MILK, WATER AND SEWERAGE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 199, 20 May 1944, Page 8

MILK, WATER AND SEWERAGE

Mr. Andrews Defends Lower

Hutt Citizens’ Policy

Members of the Citizens’ ticket at Lower Hutt, led by the mayor, Mr. J. W. Andrews, have defended their own policy and criticized that of Labour at meetings this week. Mr. Andrews said there was no recorded trace of undulant fever in Lower Hutt, let alone any trace.able to mill?. Labour’s pasteurization proposal was well belated. Producers and vendors, in partnership, had agreed to set up a £13,000 pasteurizing plant and the licence for it had been sought. Because of the war it might be many months before it arrived. Milk zoning was a purely Government matter to save fuel and tyres.

A considerable start had been made with waterworks extension. When the council asked the Local Government Loans Board in March, 1941, for permission to take a poll at the May. 1942, elections, no reply was received for five months and then obstacles were put in the council’s way. Permission was ultimately given in December. 1941, and the poll, taken in February, 1942, was carried. Considering the difficulties in getting steel and plant, as well as labour, considerable progress was made. Four modern artesian wells were sunk; each could deliver 1000 gallons a minute. Land for the reservoir, plus steel, had been bought, a contract let for the access road, and soon plans would be ready for tendering purposes. Trunk mains worth £20,000 bad been installed and a contract let for IG.OOO feet of concrete steel-lined tubing for the delivery main. Tenders were being called now for adidtional pumps.

Labour had contended that a four-hour electrical stoppage would leave the city without water. Such a stoppage would require a greater upheaval than this hemisphere had ever known, with the odds, that even then it would not affect all the Island power sources, which were linked. Lower Hutt had one of the best and purest supplies of watep; adequate for 20 years. There were no restrictions on its use and low pressure at higher levels would be remedied by the completion of the present works.

All possible was being done to remedy the sewerage position, caused partly by sinking of old sewer mains in bad subsoil and largely by people causing stormwater to run into foul sewer mains, thus overloading them in periods of heavy rain. The council had an outside staff of 59 against 131 three years ago, and it was doing a good job. Filtering and heating the Riddiford Baths had been found impracticable. When tepid baths were more essential than other big works in hand they would have to be designed witli foundations and walls capable of carrying a roof; the present baths would not do that. Labour’s promised list of works for rhe Rehabilitation Board had been prepared and forwarded more than a year ago. As for gas pressure, the Labour Government controlled—or should control — the coal position on which the gas supply depended. Had Labour remained in control of the hospital board it was doubtful if the Hutt Hospital would ever have been finished. Provision had been made for children’s play areas at liberal intervals, but little more could be done till labour and materials were available. The reserves staff of 33 had once been down to six, and was now restored to 12.

V hen he took office H years ago Lower Hutt hud 13} miles of sealed roads; today. 65 miles. In the last three years 14} miles had been sealed and 40 miles of footpaths resealed and, for the most part, reconstructed. Fifteen hundred chimneys had been repaired after the earthquakes. The works committee chairman, Cr. W’. C. Gregory. at Eptnii, replying to Labour criticism about not using more tar from the Petone gasworks, said that the council last year put 23,000 gallons of bitumen and light tar primer on the streets. This product had three times the life of Petone tar. For fire-fighting, z in addition to the ordinary supply, the council had provided for 1000 gallons a minute from two wells in the Seaview area, two off Park' Road, and one in Bell Itoad. In addition two groups of three wells in High Street would supplement this by 400 gallons a minute, in conjunction with the use of these wells, a 6000-feet. laying tender of P.ijin. hose could be laid at 30 miles an hour, two lines simultaneously.