The Hutt News THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1930. PULLING OUT.

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 34, 30 January 1930, Page 7

The Hutt News THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1930. PULLING OUT.

A decision on a momentous question -was unanimously arrived at on Monday • evening by the Borough Council,"when it passed a resolution moved by the Mayor £ir. Alex. Roberts) to tie effec*. -that ''This Council cannot agree to the basis of the apportionment of costs as suggested by the "Water Board," This ia, in effect, a withdrawal from the •Board which was constituted to supply -water from tie upper reaches of "the Hutt River to Wellington and adjacent boroughs including, of course, Lower HutT,. 'Lao prime reason for this unanimous decision of our Council was -thr.t the cost of water per thousand gallons supplied by the Water Board -mnvid have been just about double -wt&t it will cost to supply-from an arttsian scheme, after allowing for tie sibling of additional wells (probably) *« the Borough Engineer suggests) in t!i«i r.eighbouxhood of the industrial ava, the construction of a reservoiT on 'the. Eastern Sills and the necessary T«« oiriation tiat would be -required. In

making the decision it did on Monday

• evening last, the Council was rightly ! > jpozisitifcTing the pockets of the rate- j ~> payers and they will, we feel sure, fully endorse the Council's action. If the j •cheaper supply were in any sense of i inferior quality, then tie question of cojt alone would not be a dominant factor in the decision arrived at, But as wo have before, in dealing with j this big question, pointed out, analysis O-: v.ater from each of the two possible sources, bears out the contention we have made that the artesian supply is r.r i in the faintest degree inferior to thj stpply which the Bo&rd could provide. The point of greatest difficulty •of" decision' is that relating to the underground supply is to its volume and continuity. Tins must remain an indeterminate quantity and the only reliable guide for the futuxe is that to ibe obtained-from past experience. One,. Councillor of .long residence in the •borough declared that he had never Jknown* nor heard of a failure to. find ~& free artesian flow from any well sinking in any part of the borough and on this fact he based his belief in there, being an ample supply fox the future. Another councillor declared that as there was no known, means of ascertaining the volume of an underground supply, and as tie cost of such supply was only, one half of that of the alternative scheme, the Council was fully justified in coming to the decision it Aid any should the supply fail in the distant future, posterty could not with reason, blame tie present Council for acting as it did. The decision of the Council will be communicated to the

Water Board at its meetng this week

. *jy Qur representative, Sir 1 Alex BoMerts. We understand tnat Petone *^iU adopt an attitude similar to ours, i -thus leaving the Hutt Biver Scheme *to be developed —if it goes on —by Wel- • lington City, Eastbourne Council, Hutt bounty and Upper Hutt Borough Goun- ■^ <$il. T2iis matter has engaged the ' minds of out Council for a long time during which the fullest information on all points have been supplied by the Borough Engineer (whose report we publish in another column), and we liave no (hesitation in saying that the decision arrived at 'is the best for all ratepayers and residents. There need be no fear of a steadily increasing population as ample provision can, at a reasonable cost, be made for a popula-

tion double that of the present one s without lessening the average daily con-

sumption which, in our borough, is a very considerable one, showing a heavy consumption in. gallons per - head for culinary, domestic and garden purposes. '•.'..