Water Supply for Waipawa.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXIV, Issue 4340, 12 April 1902, Page 4

Water Supply for Waipawa.

Report of Dr Finch. Water Supply.—With the exception of a very few houses the town of Waipawa depends for its water supply on rain water, collected in tanks, and surface wells, the few exceptions obtaining their water from wells in connection with the river. On February 26th I drove out with Messrs J. Williams and A. E. Jull, to inspect a possible source of water supply for the town, viz., the creek (called I believe Abbotsford creek) which flows into the Manganoaka stream, about five miles from Waipawa. This is, I am informed, the only available means of supply in the neighbourhood of Waipawa, except the river. Abbotsford Creek.—This creek would form a very good source for a water supply for a much larger town than Waipawa ; the supply appears to be ample in quantity, and pure in quality. The watershed can be acquired and the water protected from possible sources of pollution. The formation of the country is very favourable for the erection of a drain, and if the elevation of the lower part of the creek is not sufficiently high for a gravitation supply, the rise in the ground is rapid, and a dam a few hundred yards higher up would give a much higher deviation, with little diminution in quantity. There is, however, one objection, and that is the cost ; included in this objection is the hardness of! the water. It is true that the analyst states that the water is of no greater hardness than some of the water supply of London. It is practically of the same hardness as the water supplied by the East London Water Company. The latter has a hardness of 14 u and this creek of 14.6°. I have had practical experience of the trouble this water gives when it is boiled. Boilers in kitchen ranges must be cleaned out once in six months or they will burn and crack. Hot water supply pipes become choked by the deposit. Kettles quickly become coated inside with a thick fur; the water is unpleasant for washing purposes and causes an appreciable increase in the amount of soap that has to be used. It is not so good for eooking purposes as a softer water. In the copy of the analysis which I have sent, you will see that the greater amount of the total hardness is temporary, that is it can be removed by boiling, and is then deposited in the vessel in which it is boiled, or it can be removed by being treated with lime in exactly calculated proportions before being supplied to the consumer. This

method of treatment costs money and that is why I stated above that the objection of the hardness was included in the objection of the cost. This latter point is, however, only a small point compared to the oost of a main supply pipe for a distance of at least five miles. I have not tried to obtain an estimate of the cost of this scheme as this is a question for an engineer. I certainly advise that the cost should be inquired into before any other scheme is finally adopted. If this is not the water supply of Waipawa of the present, it is a very good source for the supply of Waipawa of the future, and if a favourable opportunity occurs the watershed should be acquired. Many a town has had to pay a heavy price for a watershed or water rights, which might have beerf acquired at comparatively little oost a few years previously. Waipawa River.—The sample of water sent for analysis was obtained from a pipe in the brewery, as a sample from the well at present in use for flushing the sewers could not be readily obtained. It has been suggested that a water supply could be obtained from a similar well to the one at present in use and pumped into a reservoir on the high land of Waipawa, by means of a turbine worked by the river itself. In every river there are two portions of the stream, the visible and the invisible portion. In other words in a river flowing in a gravel bed, such as the Waipawa liver, there is an invisible portion that j flows beneath and at the sides of the visible portion of a very considerable volume. It is from this invisible portion j that the supply would be obtained, and the force of the visible portion would be used to pump it up. It is naturally | purer than the visible stream as it is being continually filtered through gravel, and analysis shows it to be an exception- [ illy pure water. It must be admitted that such a supply cannot be protected i irom pollution in the same way that a supply from a small watershed can be • protected. Section 61 Public Health ! Act, 1900, makes it illegal for anyone ! to pollute any stream forming any part of the water supply of a local authority. ! Though there may be some slight risk of j pollution, I assert confidently that such a risk should be ignored, when it is a question of that water supply or none at all. -Ireater risks are run every day, through not having a public water supply at all, ind also by the majority of towns, which liave a public water supply. Perfection cannot be had without paying for it, but if you are willing to pay for perfection, by all means do so. The softness of the vater makes it a much more suitable vater than the Abbotsford creek, for all purposes. As far as can be ascertained at present the points for and against either source of supply can be summoned up as follows : For Abbotsford Creek—Water can be acquired and protected from pollution. A gravitation supply is, other thing being equal, preferable to a pumping scheme. Against Abbotsford Creek.—Hardness of the water, expense of a main for a distance of 5 miles. For Waipawa River.—Water is softer, the scheme is probably less expensive. Against Waipawa River.—Possible risk of pollution, pumping scheme involves a certain amount of annual expense. The main point of uncertainty at present is the difference in cost between the two Bohemes. I recommend that some estimate of the cost of each scheme be obtained, and then you will be in a better position to judge which is the most suitable. Perhaps I should have considered first, the necessities for a public water supply at all before going into any details as to the available sources of supply. Those to whom the advantages of a public water supply are not self evident will probably not be convinced by any long essay on the subject by me, so that I do not intend to dwell on this point. With regard to the quantity of the present means of supply, there is always a certain amount of uneasiness where the supply consists of rain water stored in tanks, after a few weeks of dry weather. With regard to the quality of the supply, the foulest waters that are ever submitted to analysis generally come from rain water tanks or from surface wells. That part of Waipawa which lies below the railway needs a water supply quite as much as any other part. Surface wells are always liable to pollution from drainage unless they are properly protected, and the wells there are also liable to pollution from the sewer outfall. One sample of water from a well there, which was sent to me for analysis, had such an offensive smell that it condemned itself. Another sample from a fresh well close to proved on analysis to be polluted. Two more samples from other wells proved to be suspicious. Whether chemical analysis proved these wells to be polluted or not* their position relative to the sewer outfall is a dangerous one, and if typhoid fever once broke out in the higher part of the town it would be exceedingly likely to be spread by means of these wells. If adequate tanks are provided, there is, however, no need to use these wells. The view that I take with regard to a public water supply is that it is mainly a question of cost. I do not urge a water supply at all costs, as Waipawa is not a large crowded town with its large yearly death roll from preventible diseases, but I do state that a water supply will be beneficial to the public health, and that it is probable it can be obtained at a reasonable cost. Infectious diseases.—There have been three cases of diphtheria recently in the town. It is extremely likely that one case will infect a large number of the community, especially the children, if no steps are taken for isolation and disinfection. It is equally probable that the steps that were taken by your inspector promptly checked its spread. It is most important that the instructions issued by the Health Department, with regard to isolation and notification of the school teachers should be carefully carried out. The instructions of the doctor who attends the case are of course a most important factor in the prevention of the spread of infectious disease, but what I wish to point out is that the attending doctor cannot be responsible for all the precautions that are necessary, being carried out, and that a great responsibility rests on the Town Board or their appointed official. With regard to the origin of the first case of diphtheria it is quite possible that infection may have been brought into the town from outside, as there have been a few cases in the neighbourhood. Diphtheria has, however, been found to be frequently associated with an impure water supply, and this is another reason for the provision of a public supply. (To be continued).