GREATER CHRISTCHURCH

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11503, 9 February 1903, Page 3

GREATER CHRISTCHURCH

VARIOUS MUNICIPAL SCHEMES.

WHICH SHOULD BE FIRST UNDERTAKEN?

All going well, the union of Ghrtstchureh and the of Sydenham, St. Alhans, and Linwood should be an accomplished fact by tbo end of next month. It is safe to predict that und<;r the altered circumstances much greater public interest will be shown in municipal matters than has hitherto been the ca.«e, and already there ie some spjcu.-aticn as to which of the many schemes referred to during the amalgamation campaign should bo fiset undertaken by the urtited municipality. With a view of ascertaining what they considered the more important municipal undertaking, and the one which -should hi put in hand first, a representative of "The Press" obtained the opinions of several gentlemen connected with or intere-t-ed in municipal affairs generally, and "G:oar<>r Christchurch' , in particular. THE MAYOR OF CHRISTCHL'RCH. Tho Mayor of Christchurch, on being intervkwf'i with respect to what, he thought WHH the first work to be undertaken by the Council of Greater Christchuroh, said: — "The primary point in my mind as to the woik undertuktM by tlie Council of Greater Chri-tchurcli is the system of bigh-pross'ure water supply. We "not only require this mtft U!g<--nt.y as regards sanitary matters, but also for lire prevention purposes. There is in my opinion no greater want at present in Christchurch than a high-pressure water supply, and this, of course, in view of it« importance should engage the attention of till? Council of Gicater Christchurch. Xcst. to this is, in xuy opinion, the acquirem?nt. of a quarry, from whsch the stone to !•-' i..-f d for tho roads of the Greater City ns crinMitute;' could bz procured. All the diu.'r-r.t municipalities whioli will Bow be ui'.fku into one will require .stone for their ronrl-s, and I fcfl certain*that we can obtain it ;it n fnr cheaper rate toy owning n municijw! quarry than by any other means. We could 1.--..- tnc by-produc;?, «udh as the stone for our footpaths, and by arranging to have a tramway to run right into t'.io municipal quarry we should save the w?.ir nnd tp.ir ot our roads by the lnavily loiidcd titone carts. As regards the harnessing of the Waimakariri, and, coneeqiunt, upon that also the electric lighting of the cjty, that will depend, of court?, upon what tlie Government expert says. It wifl. of course, be a β-jbjm. of exceeding imi>orh-ince with which Ili2 Council wi.l have to deal, but in the meantime it is impossible to ray what may or may not take place. MR A. E. G. RHODES. Mr Arthur E. G. Rhodes (e.v-Mayor of Christchurch) considered that the question of an adequate Mater (supply for the united area was the first and" most important one to ibe dealt with. Closely allied to this and dependent on it was the compulsory connection of all premises with the main sewers, but this, he thought, should not be enforced until the connections could be made without undue hardship to the ratepayers. He was firmly of opinion that provision for the maintenance of the public health should receive first consideration by the Council of Greater Christchurch, and he did noi think that tlie mere amalgamation of the city with the boroughs necessitated the expenditure of large sums of money, except on works that were absolutely necessary. MR W. REECE. In answer to the reporter's question, Mr W. Recce (ex-Mayor of Cbrietchurch) said :

—"I take it that it is assumed that the first questions will be those affecting the health of Greater Christchurch. Some of tho scheme. , ? connected therewith can be gone on with simultaneously. One which appears to me of vital importance is the extension of the system of removing rubbish. In some of the boroughs there is .almost an entire absence of any proper method of disposing of it; in some it is allowed to be buried in back-yards. This method is admitted to ba one of the greatest, eources of danger to the health of the community, and seeing that the 1 rapacity of the city destructor is /sufficient *to copp with., ft!). th? rubWeh. from the amalgamated area, the system can and should be extended without delay." In this connection Mr Recce suggested that instead of the carts at present used for collecting rubbish, there shoxild be used carts which would do away with the necessity of lifting the boxes containing the rubbish to any great height. These carts should be covered in, the metal cover to be in two part*. By these meane the uuL«ance created when rubbish is being collected on windy days would be removed. ''At the same time," Mr Recce continued, '• t3ie question of a water supply for household, side-channel flushing, sanitary and fire prevention purposes would be gone on with. The theory that the artesian supply from one stratum is independent of that from other stratum* having been satisfactory settled, before getting the supply from one of the rivers, teets fliould be made to ascertain at what depth the best results can be obtained. If the supply is brought frem the Waimakariri, for instance, there is no question that an expensive filtration scheme will be necessary if the supply in intended for household uses. An adequate watei supply will make it possible to provide a .satisfactory drainage scheme for tho whole area. Side channels which exist where there nre no mentis of flushing them are really a grent source of danger, snd in providing for the flushing of the side channels a water supp'iy will be of great value. Such a supply will also be of great benent to our streets, which, when properly swept and a sufficient quantity of water applied to them, will render the city comparatively free from dn&t, and by ensuring the better binding of the material of the streets reduce tho cost of their maintenance. "The great question of electrical lightIng and power, and the utilisation of our rivwiw to generate electricity cannot, ol course, come within the range of municipal politics until the experts being importer! by the Government have reported on the suitability and adaptability of our I rivers for that purpose. In the meantime there is no necessity to delay the electrification of the tramways, because, even if il. is found practicable and payable to generate electricity from the Waimakariri. it will bo necessary to have a steam plant ta Tely on in emergencies." THE MAYOR OF SYDENHAM. Mr v. B. Sim (mayor of Sydenham) was of opinion that tihe quea'.ion of first importance was that, of a hs'gjh. pressure water "upply for fire prevention, Facitflry and sewage piirpow. The Sydenham Borougth Council had already decdy«l upon this, the pipes for the supply are 'being manufactured, and one lot is ready for shipment. It was now a matter thai*, s&ould be taken up fby Greoier Ghxisrcfouroh, and he hoped ■r&at tihe woi'ks would 'be proceeded wi':h. As to a ireeervoir that has not yet been decided upon. The origiraal idea was *o punwp direct into the mains for fire jprevention purposes with a lower pressure for domestic supply. So far the Council's Jie-gotL-ilions ior a site, on tJh* Port Hills for a reseivoir nave been unruccefsful. Mr Sim's aninion was that tihere should be a resLTvoir on the hills. Id tihe event, howevrr, of the Government expert's report on the Waimakariri scheme being favourable, he '-bought that if a. supply could be provide in cann?ot:on wiih t>h-e harne«*ing of flhat river <"» generate electricity it would bo preifeauble u> pumping wate: into a reservoir on tihe hiLs. It might be two or three years before the expert ieported; La tiha meantime a supply for lire piTvenfcion and housefcold purposes was of pressing need, and something *nupi b>. cVTie in the matter. Their* was no doubt tiaat the *#wage system would have to be extended in Sydenham in the near futune«tpeciai3y in the more densely populated pratiors of the borough; tihe le«s dense!' populated portions would probably not reqtiiTe it scr same year*. Tirs was, hoa ever, a mtattsT -which net* witih. the rate pay«N to T&otic& t<hey hud sewenin a fow of -she etreeUiin tihe borough, t was ostocisaix'g bow few caaoectioES had

been made, bet this wae doe to soon* extent to 'ac fact that the population is sot y<t scfEckmtfT ocngeeted to necessitate them. THE MAYOR OP ST. ALBAXS. Mr T. H. Daxey-I&o mnyor of St. Albans) rerouted ttoot in view of tie fact, tiat it (has oeen almost decided that the tramwave dha£ be driven by electricity, tfhe harnessing of "the WainnakarirL.is uc&xibtedly 4ibe ntast important question to be draft -with, by Grcatfr Chsrirtdiurch, trpecinlly as it ba« been proved beyond doubt t&it tbe cost of eJeotriooty generated by ceal is prac&ca3y prohibitive as compared wltih electricity generated by wst«r. If » praeticaK-e scheme can be propounded bi-t-he Government expert, k> will undoubtedly mean a gnxtt raving ia the cc«>t of running 'lie trtunwayß. Of almost equal importance is a watrr supply for fire provecltion, eewage and flushing purposes, the first mentioned being a. mosi important Hem, as many p_arte of Greater Christcburdh ore very badly supplied TrH'h waiter for fire pravcjition purpows. A good water supply, no* necessarily for domestic purpose®, vr'r'A be extremely "useful. On ;t depends the extension, of tsho .present sew-.-ige scheme. At present the Drainage Board is serious'v considering the question of making oonaid*eirable alterations at the Sowago Fawn owing to toe large, number of connections be-in.;: made and the unsatisfactory method of dei-'.ing with the ?ewage at present odSqpted. It trill be necessity to evolve source more extensive scheme, and as many pari*» of Greater Ohristchurdh cannt =be served by uio present purniping station, auxilliaiy stafcione will require to be provided unless on alteration in the present wstfem. is effected. Mr Davey believes that it wouild be expedient for Greater Chrietolrareh to secure tihe control <rf the domains, at prcsmt under the control ■ f the Qhristdh-urch Domnins Board, and allow itlhe .people to ipay for upkeep. In a very snort period the Boi;d ■will b* in a very poor finr.i: i'a! prei'-ior , . In the event of a water supply jVr domestic purposes be!nt» r-iiiT.-r! h. , cr»r,-icier:: I : h-«.t the Port Hills is an iccal spot for a lesfrvoir. TI-1E MAYOR OF IJ.VVrOOD. ilr H. Pea-ice (The mayor of Lir.wood) said tlicre >rn.s no doubt that a ihiffh pressure water supply for fire prevention purpwffl itjjs a. work of urgent necessity. As to the d<:''.a:Cis of a water supply rc-hem-e he ivas r«t prepared to go into fbcm, but tHioisAt it wouid be a great ;mi«lake to go in for a partial fohemie such as that pro■)>o.«)cd by the Sydenham CSotmcil. Tt would be ir.uOh, bXt«<r to go in for a sclw.me that would serve the iwhole of the amalgamated boroughs, and for fcliis puppes* a. reservoir on the Port. Hills would oe the best. Aj» fo the Waimakariri eoheme, h* conwdered tliat tt. should be therouejhly thought out before it is adapted. The eswew sliould be exiend'jd over tihe whole of tflie area of Cirenier Cbristcburon. Tlie dmnains should be taken over by the City, wHiich would be abki to coanmand sufficient funds for their proper contiol amd manoigcmen't. AMumgh he might be oocused of looking too far n'beaid, he ithought that thj question of the Oiloanlbo «>i.i*6t railway cros«ing was one t<hat should receive attention, and provision made for '.akin? tbe roadway either over or under tihe raiHwhy. The traffic at thia point ie already very congested, and was bound to become more so, and to prevent accidents something in the nature he suggested ehould be done.