THE WATER SUPPLY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1374, 27 February 1912, Page 3

THE WATER SUPPLY.

FULL DEMAND ON WAINUI MAINKAItORI SUPPLY ESSENTIA!,. Of nil the public, utilities of a cily file water supply is perhaps (lit' mn-l important'. Wellington has jogged along very well lor ;i >iu;i>)jr>r of years with a single main (2t-inch) from Wniniti, wilh assistance I'rom Karori. hut. it has only been thoroughly realised during (lie pa*!' five years how close Wellington has been sailing to I lie wind in regard lo nnr chiefest public service. In (he summer of 11100-7, Wellington got a real fright, and (lie Cily Council al once pushed forward wilh Iho new dam at Karori. K was only after that was completed aad filled that; tha cily authorities Uiok breath. But even 'then (he City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) was tar from satisfied with the provision made for water, and he never rested until the Cily Council sanctioned not only the building of another dam at Wainui, but the construction of an extra main from the AVainui Hill into town. The wisdom of this can be estimated from thu present position of thc city nt this the driest season of tho year. Fact No. lis that practically all water than can be run off from the upper dam at Karori has been drawn during the past month, and what assistance is being given the cily supply from that watershed is now being taken from the lower basin (which has a capacity el' about. 4G,000,000 gallons, .as against the upper basiu's (!0,()00,0()0 gallons). I'act No. 2 is that without any assistance from Karori thc single main from Wainui is not. able tn copc with (he normal daily supply of (he city. This is not to say that there is not sufficient water stored nt. Wainui—it. is n question of main capacity and demand. Wiiat is happening ivaw is that a new 21-inch main is being laid between the city and (he "Wainui Hill to supplement the existing 24-inch main, whicli lias done such goad servico for so many years, lloth mains will be fed by the !10-inch main, which curries the water from (he reservoir as far a* fho tunnel throuph the Wainui Hill. This main is said to be (|iiite large enough to keep both mains in full supply. Thc duplication works: at present employ about 80 men working from two ends, but at the present rate of progress it is estimated that the work will not bo completed within twelve months. Mr. Morton is hardly satisfied with this. He would like to see the new main linked up by the end of the year in order to anticipate the dry season, which, as a rule, conies with thc New Year, and it will be bis endeavour to accelerate Hie progress to that end during tho winter months. Another work which is (roing to afford relief in respoet to the city's water supply is the storage reservoir, which is at present being constructed in the Nairn .Street Reserve. This big concrete tank will have a capacity of 2,000,000 gallons, nnd can bo filled to its capacity during thc quiet, hours of the night, when tho two mains from Wainui arc in working order. The existence of such a icservoiv on so elevnted a site will have .a beneficial effect on the pressure of water on (ho high levels, besides increasing the pressure on the flat, and acting as a stand-by in case of any untoward occurrences in connection with the mains leading into the city.