The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1920. AN URGENT WORK

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 236, 30 June 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1920. AN URGENT WORK

The present water supply of the Wellington metropolitan area is so far from providing an adequate margin that the works needed to bring the waters of the Orongorongo stream into the city mains are of extreme urgency. ■ The City Engineer (Mr. Morton) reported some months ago that the quickest method of obtaining the additional supply which may be badly needed before it is available would bo to tap the Orongorongo by tunnelling through the Wsinui-o-mata hill. The estimated cost of the tunnel and the pipe- running through it iB £80.000, find a further expenditure of somo £208,000 is contemplated upon a special main to convey the Orongorongo water direct to Karori reservoir. These are big figures, but it is absolutely necessary to increase the city water supply. As matters stand there is danger of a serious shortage in the near future. With three million gallons per day from Orongorongo, added to what is now available, the city will bo assured of ample supplies for years to come— supplies which are expected to suffice for a population of well over 130,000. Tho time in which the new supply can be brought in depends upon the rate of progress made in piercing the long tunnel through the Wainui-o-mata hill. Owing to the nature of the work the number of men who can be employed' upon it is comparatively small, and it. is evidently desirable that those who are should be employed to the best advantage. It is in view of this consideration that the City Council has entered tentatively into an arrang'tment with Mr. Kobert Semple and a body of skilled miners whom he has organised under which these men will undertake to pierce the

tunnel at a contract price as co-oper-ative workers.

The arrangement, which will be concluded only if the ratepayers authorise the nccessary loan, is novel, but tho circumstances are extraordinary. The site of the undertak-

ing is remote, and the work of piercing tho tunnel,.largely through solid rock, promises' to be arduous and difficult. _ Labour troubles aro common on this class of work, and the urgent need of speedily augmenting the city water supply provides a particularly strong reason for doing everything that is possible to avert them in the present case. Assuming that the price set upon the work is reasonable, the contract, ought to be mutually advantageous to tho city and to the co-operative workers. Probably no one is better, fitted than Mr. Semple to select men fitted for the work of piercing the tunnol, and since the earnings of the party and of its individual members will be determined by the progress they make, they are offered a strong and constant incentive to carry the undertaking to completion with all reasonable speed. Under these conditions everything possible iB done to eliminate the risk of labour disputes• whicji would hinder tho progress of the work and postpone a very necessary addition to the city water supply. As was mentioned in our. news columns yesterday, only a few men are at present employed at Wainui on preliminary work. A vote ought to be taken without delay on the loan proposal which must be authorised before the main work can proceed. Citizens ought to have no hesitation in unitedly supporting the proposal. Some difficulty may be experienced in raising the money, but it is essential that the tunnel to the Orongoroneo should be pierced as soon as possible if the city is to be secured reasonably against a serious shortage of water. ,