WANGANUI'S WATER SUPPLY

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13434, 22 July 1911, Page 6

WANGANUI'S WATER SUPPLY

THE WESTMERE RESERVOIR. MORE FUNDS REQUIRED. A £15,000 Loan. At last night's meeting of the Wangamii Borougli Council, the following report of the Water Committee—Cr. Spriggens (chairman), the Mayor, Crs. Spurdle and Calver—dated July 7, was read: — lie Reservoir at Westmere.—The Committee recommend the adoption of the Engineer's report of the 13th June last, on the matter of providing'a reservoir at Westmere, and the plans of same submitted therewith. The Engineer's estimate of the cost of this reservoir (which has a capacity of 5,000,000 gallons) is £11,600, and as £6OOO only has been allocated in the £29,000 loan for the reservoir previously designed, the Committee recommend the Council to take steps to borrow the further sum of £15,000, which with the sum already authorised, is to provide for the construction of reservoir, a tunnel to connect the Mangahoropito stream with the Okehu, and for dwarf walls to he erected on the upstream side of the dam. In the meantime the construction of the reservoir be provided with.

Overflow from Proposed Reservoir.—We recommend the Council to confirm the engineer's action in arranging with Mr. John D. Todd to permit the overflow to be carried on to his land, also that the consent be embodied in an agreement to bo executed by the Council and Mr. Todd.

Gravel.—The Committee i-ooomiriond that the engineer be authorised to arrange with Mr. D. Peat for the supply of suitable gravel required for constructing the reservoir.

Re Water to Wanganui East.—The Committee has considered this matter and reported the Council to agree to supply the Wanganui East Borougli on the same terms and conditions as to the Gonvillo Town District—subject to the provision that in the event oi : a shortage of water the Council may give one week's notice of intention to temporarily cut off the suonly to Wanganui East. The Committee further recommend that the Wanganui East Council be informed that water cannot be supplied until the reservoir has been completed. *

In moving the adoption of the report. Cr. Spriggens said the Mayor and himself had gone carefully into the matters dealt with, and his Worship had prepared rstatement for the meeting.

THE REPORT ADOPTED. In the discussion which followed, it was stated by the Mayor that the Engineer had made provisional arrangements with Mr David Peat for the supply cf gravel at Is a yard. He had reported this to the Committee, which had agreed to it. The quantity required would be GO(JI) yards. Considerable discussion followed on the matter of roofing the reservoir, Crs. Liffiton and Spurdle considering it unnecessary, while Cr. Poynter and Holloway thought the roofing could be put on at a later date.

The MAYOR said the matter had been threshed out by the committee, to whom the Engineer had given strong reasons for roofing now. It would prevent contamination of the water from the adjacent road, and, "by protecting it from the' sun's rays, keep it cool and prevent fermentation. "~

In answer to a question, the Engineer stated that the reservoir was meant" to be a clean-water reservoir, and on that account should be roofed. This was in accordance with modern practice. Cr. MUIR said that it was a technical matter, and the Council should not interfere with its expert. The object was to give purer water, and the Engineer should not be handicapped in his effort to ensure this by the Council insisting on inadequate facilities.

The MAYOR said it was not proposed to use all the money at once, but it would be wise to have a loan authorised, so that they would have the money for future requirements that might be found necessary. An amendment by Cr. Spurdle, seconded pro forma by Cr. Holloway, that the Engineer be authorised to construct the reservoir with the funds now at his disposal, was lost.

The motion for the adoption of the re- ! port was then put and carried. In moving the adoption of the report, Cr. Spriggens said the Mayor and himself had --one carefully into the mataters dealt with, and his Worship had prepared a statement for the meeting. THE MAYOR'S STATEMENT. The MAYOR, in seconding, read the following statement of the position: The proposals brought down to-night by the Waterworks Committee are very important, and I propose briefly to detail what they are. In 1902 the Okehu waterworks scheme was inaugurated under the advice of Mr Mestayer. In that scheme he provided for a settling tank and storage reservoir at Westmere at a. cost of £IO,OOO. He also recommended that at a later date, when the population increased so that the Okehu stream would not be sufficient to supply the demand, a tunnel should be made, at an estimated cost of £3OOO, to divert the Mangahoropito stream into the Okehu. His proposal to erect a settling tank, etc., was not carried out and the JJIO-000 provided for that pur-" pose was diverted to other works. Some time ago the Council came to the conclusion that the time had come for the erection of the

SETTLING TANK AND RESERVOIR at Westmere. Their object was twofold, in the first place to provide a 'reservoir for reserve use in case there was any temporary break-down of the supply system, and in the second place to endeavour to do away with the discolouration which sometimes occurs in the sunnly. A third reason is supplied by our present Engineer, Mr Mansfield. He states that the dam at Okehu has silted up considerably, thereby greatly decreasing its storage capacity. He states that the water should be let out of the dam at intervals so that the silt may be removed. For this purpose a storage tank at Westmere is necessary, so as to keep the town supplied while the dam at Okehu is being cleaned out. But the greatest necessity for the resrvoir arises from the fact that so much.

MORE WATER, IS BEING CONSUMED Not merely is the consumption in the original borough increasing, but we are now supplying Aramoho, Durietown, and Gonville, while Wanganui East also wishes to be supplied. To meet this necessity, the late Mr Russell prepared plans and estimates of a reservoir at Westmere at an estimated cost of £6,000, and the ratepayers sanctioned a loan for that purpose. On going into.the scheme, Mr Mansfield

advises us that Mr Eussell's design could not be carried out for ,£6,000, and also suggests certain improvements. Instead of providing two settling chambers he suggests four, and he also recommends that the reservoir should be roofed over instead of being, open to the air. These suggestions recommend themselves, and the Committee advise the Council to carry out Mr Mansfield's scheme.

THE ESTIMATED COST is £II,OOO, or ,£5,000 more than we have borrowed for the work. In addition, MiMansfield recommends thai; dwarf walls be"erected at various parts above the dam, so as to catch the silt and prevent it filling up the Okehu reservoir. The cost of these walls will probably be £2,000 or so. It will be seen that to do the work will require some £7OOO or so more than we have already borrowed for the purpose. But in the near future, if Wanganui continues to grow as at present, it will be necessary for us to enlarge the works by heightening the dam at Okehu and by tapping the Mangahoropito. It will probably be several years before this

is necessary but the Committee advise that authority be now taken to

RAISE A LOAN sufficient for future requirements, although we do not anticipate spending part of the money for several years. In the meantime the Committee recommend that the construction of the reservoir at Westmere be proceeded with. We have £6OOO available for the purpose, and even if the ratepayers do not grant us the additional loan we require, we can proceed to build two of the chambers instead of the four recommended by Mr Mansfield. I have no doubt, however, that the loan will be sanctioned by the ratepayers.