LEVIN'S WATER SUPPLY

Chronicle (Levin), 10 January 1948, Page 4

LEVIN'S WATER SUPPLY

DAILY RONSU^EPTIpN E^CEEDS MILLIPN GALLONS Every day Levin uses more than 1,25.0.000 gall.ons of water, an averT age bf neariy 350 gallons per person in 24 hours. Thes.e figpres giveh tb ''The Ghronicle'' by $hp Levin Borough .Gpuncil's water\yoyks oypfsper, yif. ■£?. R. y/illi§.ms, \yho "'ga've'tjp sjb.br y qf the \yat.er frpih j?s "stfLpjb in the wqtershed tp the* pohsumer's tap. ''tJhhkV mahy dther towps in Npw Zeqiajjhj Leyin no riepd dapi the "at its soiirce. Cpming straighl pu| of* tRe river, it travejs. firsp throhgh *11 /chains of tiinhfl ari'd |hen hppbq^iniatply two jpilps qf 'l5-i^ph" '^10 IntQ •' the "tojb" lanks." These two tanks,. placed side. by side, will hold 100,000 gallons of water each- From the top tanks to the ?naih tahk, thb WO-ter is .ca,rried three miles thrpugh a 12-inch pipe. Herp fhe §iz,e of the pipe is phanged tb 18-inch and runs'for half a mile

past the huge 500,000 gallon tank. At the end pf thi.S section, the 18-in.ch pip,e is fed intp, two pipes, one i'5 and the other lp-inch, whiph carry the water Ihe last three miles to ' the centre of the town, whpre it/ is hr°ken dqwn into one, two and three-inch mains for reticulation. The io-inch pipe exists from the original sprvice and imtil 1941 • was the ' town's sqle supply liiie. The 18rinch pipe will keep the 15 and the 10-in,ch mains gping at full pressurp all the time, safd Mr. Williams. This, pf course, is 4ependent pn . sufficient water' coming down to fi.ll the big pip.e. The maximum amount of water that can be fed thrpugh the 15-inch mains into the top tanks is 40,000 gallons an hour. Brior to 1941, the maximum f.eed was 33,000 gallons an hour . C>n a te§t carried but on December 1B, 1947, it was'revealed that more than 1,250,000 gallons of water Verp used by. Levin in 24 hours. During the present water shortage, Mr, Williams has had to take a direct feed from the top tanks to the town, allowing the main tank to take the overflow at night and thus build up a reserve. This is the only way in which the supply can be kept going, otherwise more 'drastic restrictions would i have to be imposed. As a sidelight on the present/restrictionsf Mr. Williams said that under a borough by-law, a| no time can any person use a hose unless it is held in the hand. It is also a serious ofience to allow taps to drip for any length of time. ' The nresent service has been in-

stalled for $8 years and the pipes jhave not been replaced since the | installatipri. As the -lif e • of a water |pipe is only 35 years, new mains will have to Qe laid very soon. Some of fhe pipes are set in splid rock and will haye to be removed with .the aid .of gelignite. Others are set in concrete, which was laid almqst 40 years agp. "In thpse days concrete .was concrete," commented Mr. Williams. The weakest point in the service is the old pipe bridge, which has I been stan.ding since the system was installed. If this was swept away in a fiood, the whole town would be cut ofi for some time. At the outlet from the main tank, •the wat.er pressure in the pipe is only IQlbs. to the square inch. At the borough cQuneil pffices the prpssure has built up to 1.051bs. The tank is 33.6 feet above sea level, While Levin is 105 feet above sea ( leyel. Thi§ means that there is a j gradient Qf 221 feet in seven miles. ) "It is. mqst interesting t.o note | that thp ?idge behind Levin, which fqrrns pur watershed, also feeds | bhree other water servipes," said J pjr. Williams. "Largest of these by far i§ the Mangahao Dam, which is supplied froifi the nqrthern end- pf the l'iqge." . There w^S" alsp- the. Otaki River to- the. ^oht|a. .aq-dvf.he Ru'aniahunga Riyer/wfdch'-supibiies Mqstertop.