WATER FOR PAEROA

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 32, Issue 3290, 19 July 1943, Page 4

WATER FOR PAEROA

COMMENT BY THE £OUNTY WAITAWHETA SUPPLY PRESENT SOURCE. INADEQUATE ' 1 - - Paeroa water supply sources were under consideration at a meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council, held on Wednesday. From the Minister of Lands, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, a letter had been received in reference to the Paeroa Borough Council’s representation regarding the reservation of Crown land in the Waitawheta district, for the purpose of a comprehensive water supply scheme for Paeroa and the surrounding district. The letter stated that the position had been looked int® and a lithograph was enclosed showing the status of the lands in the watershed of Waitawheta. It would be seen that there were already ample of land in the Waita.wheta Valley, should a water supply from that source be developed and used in the future. Practically the whole of the western side of the valley and a great portion of the eastern side, was under reservation as State Forest, and water conservation was one of the first principles of forest management. All the land in that locality considered suitable for settle- , ment had long since been disposed of by the Grown,. so that it was most unlikely that anything in the way of land settlement could take place to depreciate the river for water supply purposes.' Potential Source of Supply The Lands Department, it was stated, considered the Waitawheta river as the best potential source of supply in that part of the Auckland District for town and farming lands; but the officers of the department could see no immediate prospect of its being required' or made use' of and ii?the meantime it was suggested that the Borough Council might perhaps investigate the possibility of augmenting its present supply by the erection of another dam in its present water supply reserve of 1312 acres. Remarking that the council was asked for comments on this letter, the

chairman, Mr W. Marshall, said that to'build another dam in the borough’s present water supply sources was impracticable. The present small dams in the streams were not reservoirs, only storage dams, and to construct another dam would involve considerable expense without improving the present position to any extent. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by Councillor T. A. Barrett, it was decided to refer the .borough couricil to the engineer’s report on the matter.