AN IMPORTANT CHOICE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 128, 26 November 1929, Page 10

AN IMPORTANT CHOICE

WATER FOR LOWER HUTT

COMPARISON OF COSTS

"This is probably the" biggest question the Lower Hutt Borough Council has yet had to face," said Sir Alexander Eoberts, Mayor of Lower Hutt, last evening, prior to making the following statement in regard to a comparison between two schemes for supplying water for the future needs of the

borough.

The time had come, said the Mayor, when the council must choose between remaining under the Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply Board or developing its own artesian scheme. If the council decided on the latter course it should immediately ask to be relieved of further responsibility in regard to the board.

At present the borough had a scheme which supplied 250 million gallons per annum, or ample water for a population of 12,500 people. To ada to that scheme a supply capable of supplying 20 000 people .would mean the sinking of another ' set of wells and installing another pumping plant and reservoir on the eastern side of the valley. When this was done the total cost to the borough for a population of 20,000 wouia be less than £3400 per annum. This would pay interest, sinking fund, maintenance, and all charges, and give an adequate supply with night pumping only (for. the purpose of taking advantage of specially low rates for electric current), and it was obvious that the same plant could give even a double supply by resorting to day pumping. Turning then to the proposed city and suburban scheme, the Mayor said that the Lower Hutt share in the 10 million gallons per day on a population basis would be'only 1,100,000 gallons, which would not be sufficient, as the needs of the borough would be 1,500,----000 gallons; and therefore the borough would have to purchase the balance of 400,000 gallons at a comparatively high rate, from the surplus supply of one of the other local bodies, or would have to pump the balance from its own wells. Obviously, it would be cheaper to pump it. The interest and sinking fund on the whole city and suburban scheme would be £45,000, of which the Lower Hutt borough's proportion would be £4894 per annum, to which would have to be added the cost of pumping the extra 400,000 gallons needed, or £375. The borough would still have to pay interest and sinking fund on its present plant, amounting to £420. In addition, a high pressure main would have to be provided to carry the water from the western to the eastern side, and a new reservoir would still, for technical reasons, be necessary on the eastern side. These factors would add £16,000 to the capital cost of the city and suburban scheme, which would bring the total annual costs of this scheme to £6690 as against -£3385 for the development of the council's own artesian scheme.

It was possible, said the Mayor, that a portion of the cost of the city and suburban scheme might be saved by an arrangement being made to take water from the Wainui scheme. This saving might amount to £400 per annum, but even then the minimum cost would be £6300, or about £3000 more than that of the artesian scheme.

There was another way out, and that was for the council to offer to take 1,500,000 gallons a day from the Water Board at a cost to the borough of £3400, but he could hold out little hope of the board agreeing to that course. It was only within the last fortnight that definite proposals had come from the board, the Mayor said, and no time had been lost in placing the position before the council. He proposed that the council should give early and careful consideration to the matter, so that a definite decision could be arrived at before the end of the year. In answer to Councillor Mitchell, the Mayor said that the estimated ultimate population of the borough, according to Government estimates, was 47,000, and in reply to a further question, the engineer, Mr. A. G. Bush, said he had no hesitation in saying that there was an ample supply of artesian water.

A Teport from a member of the Public Health Committee on artesian water in relation to goitre, which appears elsowhere, was then read.

Councillor M'Bain remarked that the cost of the scheme was not the only consideration. There were the questions of quality, quantity, and the danger of an earthquake upsetting geological formation and stopping the flow of an artesian supply. It appeared, however, from the information they had, that the quantity of water available from artesian sources was ample, that the question of quality was adequately answered by' the report from the Public Health Committee; and that there was just as much risk from earthquake to the Hutt River supply as to the artesian supply. '

The Mayor aaid he hoped that ratepayers as well as councillors would give the matter serious consideration.

Further discussion was postponed until the nest council meeting.