WAIMATE WATERWORKS

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13264, 19 April 1907, Page 6

WAIMATE WATERWORKS

THE OPENING CEREMONY. The official ceremony in connection with the opening of the Waimate water supply took' place yesterday in the- presence of about, 300 townspeople. , The function took place in Queen street near the County Council Chambers, where two hoses were connected with a stand-pipe, and attached to the end of each was a hydrant securely fastened to' 'the fence with the nozzles pointing upwards.. The Mayor said he was pleased to see the interest taken in the event by such a gathering ; of the people. They had had the use of the water for some time, but that day they would have the opportunity of testing "its quality and witnessing the pressure that could be obtained. He then called on Mr Morgan, chairman of the water committee, to address the gathering. Mr Morgan said the reservoir had a capacity of 686,000 gallons, and if anything went wrong with the reservoir, a by-pass had been put .in, so that they could bring the water direct fromi the 'intake to the town. Over 400 houre connections had been put in outside the original scheme, and the supply was equal to 40 gallons per head for a population of 13,500., In Queen street the pressure was 88 to 901bs to the square inch, and in High -'stree 1 - it went up to' 120Jb to the square inch. Fifteen miles of pipes had been laid, and there was a pressure gauge at the Council Chambers, so that anyone could always ascertain what the pressure was. The Mayor then turned on the water which was thrown to a height of about 60 feet, and. was allowed to continue play-, ing for about a'quarter of an hour. When the jets had ceaeed playing, the Mayor again mounted the table and'.said he had great pleasure in declaring th<; : waterworks open and available' for all practical purposes. The quality of the wafer was first-class and the supply was ample for the town for a great number of years. One thing he hoped to see take place before long was the inclusion of the suburban residents in the borough, and the formation of a "Greater Waimate." He congratulated the ratepayers on the manner in .-which they had backed up the Council, and concluded by apologising for (he absence of Dr Barclay, who had been a most energetic member of the Council; also for the county chairman (Mr P. Studholme), and the contractor for pipes (Mr Burt).. Sir W. J. Steward congratulated the Mayor and Council on the completion of the scheme. When lie was Mayor of Oamaru, with a population of a little more than double that of Waimate, they had to face an expenditure of £160,000 to obtain a water supply, so that Waimate had obtained an efficient supplv for about one-fifth of Ihis amount. Three things; were essential in' a water scheme—purity, pressure and supply—and they had these fully assured. In the future, no doubt, they would have to consider the Question of a supply for power purposes. Another

thing tliey -would have to consider was a drainage scheme. He congratulated the Mayor on having performed that day the most important duty that had yet fallen to his lot. Mr Crawford, the engineer, thanked the speakers for their kind remarks on the successful completion of the scheme, and he in turn congratulated ;Mr Hodges, the contractor, who had carried out his work well within contract time, and had done it remarkably well. Mr Hodges thanked the Mayor and Mr Crawford for their references to his work, and remarked that he could not have completed it so successfully if he liad not had such a good working staff as was with him. On the call of Sir W. J. Steward three cheers were given for lhei Waimate waterworks, and the Mayor invited all who wished to partake of light refreshments.