“PRICELESS GIFT”

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 112, 9 February 1928, Page 12

“PRICELESS GIFT”

CITY AND SUBURBAN WATER SUPPLY FIRST MEETING OK BOARD TESTING THE STREAMS “A most valuable area, and a priceless gift,” was how the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. G. A. Troup) described the catchment area in the Hutt district handed over to the city and suburban areas by the State under the Act passed last ses> sion. The inaugural meeting of the new body—the Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply Board—was held at the Town Hall yesterday. The Mayor of Wellington presided, and the following members also attended :—Messrs. H. D. Bennett, H. A. Huggins, C. R. Morpeth, and R. Semple (Wellington City Council) ; W. T. Strand (Mayor of Lower Hutt), D. McKenzie (Mayor of Petone), A. AV. Press (Eastbourne Borough Council), P. Robertson (Mayor of Upper Hutt), and M. V. Dyer (Hutt County Council).

. Board’s Onerous Duties. The chairman, in welcoming the members, said that the details of the undertaking had been satisfactorily settled, and a most valuable area of land, constituting a priceless gift, had been handed over to the district by the State. The duties of the board would be very onerous, and he looked for.ward to a most successful result. They had first to plan and carry out a thorough investigation of the possibilities, not only of the streams in the area mentioned, but also of the present Wainui supply, to determine which of them should be developed at an early date. The present prolonged dry season had proved serious to the city and some of the adjoining boroughs. At the. suggestion of Mr. Bennett, the board expressed its satisfaction at rhe action of the Government, and Parliament, in vesting the catchment area in the city, and district. Messrs. McKenzie, Strand, Morpeth, and Semple supported the motion. A further resolution was agreed to, on the motion of the chairman, thanking Sir Francis Bell for the great interest he had taken in the scheme. ‘'Without his assistance I do not know where we would have been,”- added Mr. Troup. The board decided that the whole ot the area m its charge should be declared a fire district under the Forest Act, with the addition of 20 'chains outside the boundaries.

Gauging the Flow. The chairman pointed out the need for taking gaugings of the flow in the streams while the dry weather lasted, there having been seven weeks without rain. “The City Council is now right on the very eve of the appointment' of a waterworks engineer, but there may be a brief period after, his appointment before he can lake up his-work, and in the interval we may have rain. I think we should ask the present City Council engineering staff to check the flow at once in the Wakatiki, the Little Akatarawa, and the Hutt River from beyond the Little Pakuratahi,” said the chairman. It was pointed out that the council’s staff had lately been depleted by resignations, and was therefore. unable to do the work, and the board decided to engage Mr. J. M. Morice, who recently retired from the position of waterworks engineer, to take the necessary records. The question of the appointment of a forest conservator was referred to a committee, of which the Director of Forestry is to be asked to become a member. This officer, when appointed, will be required to prepare a complete working plan for a period of from five to ten years. The plan has to be submitted to the' Commissioner of State Forests by December, 1928. It would cover such matters as fire protection, appraisement of timber, permits and leases for milling and cutting, camping and pleasure resorts, control of reafforestation, access path*, etc. Basis of Contributions. The following approximate basis of contributions to the board was adopted:—

These figures will need revising when population figures are available for January of each year.

■ Population 1/4/27 Max. Annual Percentag diture e £ Wellington .. ... 101,400 76.4 2292 Lower Hutt 9465 - 7.2 .216 Upper Hutt 2965 2.1 63 9875 7.5 225 Eastbourne 1950 1.5 45 Hutt County 7015 5.3 159 132,670 100.0 £3000