A YEAR OF CIVIC PROGRESS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1625, 17 December 1912, Page 8

A YEAR OF CIVIC PROGRESS.

Every year- sees ' Wellington progress with rapid"strides'.along the road of municipal betterment. Thanks .to -the fine spirit and the "healthy, complainings" of the public a City.Council must, at-least do as much as its predecessors m office,-bo .it only -for vanity's sake, 'and in Mr. W. H.- Morton it has a City Engineer whose services': at ..the helm cannotl* over-estimated.' Wellington, on account of its unusual, but not unpicturesque topography, .has always been a city of difficult,, problems, but thanks to brains and enterprise,'most of., these : have,now. been solved, and those which have not are not likely to give much bother, in view of what has W-accomplisheJ -Jta overa fortnight past, one of .our reprewntatnes has been"endeavournig to get from tlie City Engineer 'something hke a. succmot account of.what has been d?«.|,,f™| the year, but owing.to that official s ■beinff as fully occupied as onp ot jour fty did not', serve until Iho delay was' fortunate in a way, as it meant thafhe had- something. «<™. to tell than.if he had spoken a few. weeks ago ' Water Ser.vice Improvements. "The biggest- work of : tlie .year,, as far ns I^nr said Mr Morton "has been-the duplication of the TUmm main-and not before its, time.. : . Ihis is a new 21-inch, cast-iron mam, which conSects with „the''big', -^bta*.'».frpm. the reservoir at-the western,end of the Wainui tunnel,''lt is-a :cast-iron ijnpe-; line, except':at;the pipe bridges, where, was thought' advfsable to lay down prenl nines. This hew mam is twelve ites Sngtfi, and has taken 5000 pipes, fach weeing twenty-three cwt.,,to conSracC » that there are's7so tons more .cast-iron : :'la'id ''alon? the foreshore and Hutt Valley '.than, there, were at this time last year.:, .This,, of course,. is in addition to Wold « which is good for. a great deal , more 7er£ce. The duplication,^.involved a Tot of work, more than; most,people are 'aware, of., For instance, ;ive' hadto .tato the ■ old iron '.main, . ~^l ch, ' under the : railway,.. . bridge at tlie lorokoro .streani-a very dangerous mot for a watermain-and place.it.in a special subway' builft'o receive the_pipes.,. Then: we have to shift Hie old main'.tothe new pipe bridge.-'- That could not begone until. thTsecond main was laid, but ; ;now, that, istcSished.we-.will commence to connect up;£A S .a^hiatteriof-fact'the are'already at the bridge, and will be joined'tip immediately.

; i'New. Main Costs £80,000. ■';'■:' "The work I 'of faying, down theMW main -from'the-.-Wainui.Hill to -the Bell Boad ' refflrvoHr'has.'taken twelve months and :has cost the'city ; It-is money veil spent! ..-.-. ~- ,-,' V' ~„, ~,„ "The main was''completed-'in little while tack, and has Been under pressure for ' the past'week - , arid'kMlay.it was. a lowed to nowi*r«ely:*f6r the-flrst time into the new tank at Bell Road (above the Nairn Street-plantation);- The-new main, you must-understand/does not feed.the city mains'direct'as the old one does. ■ It takes the water from the-30-inch main at the Wainui tunnel at the. same pressure as ■ tho old one-and -is brought across_the Hutt Valley, Petone; beach," and. the Hurt ;'■'■ Eoad, into Thorndon Quay/ In that thor- . oughfaro there Js-a connection by.which ; its supply could be turned into; the city mains, ■■ but ■■ that is only in case of an !' emergeficy;;:it.is.brought along Thorndon and Lambton' Quays and taken up Bowen I ' Street, along-Wellin;rton.Terrace to! Abel Smith Street, down to Upper Willis Street ; and straight up -that .thoroughfare, mounting Nairn Street to .the new. twoj million 1 gallon reservoir on the saddle '•.' above the .Nairn Street reserve, and diTectly overlooking,.the most densely-popu-lated parts of-the city. Utility of the Surface Reservoir. i "The new main empties itself into this reservoir, which' is. 345 -feet above sea-level. It is a square reinforced concrete ■ tank 20 feet in /depth,.-jh'/which will always be stored without the cost of pumping, 2,000,000 gallons of Wainui water—a supply which is :going to. prove a valuable cor- '■ rcctive between the maximum.arid minimum that isf to" say, .that.the i pressure of such a body of water will bo aided during the time of the maximum 'draw-off.' The previous corrective was the Karori reservoir, which will now bo fully available for the supply' of the hijher lands of the city, and will-not be called ■awn for the lower levels except in cases of emergency. .". - Seven Million Gallons a Day. "The two mains will bring into town between 0,000,000 and 7,000,000 gallons of water per day of 2i hours, as against the i 4,000,000. gallons per day th© old,, main was capable of bringing in. Another advantage' not to.bo''lightly; valued is': that should anything'untqward occur to one or both Wainui mains'" during ah emergency, !)srin",the' l 'C{ise'of "a :big-fire, there: . ..' would always be the 2.0M.C00 gallons to ; draw upon, fro'iiv, Bell; K-p'ad,'which, with '■ the help*6f Karotijv would ; ; go a;, good way '■ —, towards ; miking - ''tho 'flity independent' of SVainui for the time being.,;' "r

;;Letting;! the-,Water In, '-/ - "The water was turned into the main .Blowly som'e:-days ago,-and.-.was not,:plac-', ed under frilfc pressure until the end of last week. I let'the., water, intb,;the new reservoir for the first' time yesterday, turning it on at noon arid :6fi,at 5 o'clock.. Tlie" water ran in at the rate.of 2,800,000 Gallons per 2-1 hours. I hope to-bring it into full operation to-day (Tuesday):- The reservoir is in two compartments, in order that it may at any time be cleaned oat without the inconvenience of allowing the wbole tank to run dry. As the tank is sunk right into the ground, and has a heavy roof of reinforced.-concrete, the water >ah6'uld.;bo kept decently, cool. : .".Outskirts ,We|l Watered,, "During the year Wadestowp has''been connectedVrip "with; the :.'city water' system, the-T7ater';bemg ; pflmpedfrom the city mains-to "a concrete tank constructed (800 ft. above the sea level) on the Town Belt, w.ell above the township, after the jnatfneK6f:;Kelburne .'and'.Brooklyn. This supplies the whole of that part of ihWlistrict. Similarly that part of the old Melrose Estate beyond Newtown Park has been' ; -supplied ■ with . water.. Roseneath was attended to at'this 1 time last year, but a special, pipe has been laid along the hillside to the top-end of. Hawker Street from that reservoir as an, auxiliary supply in case of fire. 'Lyall Bay and Maranui now enjoy the bless- c in»s of a good water service, and Mirnmar (whicb las installed its own service) gets its supply from, our mains. This means that practically the whole of Greater: .Wellington- is-now .supplied with water. ..V ';,.■ ; 'h> , \,J';■■■' ■- "Under that, portion of Karori borough, which has perforce to" drain: towards the city is to be supplied with, a water service under arrangement:- wittt.' the.'. .Karori," Borough Council: The 'supply onr renervoirs is better at the present time than it ever has been. All; the reservoirs are practically- full,.whoreas at this time'last'year' the :Karon level was down SOft," 4 "Xthe Slop .Work,: Whilst Wellington has cause to rejoice at the happy condition of its it has ample cause to ..congratulate itself on the angularly fortunate .position /if its drainage. This, work, Mr.--Morten bVvs has proceeded'steadilv throughouto, work, bv the way, usually unseen -and unheeded 'by the average man, but none the less important as far as the health of the city is concerned. Wellington

CITY ENGINEER'S REVIEW.. WATER BUI THROUGH THE NEW , ? " lAIN YESTERDAY. 'RAPID STRIDES IN'ALL .'.'SERVICES..

people are hardly,aware that pur death- £?? to one of {he lowest/In the world, and if they do think of it, put it down to the winds, instead of what is the more likely cause-a perfect drainage system. During the year the upper parts of Koseneath and that residential district on the hills to the south of Newtown Park have hxn connected with the drainage system, and now the work of draining Wadestown and Northland is following hard upon the heels of tho water service installation. After those districts aro dealt with, the only undrained area in Greater Wellington will. be i Maranui, which is to have an ejector station of its own, as the sewage will have to be pumped back to the outfall sewer, which runs seaward at a slightly higher level than' the flat at Maranui. The connection of Maranui and a small sparselysettled district in Evans Bay (which at present does not warrant attention) will complete the whole of. the present dramage area of the city. A Complete Record. One of Wellington's valued services is the system of house inspection, which la carried on unostentatiously throughout the year. Each inspector is neatly uniformed, and each is a'• qualified man respecting sanitary arrangements. These inspectors have, districts, and have to cover a-certain part of them each day, entering up before they leave for the day, a complete resume of their work, mentioning the number, owner, and occupant of each house visited," and the condition of the sanitary arrangements. ■In this way a very, complete schedule of tho, state of every houso in the citjr is kept, and a person becomes known "by the house he keeps." As a tribute to the system Mr. Morton says:—"Tlic inspectors have given instructions in thousands of cases where work of some kind,, is required, but so far this year no ono has appealed to me of the injustice of the demand made. ■ This is-gratifying in. two f ways—that the men are doing their work well, and that owners or occupiers see at once the justice of the demands made. They also inspect butchers' shops, res-taurants,-confectioners' shops, hotels,' the: premises of Chinese and other fruiterers,, and endeavour' to see that everything is kept sweet and clean. The city is, from a sanitary point of view, much better than it ever has been, and compares favourably with any other city in Australasia. The Naturally Dirty; ■ r - "Of course," continued Mr. Morton, "there are those who will not make any attempt to keep their houses decent, and who allow their premises to become dirty and insanitary through pure neglect arid ignorancp of modern sanitary ideas, and if you put them into new houses wittt everything in order > they would bo in trouble in. six months' time. On the other hand there are/ those living m mean-looking, houses ,in, narrow .streets who give their houses a respectable and decent appearance because their ideas and instincts trend that way. They are the Wrongs and the Right&.of-this .world.. .'"Nothing has been done'so'far towards cutting out any of the congested areas of the city. Reports have been presented and considered, but tho question is a very ,' intricate one, and nothing could be done except at great expense to the city. One could make lots of suggestions, but then '."

■ City Cleansing. As the suburbs extend outwards from the- city bo do the beats of the rubbishcart man expand. He Bathers the re-', fuse' now from Island Bay to Wadestown, and all that lies between, and tho ever-hungry destructor consumes it all, and, like Oliver Twist, asks for more. All the'steam power which drives the aircompressors in connection with the sew-age-pumping machinery,' is generated by the destructor. Mr. Morton states that, the plant has worked most satisfactorily throughout the year, but it will be necessary to get another air compressing engine almost immediately.' ' Mason's Steps Renewed. An important work which has been accomplished during the year is the, construction of the big reinforced concrete wall on the terrace opposite St. Andrews ' Church (and supporting the bank behind Mee's shop on -Lambton Quay),- and the steps long since known as Mason's Steps. A splendid, job has been made of the wall, and.beneath the wall conveniences are being fitted for the use of ! women. The re-erection of this wall was really due to the- duplication of the Wainui main. It was found I hat Wellington Terrace, opposite St. Andrew's. Church, was too narrow to allow room, and the proper support for the new main. The erection nf the wall has added ten feet to the width of the road.

Rocreation Grounds, Very, quietly the work of extending the recreation; ground at Kilbirnie'; has been proceeding during the latter half of the year. The spoil. is being taken from that knob oiv the" point which leads from Evans Bay. proper into Kilbirnie. The present scheme provides for the reclamation of 3i acres, whicb will make a ground seven -acres in extent. That is not all the works contemplated in that direction, but 'that is all which has so far been authorised. . The council is at present engaged in making a recreation ground on the land at Lyall Bay purchased from the Crawford estate. About 12 acres of sandy hills have been levelled and covered with a. binding of rotten rock, to prevent sanddrift, preparatory to covering the area with soil. Ono day this wall be a fine recreation ground—the sand nuisance is not for always.

' A little filling has been done in the gully at Anderson Park, but none to sneak of. During the year the Basin Reserve has been re-graded, and resown, with. ,the result that .a much more satisfactory playing area has .been, pro-. 'Vided. ;■ - At Newtown. Park, a good deal. of. work has been done one way and another' in improving the "Zoo." The most important'item has been the extension, of the bear-pit. ' All the work Has been creditably done, and has helped to make Newtown Park a,u ideal pleasure-ground. The jiow tea-kiosk will- also add a social touch to the grounds. '''•'"' 'New Fish Market. In the sphere of experiment comes the newly-erected fish market in Jervois Quay,. designed for a double test—as to whether the supply of fish will be sufficient to keep the place going, and whether the public will avail themselves of the opportunity of purchasing the fish direct 'from those who catch them. So far, the results have been satisfactory. ' ■ Macadam Roads Out of Date, ■ "During .the year we have got on very 1 'well with our streets, and have.;practieally disposed of the half-width pavements of olden days. Those footpaths which were flagged half-way across have been completed with, tarred asphalt. It looks rather, patchy, it is true, but, it is an undoubted improvement on the old order of things. We have also got rid of the old wooden kerbs and asphalt channels, and. have-replaced both with substantial concrete blocks, which aro much more sightly and more easily cleansed. Only a few streets now remnin to bo full-flagged, and re-kerbed, and the people in those streets are clamouring to have the work "The old water-bound macadam roads for mid-city traffic must now bo considered a, thing of the past, and it must bo recognised that the surfaces even of secondary streets must be paved I with some moro lasting _ material—some more easily cleansed, sanitary, and 1««

likely to create dust. A 6 lone; as ire have macadam roads, so long will wo have oust in Wellington. Wood blocks are, of course, the best paving for streets, where there is heavy traffic, but tarred macadam only should be used on streets of secondary importance. "Wo have let a contract for the supply of blocks—jarrah and powellised birch — for blocking those streets round the r.cw General Post Office, to the cost of wmcli the Post and Telegraph Department is contributing. Personally I would like to seo the whole of Fcatherston Street w(odblocked, even if we only did a section every year. To Check the Dust Fiend. "I have como to tlu> conclusion that tho dust nuisance in Wellington will never bo effectively checked until wo deal with certain streets.' Feathorslon Street should, as I said, bo wood-blocked, because, it will bo an important thoroughfare when tho 'newrailway station in Jimmy Street is erected. Tliorndon Quay should bo treated, Waterloo Quay. Jorvois Quay, Lower Cuba Street, and Victoria Street should all bo surfaced in tarred macadam or blocked. I rocogniso that it. is a matter of money, mid that it cannot bo done all at once,'but those are the streets which supply most of the dust in high northwesterly winds, ami their improvement would greatly lessen tlie trouble. "Tho new waiting sheds at the Post Office triangle and Courtonay Place havo also been erected under the supervision of tho • engineer's department during tho year." '