FAIRVIEW WATER SUPPLY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19860, 25 July 1934, Page 5

FAIRVIEW WATER SUPPLY

SCHEME OFFICIALLY OPENED SUCCESSFUL FUNCTION The official opening of the Fairview water supply scheme took place yesterday afternoon in the presence of a fair gathering of residents. The function at the reservoir itself occupied only a few minutes, but later afternoon tea was served in the Fairview Hall, following which a toast list was honoured. At the outset, residents assembled at the reservoir, after having ploughed their way through a paddock of mud. The chairman of the Levels County Council (Mr T. B. Garrick) said that they had assembled that day to officially open the water supply scheme. He intended to ask Mrs T. E. Butchers to turn the water on, as she was one of the oldest residents of the district. Unfortunately, Mrs Butchers would not be one of those who would benefit by the scheme, but it would give her pleasure to turn the water on for others. Mrs Butchers then turned the water on, cheers being given for her. The assemblage then adjourned to the hall. The second function was again oresided over by Mr Garrick, who was supported by Mr C. E. Kerr, a member of the Levels Council, and Mi- H. J. Mathers, a member of the Tiinaru Borough Council. After afternoon tea had been partaken of, Mr Garrick apologised for the absence of the Mayor of Timaru (Mr T. W. Satterthwaite) and Mr W. D. Campbell, and went on to say that the water supply scheme had been mooted about 10 years ago, the leadirg spirits at that time being Mr L. Mathias and Mr Gilmore. In all such schemes opposition was encountered, but on the other hand there were always those who were keen to go ahead with proposals which were likely to prove beneficial. He was sure, now that the scheme had been completed, and was in working order, that all were thoroughly satisfied with it, especially the women, who would find it a boon to them in their household duties. Mr Garrick said that one of the greatest troubles in connection wir'd the scheme, and one which had held it up, had been inability to secure the necessary finance. The depression had set in in 1928, and although the Loans Board had approved of the proposal, none of the Government lending departments would advance any money. As a result, the work had been held up for a long time, but a year ago the settlers had again approached the Council, and this time the efforts to secure the necessary finance had been successful, the amount required £2OOO, having been raised locally. The next step was to let a contract, and Mr V. Panton had been appointed to draw up plans, the tenders of Mr J. T. Hunt and Messrs Mulcahy and Co. being eventually accepted. Mr Garrick said that he thought all would agree that the work had been done satisfactorily. The Timaru Borough Council was making a charge of 6d a 1000 gallons, and apparently there was a little misunderstanding in regard to this, the belief being held by some ratepayers that this charge would cover everything. No provision had been made for maintenance, however, and a meter reader would have to be employed, so that in the finish the charge might be about 1/- a 1000 gallons. Even at that figure, he contended the scheme would be a cheap and useful one. The money had been borrowed at 41 per cent., and the sinking fund at 21 per cent., and both interest and sinking fund would have to be met over and above the actual charge for water. The chairman said that he would be prepared to answer any questions which might be asked. As no questions were forthcoming, Mr Garrick said that he took it that all were quite satisfied. He took the opportunity also of thanking Mr Kerr for the great amount of trouble he had gone to in connection with the scheme, stating that Mr Kerr had been largely responsible in pushing the matter to a successful conclusion. Wonderful Asset. Mr Kerr expressed pleasure at being present at the function, and said that the scheme had been in the air for a great many years. For a long while they seemed to be making very little progress, and as the chairman had said, there had been some opposition, but it had been legitimate opposition. By that he meant that there would be two or three ratepayers who would be participating in the scheme who would be unfairly penalised with it. Some of those present would remember that, he had been in favour of all ratepayers paying the same amount, but the whole tAing was a question of a rateable area. The Council, however, could not see its way to agree to this. Mr Kerr said that reference had been made to the charge of 6d a 1000 gallons, but he considered that the residents were very fortunate in getting water so easily and so cheaply. If they were to use 40,000 gallons in a year, the cost would be only £l. That was a very low sum for a big supply. The chairman had said that something would have to be done to provide for maintenance, but in his opinion the cost should be very low indeed. The cost of meter reading should be infinitesimal. The pipes and reservoir should also last for a long time, so really there was not very much to worry about. In a scheme such as this one, water was the first essential, and in a district like Fairview, which was so high up, it was exceedingly difficult to sink wells and when they were sunk, the water was usually anything but good. He was sure all would agree that the scheme was a valuable asset to the district. Now that the scheme had been put through, he thought the residents of Salisbury would not rest until the water had been extended to them. Water was a wonderful asset, particularly in dry spells, both for household and stock purposes. Mr D. McPhedran replied on behalf of the ratepayers who would benefit by the scheme, stating that he considered that it would be a boon to the district. People would not realise what a wonderful asset it was until thy had had it for some time. The only thing about it was the rate which seemed to be rather heavy! There was one way to get over this! however, and that was to cut the district up, get it more thickly populated, and with more people using the water the rate would to cheaper. If they extended the scheme to Salisbury the cost would also be cheaper to the Fairview people. He had wanted the scheme to start from the Zing Zag, but in that he had not received any support. However, he hoped Mr Kerr would leave no stone unturned until he had the water up to Salisbury. Scheme Outlined. The toast of the engineer (Mr Panton) was then honoured, and in reply Mr Panton briefly outlined the scheme. He said that definite levels and other particulars w-ere taken in 1927. and plans drawn up. A committee of the residents was then appointed and the district accurately defined and

formed in compliance with the legal requirements, and a satisfactory agreement made with the Timaru Borough Council for a supply of water from their race, but at that time no funds were available to carry out the work. However, several enthusiastic workers did not lose heart, but kept the scheme steadily in view, with the result that it was now completed and operating. Among those keen workers, he mentioned two, Mr Lewis Mathias, and Mr McCully. More recently, Mr C. E. Kerr had taken up the torch, or perhaps in this case he should say, the hose, and led the way so that the work could come to fruition. With regard to the scheme itself, Mr Panton said that actual pressures taken last week at various points on the pipe-line gave results in all cases slightly in excess of the calculated pressures given to the committee by his firm in 1928. The reservoir and filters had a capacity of 29.000 gallons, fed continuously from the borough water race, and this should provide ample reserve in case of any temporary shut-do-wn in the race. The total length of piping was just over three miles. To the residents of Fairview. Mr Panton said that their good example in providing a good supply of water would probably be followed by others in the near future. He had very recently taken levels and made a preliminary survey in the Salisbury district, and these indicated that Salisbury could also have a permanent water supply in combination with the Fairview scheme. In conclusion, Mr Panton thanked Mr J. T. Hunt for his work in the construction of the reservoir, Messrs Mulcahy and Co. for their work in forming trenches and laying the pipes, and Messrs Briscoe and Co. for fulfilling their contract for the direct importation of pipes, fittings and meters, all of which, he was glad to say, were of British manufacture. Mr Hunt also briefly replied, extending thanks to Mr Panton and to Mr J. Gribble, for the manner in which he had met the contractors when they had gone on to his property. The toast of “The Ladies” was proposed by Mr Mathers, and was responded to by Mr R. Dale. Mr T. Black proposed the toast of the Timaru Borough Council, which was responded to by Mr T. O. Fox (borough engineer). Mr J. A. Brown extended thanks to the Levels County Council for having put the scheme in hand, the chairman acknowledging Mr Brown’s remarks.