Borough Water Supply

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 48, 21 May 1948, Page 5

Borough Water Supply

Correspondent Urges Need For Filtration Harsh things are said about Whakatane’s Borough water supply by a correspondent, signing himself “Aqua,” who Wants to know what the Council is doing about it. He stresses the need for filtration to get rid of the silt.

“Until coming to Whakatane I was one of those fortunate individuals who had never experienced the truth of the quotation Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink’,” he writes. “I had always imagined that this statement only applied to ‘a painted ship upon a painted ocean.’ Now I know better.

“During summer an opaque substance, which rapidly changes to a brown, slimy consistency as the wet season sets in, is sent through the‘town’s supply pipes by the water supply department to a long suffering community Who receive it with mixed emotions.

“For the privilege of risking possible intestinal and other disorders, if they drink this brew as it comes from the tap, the ratepayers pay 1/6 per 1000 gallons. From observations since arriving here it would appear that a large number of Whakatane residents prefer to drink soft drinks as being the lesser of two evils.

“Those who can afford to do so erect tanks and piping to Store rain water rather than fill their stomachs with river silt. Others may have a Berkfield or other type of filter to store a small supply of drinking water. Even some so-called backward races filter their water before using it for drinking purposes, but the water supply department here appears to consider filtration an unnecessary refinement. “I understand, of course, that storage facilities are inadequate and that a new water scheme is being considered, but even so I should think that something could be done at the present time to alleviate the situation just a little. Is it quite impossible to carry out some method of filtering? Even a restricted supply of reasonably clean water is preferable to an abundant supply of liquid mud.

“I would be interested to know how the water was treated before storage capacity became inadequate, since it does not seem possible that it could ever have been any good. It would also be interesting to know how the new scheme will work. Although an article appeared in the Beacon some time ago 'with regard to this it did not give any idea of the proposed capacity for the new reservoir, system of settling tanks, and whether or not some type of Chloronome would be installed.

“It is not yet known by the ratepayers as far as I can gather if any decision has yet been taken on this matter, which is surely urgent enough. Money, spent on amenities such as good water and sanitation etc. is money well spent, since it is on such things that the health of the community to a very large extent depends. “In the meantime it is ‘Day after day, day after day, a weary waste of water.’ Mayor’s Comments

When the letter was referred to the Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, for his comments, he pointed out that the correspondent was mistaken about the charge for water. There was no charge for domestic users, the only metered supplies being to extraordinary consumers. He admitted the water was a bit murky just now, and said the Council was hoping that the Health Department would soon approve the plans for the new scheme, which should overcome the difficulty. Borough water is now chlorinated, but not filtered.

The new scheme is calculated to provide a 500,000 gallon increase in holding capacity. It envisages a new reservoir alongside the old one and working in conjunction with it, a clearing and chlorinating tank near the river served by a low level pump, and an increased high level pumping capacity to lift the cleared water to the reservoirs.