LYTTELTON WATER SUPPLY.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1802, 29 November 1879, Page 3

LYTTELTON WATER SUPPLY.

The steady increase of population at the Port is indirectly shown by a reference to the improvements which the borough has found it necessary to make from time to time to supply its inhabitants with water. In order to gain a just view of the growth of the port a good deal of climbing power must be used before the point is reached from which the localities where the buildings have increased in the greatest number can be seen. The proportion of the town as seen from the harbor does not convey to the observer the idea of a population well upon four thousand. In the foreground there are of course to be seen the business portions of the place, and above these the cottages and dwellings built upon the ridges and slopes of the hills, but the homes and cottages of the greater part of the inhabitants are hidden in the winding gullies, five of which run almost to the summit of the hills. It is principally in these that new Lyttelton is situated. It has been said that the growth of the Port must essentially bo upwards, and this is certainly so as compared with the development of the towns in other parts of the province. The tendency to build skywards was rather humorously expressed recently by the Church of England clergyman there, who, speaking of the parsonage, said that his mansion “in the clouds " was not well situated for carrying out the duty of visiting his congregation. It is the demand which has resulted from the increase of this upper stratum of the population that has moved the borough to add to the water supply facilities of the Port. A little over two years ago the capacity of the Heathcote Valley Works, then opened, was considered equal to the requirements of the place for a long period. With three reservoirs, containing half a million gallons, and an elevation above sea level of 200 ft., it was thought that additional facilities would not bo required for many years. The daily consumption, then estimated about 30,000 gallons, was considered large, and the elevation cf the reservoir sufficiently high to meet the necessities of the most elevated. Since then the d lily consumption for local purposes on'y, not including that required by the shipping, has increased to 46,000 gallons, and the necessity for a higher reservoir has become imperative. With a view to meet that demand a local reservoir capable of holding 66,000 gallons, has just been completed on the Little Brenchley road, at an elevation of 330 feet, and mains leading from it have been laid. The method adopted by the Council for supplying this new reservoir is considered most satisfactory. At an elevation of 182 feet on Canterbury street a reservoir, holding 79,000 gallons, was built some two years ago for the purpose of ensuring a temporary supply in case of accident to the main supply from the Heathcote reservoirs, or during the time required for cleaning out. Its dimensions are 70ft. by 12ft, by 12ft. 6in„ built of brick and finished with plaster. The water from the 200 ft. level reservoir at the Heathcote valley when turned on fills this in thirty-six hours, A 6-horse-power engine has lately been erected over this reservoir and a 4 inch pipe laid connecting with the new one on the 330 ft. level, the engine being of sufficient power to keep the latter filled by pumping. The engine is one of Messrs Scott Bros.’ manufacture, and is guaranteed to force the water the requisite height—l4Bft. The length of the pipe between the two reservoirs is about seventeen chains. Some delay has been met with in getting the boiler for the engine finished at the foundry, otherwise all the connections have been made, and Mr J. Sowden, the foreman of works for the Council, states that the new supply will be available within a few days. The measurements of the new reservoir ore 108 ft. long, 12ft. wide, and Bft. high, finished with a brick arch. It is an excellent piece of work, excavated and built by prison labor, under the supervision of the foreman of works and Mr Jones. The floor and walls are concrete, the foimer Sin. in thickness, and the walls 10in., with four buttresses of concrete inside strengthening each of the walls. The roof is brick and arched, the whole being finished with a coating of plaster, and presenting a surface as smooth almost as glass. With the completion of this high level supply something like four miles of mains will have been laid, as representing a part of the Lyttelton water scheme. When it is considered that the whole scheme has been carried to its present stage of perfection without involving the borough in a penny of debt, the result must be '.highly satisfactory to the ratepayers, and very complimentary to those under whose direction and management the work has been carried on.