LEVIN-FOXTON WATER PROPOSALS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 29 June 1910, Page 2

LEVIN-FOXTON WATER PROPOSALS.

SOME NEW FACTS. INTERVIEW WITH COI7iXOIT)LOR MACK.IOXZI E. Cr. Mackenzie wits interviewed ye.sterdiay by a reporter of The Chronicle with reference to tlu; speeches till the hist meeting of Uiu Foxton liorough Council in connection with the proposal ito supply Foxtoii with water frloin Levin. Councillor Mackenzie sa-ifl that at tlit* meeting in quest-ion <it was stated t'na,t> waiter could he as easily got I'rofn Shannon as Levin. The position was simply this: As the crow (lies Shannon is 12 to 11 miles from Foxton, and Levin. from the same place in Fox ton was under 10 Levin wilier supply, continued Cr. Mackenzie, came absolutely from the virgin hush, through country that had not been contaminiated by stock in any wav. Any supply Fox ton got from Shannon must nocessirdy conic, from ciinf.'iiiiiniatwl sow's Apart from that the country Foxton would li-jive to traverse tiom Shannon was roekv. with all the. extreme difficulties*of rock cutting; it was also a clayey country v\ith big boulders in it. and then there were the inevitable swamps round Foxton. Foxton would find if it took water from Shannon tint they would find i't a very e.vpen;ive matter. l?etween Levin and Fovton there was good ground, till the inevitable swamps at Foxton were nut with. To bring water from Shannon to Foxton iiiiid nut iiv a J)in pipe with a pressure of 130 lbs +o Hu» square inch would be a niid "fK.fly undertaking. One conn-ilbi at 1' ox ton had talked about numpiitg water out of tilie Mia.nawa.tu river. The Maniawifu river was a very beautiful one. vo doubt, but. it received all TITE SEWAGE o| the towns from Dannevirke to I" oxiton .and also the sewage of other towns on i s tributaries, so that it could he r an what a "puro" sup pl,\ oi drii.'cing water Foxton ceohl get. W it.li reference to the objdetion of paying (id per 1000 gallons Councillor Mackenzie sand that- Foxton spoke about consuming 50.000 gallons per dav pei - head of llie population. The council put its Population down at loOO; the vera hook estimated it at 1400. 'Personally, he did not. pro.sumo tli.ii lor the present two-ithirds of f he population would be supplied with water at .all. On looking <>vt>r the records of the various larger cities in the Empire, he touiid London consumed 28 gallons per head per day, Leeds 20 gallons, and the only town which reached oO gallons was that hive of industry—Glasgow. 11 Foxton required from Levin the quantity of water it said. it required, it would necessitate Levin putting ill additional storage capacity. So that if Foxton did take Levin water, financially for Levin there, would he little in the transaction. Again, provided Foxton only required what Levin Council thought it would require, and it based, its belief on the requirements of Levin, the present works were sufficient for the present to supply both boroughs. Were Foxton to put in a storage tank at Foxton or on one of the hills adjoining that town tihen for years to come ,a small pipe with the enormous power Levin had. would deliver to that tank all the, water that FOXTON would require. For example a. Jin pipe could he laid for Clot) I'o CoOl/ per mile, or a total of (MoOO. A Milk would cost C 1.200 at the. Foxton end. making a total outlay of (.'•">700, as against the l'l(>,00() or (.'20.000 it had been .alleged the•r.heme would ces't, It was evid'-o.t, continued Councillor Mackenzie, from (he statements made -about pumping that the Foxton 80-rough •ouncillors bid not figured out the •est of pnmpiing water for town, purnoses. When they did go into (ho uii'itier they would find that tho lia'lway Depart meat of Xew Zealand. after having gone carefully into the matter. decided to bake Levin water ;ut !Jd hee.ause that was cheap- • *i" than it. could pump it itself. I'oxron had been offered water Jit id per 1(100 gallons, which was the hiwist price ever paid by one bor■suu'li to another for waiter in this 'oniinioji. On reading the. report in tdie paper lie came to tlio oonclu'i:)n that Fox-tori councillors were hysterical over the question. Jle was satisfied that at present they, lid not intend to put in a water -aipply. If they had wanted a water supply they would have aporeached Levin relative to the mailer and held some kind of fniein.dly In conclusion Councijor Mackeny/e said "Duping the oa'r! twelve years Foxton's popiil.a----1 ion has not perceptibly increased. Th'.if ri f Levin has inet eased from 'Of) to nearly 2000, There has bee i 'it'le progressive spirit shown m '•'oxlrot: Levin has cone abound- siioolv t.!i rough til" i .and push of ''•e p-oplo. lY.*c,i<)|v the germ laden, 'ank® wdl siticfv Foxton for so'iie "cart' •*.:» "erne."