surrounding district with' five million r gallons of fiesh water a day. The supply would^meet an 'important requiriement' .even; if thfe 1 district were not in gold-bearing country, for the water is needed for drinking and .sanitary purposes, see 1 ing that in many cases the local water is not fit for drinking purposes, and not readily available for ,the uses to which water should be put. in ris- • ing towns in a hot country;!.. But there is also to be considered the well-being ' of the industry on which these , ( dis-tricts-depend for population and prosperity. The water available contains . too much salij, and has other impurities which render it unsuitable for battery purposes, and> without t a regular supply of, suitable, water . tbe number of dividend-paying Prunes must remain small. The districts have' the gold in satisfactory quantities, but in present circumstances they, cannot make the Teturns which they'otherwise would. Hence the determination of the State to adopt the suggestion of the aqueduct. The cost of the scheme, which involved the laying of one of the longest pipe lines in the world, has been estimated at 2J millions, but this does not include the cost of the reticulation of the towns ol Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, , * Boulder, and Southern Cross. . The Government will probably have to find the capital for this work in -at least the first three districts named, but thm the municipalities concerned will be charged with the interest on the money advanced, and, with the cost of lfrying the service pipes. No conclusive estimate' has yet been. made, as io ,the cost of retictdationj, but, vas has been the experience, in " simiLaif enterprises elsewhere, the demand will grow with the supply; and tHe municipalities will have little difficulty in securing' enough custom; in the mines/ and elsewhere to ■ furnish- them, with ample means to repay the charges' made 1 by the Government.' The largeness of. the enterprise may be gathered from the estimate of revenue, and expenditure made by the Minister for Works. Tbe interest on the capital^ £2,500,000 at .3i per cent, is £87,500, and' with 1 per cent added for -sinking fund, £25,000, we have loan charges £112,500 a year. To this must be added the cost of maintenance, which the Minister tim*tes at £237,500. Adding these totals, together we have £350,000, which the scheme must make up every year before its annual cost to the State has been met. • • . - It is highly probable that /the maintenance charges will not be so heavy as if . estimated, and that in process of ti^ne various economies of manage ment may be introduced which will sensibly reduce them. Some of the trouble has arisen through a mistaken computation as to' the amount of water required on the ?oMfields, and the scheme was constructed on /the calculation that the Umly r<* jviren-ent would fee five million geHoig. In•taad, it is now ascertained that less

than half this amount a-iii be immediately required. ,It has is»cn calculated that , jas connection .is gradually made with the different l'.iiiet* in. the goldfields the, revenue' vfiVi approach £90,000 a year.. ,,' The .municipalities, would add Vabout- .^108,00^ to this, amd the cailways may be relied bndfor the contribution of some £^45,000 a year. These sums would amount to ft. yearly revenue- of over £260,0|00, leaving- a difference i bet Ween revenue and expenditure of some JtOO,'n;o. liut this is admittedly, calculated on pie■«nt. demand, : and experience shows that this is certain to increase at a vtrjr, early date. Thus there are reasonable prospects of the scheme becoming at no distant date a property which will pay working expenses and interest on the capital concerned. It will also be of, great benefit indirectly, improving as it will the sanitary conditions of the districts served, and increasing the comfort of ihe'inhohiiants besides adding considerably to tbe yearly output from the mines. The State therefore has not only to plume itself upon possessing , one 6f the longest pipe -lines in the world, if indeed it be not the longest, but also on having carried to a is■uesue a project which . will be beneficial from the first, .and' which before long, knless, some unforeseen accident happens, will be reproductive in every sense of the. word.