WAINUI WATERWORKS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 737, 9 February 1910, Page 6

WAINUI WATERWORKS.

INSPECTED BY CITY. COtJNCILLOES. The annual visit of inspection' to the Wainui-o-mata waterworks and the , 'new; Solomon's Enob'dam , was paid yesterday by the Mayor (Dr. Newman) arid the, members of the City Council. The city engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton), Mr. J. E. Palmer (town clerk), and the several heads of .various branches .of the service were also present,- as well as the Hon. T. W. Hislop, ex-Mayor of the city. A start was made from the Town Hall soon after 9.ra;m.,'.and rain.held. off until arrival' at Wainui, where showers fell. almost '.immediately; and 'continued '.with short breaks' throughout tie day.' v J■ ; : 'The inspection' show.ed\everything .to be , in good order, and that the upper,works at Solomon's Knob are progressing satisfactorily;' and 'will be completed in a little over six months; The dam is'to be of ferro concrete, and the face'.walls are 3 feet thick,-lessening to 2 feet in places.. The. total length' of the dam-is 510 feet, a little over 100 feet of which is-to be a-by-wash one-third-of tho.-Way across. The extreme height of. the structure will, be-47 feet, arid'the.concrete will also. be embedded ■ 12 feet' in tho' earth. to secure a firm foundation. - >The maximum, depth of • water when the dam can.; be" filled-will be 50 feet, and-the area cpv-' ered will he"-a-little over 26 acres, which' ■will hold something like 140,000,000 gallons of water when the dam'is full.. The , Mayor presided at luncheon, which was served in a .large marquee close to the lower reservoir, and in'the.courEe; of. a short speech welcomed the visitors and the Hon. T. W. Hislop, his predecessor in office; ■ who ■ had 'seen the start--of "the Solomon's Enob -work during his term as Mayor. Eeferring to the., much-discussed ■necessity i for duplicating ■ the' pipe-line from Wainui 'to,;we city,, Dr; Newman, said he considered it would be,in the interests of the city to have, the .line duplicated,' although' the cost' would undoubtedly be heavy. He believed the-cost wouldbe' something' approximating'_' £150,000^. .Spcaking-.'.tor a , representative .of The Dominion, later.'th'e Mayor said he considered all:.the works were', going: on '■satisfactorily, and , .the upper ..works,; at ■Solomon's Knob, would, .he understood,'.bo completed in a little over six-months. ;If • at any -future .time' -Wellington' required more, water for its, needs, we would'.bo:able.to secure it by ■ tapping the Orongorongo stream -by .burrowing; ■under thou.hills,;.and;.bringing a,'!supply totowin from this source. This,, however, .could not be needed for many years to 'come, - but there was a eourcei,of-supply •for half',a 'pillion-people. , - Eeverting to ) the''necessity 'for the! dunlication" ! bf ;the. iWainui main, his- Worship said, he con- ■ sider.ed .this .would bo an absolute .neces? isity in" the near future, and a matter • which would probably. have to bo faced "within the next twelve months.- •.

. The Hon. Tv W! Hislop • expressed hie : appreciation' of what 'had lieen-' accqm[ptished, and voiced.his,pleasure at seeing :important works pushed .ahead as they were. '• It 'also, -1 in.'regard to municipal•-.management; ':to,:see that ! thero was always, someone ..ready ,and iwilling to -, continue the work ;of ; a corporation, and to fill up gaps caused by those who had to retire, thus continuing the important work , for the community at ! .large. ; Mr. Hislop went on s to deal with the standard of municipal life,' and con- . eluded, by wishing the. city success in. all jits future-projects. ■' , ..'/.'"■'.. , >". ; : ;.; Councillor Smith proposed the health 1 of., the contractors oi the .new reservoir, Messrs.: Martin, Hurrell,i and Snaddon, and Mr. George Snaddon; who responded, . stated that: the! contract for: tho Spbmon's Knob dam would bo completed , , in from 6ix to,nine months from' date;".'."