The Taranaki Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1908. THE AVENUE DRAIN.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 12582, 1 October 1908, Page 4

The Taranaki Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1908. THE AVENUE DRAIN.

Whether Cr. Harris's idea in protesting against the mode of carrying on the work in the Avenue drain was, as Cr. Spriggens suggested, to gain kudos or not, the fact remains that the drain itself and 'the procedure adopted in carrying it out are open to criticism, and Cr. Harris ,was perfectly justified in urging that it should be proceeded with more expeditiously. In the first place, a grave and lamentable mistake was made in ever putting down the earthenware pipes /which have been used, seeing the great depth of the drain ; secondly, the drain iteelf is not large enough to carry off the enormous body of water w hich finds its way into the mains during a heavy rainfall ; thirdly, it is questionable whether the coating of concrete now being placed around the pipes will prove strong enough to resist the pressure from within that at any time the pipes may be called upon to withstand; and, fourthly, some more expeditious method of carrying out the work should unquestionably be devised. With respect to the first objection, it is well known to many old residents that when the pipes were first put down it was pointed out by Mr Andrew Gilmour, who must be absolved from all blame in this connection, that they were unsuitable, and that the construction of a brick sewer, similar to the one in Harrison Street, was the only satisfactory solution of the question. However, funds did not permit of the more expensive work being undertaken at the time, and what has proved but a temporary and highly expensive and unsatisfactory service was installed. The question then arises, should not a brick sewer have been substituted for the earthenware pipes when the latter were found to have been broken? To our mind, the question admits of but one answer. Succeeding Mayors have hesitated to incur the heavy expense which would be entailed in substituting a brick sewer for the earthenware pipes, and have, probably not with-. | out demur, tolerated the frequent patching; of the latter. The experience in Wanganui of the method now being pursued, viz., encasing the pipes in a few inohes of concrete, certainly does not justify its adoption. The Borough's experience on St. John's Hill with the earthenware water mains some years ago showed conclusively that the pipes, though encased in concrete, were not strong enough to withstand a pressure the sewer in the Avenue may at any time after heavy rain be called upon to bear. The breakage ofiriie mains arises from several causes. They are not, as staled above, large enough to carry off the storm water after excessively heavy rain, and they are too light to carry the enormous weight from above/iiicreaeed by the heavy traffic ia the main thoroughfare of

the city. The consequence is the pipes are liable to be broken by pressure from above or from what is termed an "air block" from within. It is the firm conviction of many, whose practical experience entitles them to express an opinion on the subject, that it will be imperative in a few years for the Borough Council to face the cost of a brick sewer, after wasting thousands of pounds in putting down and replacing the earthenware pipes. As a matter of fact, the original cost of a brick sewer has been much more than exceeded in the fw quent attention that the Avenue draift has required. As to tho method of prosecuting the present work, to say the it is not giving very general satisfacti m to tho many whrse senses are continually im tatod by the unsightly sand heaps in the main thoroughfare. It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that greater expedition could not be used, and the lere said on this point the better. No other town of the sizo and importance of Wanganui would have tolerated tho inconvenience and annoyance without a very strong protest b;>ng made to the responsible authorities.