THE CITY’S THIRST

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 103, 4 May 1938, Page 8

THE CITY’S THIRST

CONSUMPTION OF WATER REVIEW BY THE ENGINEER 683 MILLION GALLONS LAST YEAR INCREASE OF 8 PER CENT. Wanganui’s consumption of watei I during the year ended March 31 last, ► was 683 million gallons, Mr. Row ic-i ported to the council. This was an ■ increase of 51 million gallons, or 8 per cent, over the previous year. “This increase is of greater significance and more indication of the dry j summer when it is remembered that hosing restrictions were enforced' from November 12 onwards, whereas.; in the previous year, no hosing o t i other restrictions were made on the; use of water,” Mr. Row added. "Al- • though the rainfall at Okehu ua> J above average, the rainfall in the cil.» ; was particularly low. being only 4 J per cent, of that at Okehu. The following is a summary of iik I water consumption statistics foi lhe| year: Gallons. From Okehu 624,400,uu0 J From Kai Iwi Springs . 50.6(M;,0U'> * From Virginia Lake 8.30<.»,00»l - * Tot a I Consu mpt ion 683.300.00* » i That IMscoioured Waler “The general standard oi waler de-1 livered *o the city has been bettci } than in previous years as the result , of attempts to pump spring watei ’ whenever the Okehu supply was dis-! coloured. Unfortunately, it has not j always been possible to eliminate thisl discoloured water on account of the .small reserve margin in the Westmere i reservoir. With only aoout two da>.-. ' supply In the reservoir, it is oftenj necessary even with the pump in’ operation to allow a quantity ol Okehu water through, and it is n*«t , always possible to start up the pump immediately rain starts at Okehu. It is considered unwise to allow the rc- f servoir to fall below half-lull, as the* city would be without water in thcj event of a serious break in the pipei lines. Additional storage adjacent to the city is very necessary, particularly in view of the advanced age of; much of the pipe line. “Water from Virginia Lake had t*»! be used on several occasions for short. periods when the storage in the re-; wervoir fell to a dangerous level. This! water is most unsatisfactory, and *s-| looked upon as a reserve supply in ex-j treme emergencies only. “It is proposed to submit a com-1 prehensive report on the city's water) supply problems at an early date.' j Kai Iwi Pumping Station "The pumping station was operaleu on many occasions throughout the I year, both on account of water short age from Okehu and when the Okehu water was discoloured owing to heavy' rains. "The total pumping done during the; year was as under: Hours. Gallons. No. 1 Pump 71 li 42,700,0Uu| No. 2 Pump 146? 7 900.UUU Total - 50.600,000 LeaKaae at Okehu Alarming “The Okehu dam was emptied and; cleared of silt and clay in July. Repairs and renewals have been carried out on the pipe lines leading waler m the Mangahoropito ValHy to tlu tunnel. The leakage thiough the dam is still of rather alarming proportions, bat an attempt to reduce the amount by a blanket of pugged clay is now in progress. As a result of the relatively wet winter and occasional heavy rains, the stream flow in both the Okehu imd Mangahoropito Valleys remained very satisfactory throughout the summer.

WANGANUI TRAMWAYS

LOSS ON YEAR’S WORKING PURCHASE OF NEW BLS THE CAUSE A loss in the Wanganui tramways operating account for the past financial year is revealed in the annual report of the tramways engineer • Mr. L. F. Row) tabled at the City Council’s meeting yesterday. "The year ended with an excess revenue over operating expenses of £3OO. but, after purchasing a new motor omnibus costing £1432, the operating account showed a Joss of £1132,” Mr. Row reports. “This loss reduced the credit balance from £1237 at the commencement of the year to £lO5 at the end of the year. "This is the first time in many years that the tramway department has shown a loss on the year’s operating account, and the following figures are show n for purposes of comparison :

Year 1934-35 £1735 profit i Year 1935-36 £llOl profit | Year 1936-37 „ £6lO profit I Year 1937-38 £1132 loss | "During these four years, the total ■ revenue from all sources has risen by £1595, or 7.1 per cent., but the total annual wages bill has risen by £3976, or 33 per cent. Uniike most, other business undertakings, no attempt has been made to pass on this increased cost to, the users of the trams. AlI hough a new omnibus was purchased this year, it must be remembered that with the exception of 1936-37 greater amounts were expended in each of the above years on plant or track extensions and alterations. (The above figures do not include interest, sinking fund, or depreciation. After allowing for re-payments and accrued sinking funds, the net debt on the tramway undertaking is 'still £151.389 on which annual charges amounting to £15,741 have to be met j from the council’s interest account.) ; Revenue. "By comparison with the previous year, the revenue from tram fares and bus fares was greater by £522 and £39 respectively. Genera! revenue other than fares was less by £146. The figures for the two years were as under: - I J 936-37 1937-38| £ £ I Tram fares .. 20,607 21,129 J Bus fares 1,638 1,677 1 General 1,377 1,231 "The rise in fares can be attributed partly to the exceptionally fine summer and partly to the fact that increased spending power, as the result of industrial legislation, was effective for about six months only ;in the year 1936-37. It is difficult, however, to anticipate revenue from i fares. For example, the farse for March 1938 were £B2 less than for , March 1937. Expenditure. “the expenditure on power, fuel, traffic, staff and similar items represents approximately the sime ser- . \ ice, as no change has been made in ; the time-table for some years. Exi penditure on tr ack and overhead ■ lines maintenance, however, can be :i eg u lated to some extent according to the standard of maintenance desired. The following table shows the I amounts expended on track and overhead lines maintenance, including j subsidies on labour from the Employ- ■ ment Promotion Fund:— Council’s Slate Share Subsidy Total t £ £ 1934- 2949 1440 43891 1935- 3889 1203 5092 1936- 4628 1817 64451 1937- 3711 976 4687. “When allowance is made for the I J increase in wages costs, it can be seen I that maintenance expenditure was | I much lower than in previous years. i Although economies have been madel in an endeavour to keep the operating account balanced, this has result-1 ed in a much lower standard of general maintenance and increased ex- ■

penditure will need to be provided for in the next year's estimates. Bus Account. “The total revenue from the bus service was £1678 and operating expenses were £1827. This represents a loss on the year’s working of £149 without allowing for the capital cost of buses or for depreciation.'