ABOUT THE TOWN

Chronicle (Levin), 5 October 1946, Page 3

ABOUT THE TOWN

T.S.D.)

SHANNON SIDE-LIGHTS

.(By

Arismg out oi a visn to tne wooipacks factory at Foxton by the Mayor of this town and members of his -council a fortnight ago, and the discussion which followed between them and officials of Foxton concerning . the possible shortage of water at the company's stripping mill, a 'possible solution was offered by the men from Shannon, that of bringing the water from Shannon's supply. This, ho'werer, did not • meet with the approval of one Foxton resident,. with the result that the editor of the Manawatu Herald (Foxton's newspaper) received a letter pointing out that if any reader was to peruse the flies of 1929 they would find that, owing to a very dry season, the water supply derived from the Shannon hills ran so low thatit was stated that Foxton was fortunate in having such a good water supply, and was evidently wise on one occasion since the supply would have been inadequate at Shannon alone. The writer then went on to ask how Foxton would have fared when the Shannon bridge was washed away. The water pipes would have no doubt crossed the river via the bridge. He went on to state that Foxton's water is very hard and almost unsuitable for drinking, and requires a lot of washing powder for washing purposes. In defence of our water supply, which is second in the North Island only to that of Rotorua, we would point out that never since the scheme commenced has Shannon been short of water, and never has this mountain stream been so low that it could not only supply Shannon, but Foxton, Foxton Beach, Himatangi and all the farms and houses between these points. The washing away of the Shannon bridge was an act of God and a few lengths of main would have been lost, but this would have been repaired in a very short time. We would also point out that there is more chance of failure in a pumping plant than in a gravity scheme. On many occasions artesian wells have been known to fail. Foxton has been lucky in this respect even if its pumping costs do run into about £150 per year. The mqnaging-director of woolpacks also made reference to the hardness of Foxton's water, and stated that the town could save its rates in soap charges if Shannon s water was supplied to their town. As for the remark about the water being almost unsuitable for drinking, we can assure the writer, from our own experience, that the water is definitely unsuitable for drinking. Perhaps that is why. Foxton can support four hotels against Shannon's two. Also from Foxton comes an amusing story of a beach interlude. The beach is noted for its attractiveness and the appeal of its natural assets, particularly for holidaymakers. . Last week it added another appeal — for visitors, but deflnitely not for the residents. It turned on wild pigs; well, if the pigs weren't wild the beach residents were when they viewed their promising early gardens in the hard cold light of dawn. They were non est for the most part, and gone were hopes for early vegetables, for which the beach is gainmg quite a reputation. Wild residents declared wai* on the marauders and news of wild pigs at the resoit for shooting soon got noispd abroad. Over last week-end parties oi sportsmen scanned the sand. dunes and ploughed through the waterlogged area at the back of Seabury Avenue. Shots rang out and it is understood that not a few homes were the recipients of coupon-less pork on Sunday. The pigs are be- ! lieved to have come from a farm which' changed hands about a year ago. So far no irate owner is ati.pmoting to claim them.