THE WATER SUPPLY.0

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 231, 29 September 1880, Page 2

THE WATER SUPPLY.

-• A special meeting of the Gify Council wisheld last night for the puvposfc of enquiring into the statements made by Or.- Hurley, on Friday last relative to the condition of tb.e water, in the re^rvoji: on the hcdaijiQn of his visiting- it on Monday, the 20th inst. Present : 'the Mayor .and Crs Bv.ei;ett, Levien, vEtarJey, Litde, Hounseilj- Johns, 'aird Tift3kiv , y Tlie Mayor,, having, stated the v oi/ject x iov^ which the meeting was called,^proceeded -^o- A say that.. tho ? members of the; Waterworks I Committee accompanied by. certain v b'ther nTembera of the Council, had visited the reKSerYoir^th.e previousydayj-^vlien re\r§rvldri|jg^ 'was' found" in ; good btdec, and thef^eportfof ''< Hhe^Commlttce. to that effect was read. ~* v ■ IMie i -Mayor-' then asked- Cr Harley if -he" was prepared to substantiate his statements, or to apologise ,tb the Council* fcfr haviogT made hasty remarks regarding JihejionditibiL of the reservoir. ; „-GJr Harley. f replied r ;that he/; wets, perfectly ' prepared to substantiate every thing, lie jkd said. He had made no chargef out' had' simply stated what be had seen, and he ~ was--perf ectly^ ashamed --to-»-belongr-.»to«Buch« a body of. men who — and., he : woulA.^BayJ ttie name of the press -had treated bM most shamefully, in calling in questiottthecorrectness of his assertions, which it was not at all likely he -would have made unless'the'y were trup;, ■ lie might have made a mistake in saying that the members of the Committee had not visited the reservoir sincehe lletf t the Committee, but that was. the 'only; error tie: had made. .He: had dono nothing, but bis ; duty to the ratepayers in making public what he had seen, and he submitted that the proper course for the Council to pursue was : to bring forward: their witnesses r first to disprove his statements if they could, afterwhich Ire wodld call those pn his side." ! After some discussion it was ruled- that ; Cr Harley shonld , first lay his case/before j the Council,' whereupon he'dsked that- all : wituesses.might be ordered out of the .room, • and this being done he read the following \ telegram from Mr Morey of New Plymouth, which, he. said, was to be followed- by :a statutory declaration to the same effect :— '* Remarked reservoir in disgraceful state. Seemed much neglected. Vegetation very apparent" He then proceeded^to call his ■ witnesses : , Mrs Harley, examined, by Cr Harley : I j visited the reservoir on Monday- the 20th linstant, and am able to corroborate your i statement as it. appears ia . print. . iS-oiri: i where we were we could see three parts jof 1 ;the surface of the water. : The grass was jgrowing at the bottom, and there was vegeItation over the top. Mr Morey was the •first to call attention' to it.. He said it was .evidently in a very bad state and asked if that was the water.we drank; Ho which you replied, uo, thnt which was used camo from the dam. Mr Morey got out of the trap and iwalked round the reservoir. .. I -am satisfied that what what you stated on Friday night is perfectly true. > There was only about ; two feet of water in the reservoir. By Cr Everett: We droye up one way and back the other. I was in the trap on the hill side ol\the reservoir when Lsaw^thcwatersBy^the'Mayor • .What I saw could "nqt'haVe been a reflection of the Mil or walls" in the. water. lam sure' l was not mistaken. '"- ' \ Mrs Day stated that on Thursday or Friday the 16th or 17th inst. a Jump of soft green slimy matter about the size of a w-aU" nut had passed out of the fap when she was drawing water -.for the house. ., ... i Mr. 'Ligh'tfbot, examined by Cr Harley : I was at the reservoir this. afternoon, having gone to see the men who were working at the wall. Stone did not come to the office this afternoon so far. as I know. • I was. at the reservoir on the 21st, the day after you.. The men were to start that night to clean it out, and it was to be filled on the following day. When undergoing repairs ia sumaier it has been without water for weeks together,, and, for nearly., a ;week at a time when being jwhi'teyyashed. My instructions to. Stone ara to supply the" towu from, the upper dam and the reservoir; from the seven-inch main, so that the town jfets the full, pressure of the twelve-inch main ; and he has general in structiona to- -keep .the reservoir .perfectly clean. It .ia cleaned out at'least once a month, and sometimes oftener.- : It-holds-thirtyisix hours supply for the- town. -I have never seen the reservoir : iri the' Btate described by you. Whenever I have seen anj--thing liko Bcum;i>have called Stone's atten- . tion to ; it, and he is provided with a net fitted on. a long handle with which to removeanything of the kind; or any seeds or leavesthat may .blow- in. Ihave- sometimes been, at the reservoir when the-waterwa's not'runing orer through-the. waste pipe. This would be about eleven o'clock in the mqrriiug when the demand is greatest in town. - ] By CrHounsell :..When Cr Harley visitedthe reservoir the town was being supplied from it, as the water in the dams was discolored. j By,,Cr Harley .: Ijhave be"en to', the /reservoir with you when- you .were on the Committee. I don't "remember the ..Committee giving 'any^instruct ions to Stone. I don't remember a Councillor ever remarking that t!he reservoir looked as though .it . had not been cleaned for several months. The reservoir, has never been left without water in order that the sun might, peal. the greenstuff off the walls. : Mr. Crewdson, examined by Cr'H^rley : I have been to the reservoir with you when I was a member of the Committee. I remember passing tho remark that it wanted cleaning out. Stone said it had been cleaned about a month before, and I replied that, if so, it , wanted doing o gam. Possibly; I said it had not been cleaned for three months; I visited the reservoir on the 4th inst. It was then 4 full and running over, and I. could, see to. the b|ottona. It was perfectly clear, and I remarked that Stone had whitewashed it since I was there last. , I have, visited it five times since July, I think you must have seen '■ double when you were: there, and. that you could not have got over the election. | By Cr Everett: I think, .when I .was a diember of \. the-, Coniniittek I Avisited the Reservoir as a rule about once a fortnight. I never saw any ecum or green matter floating o-n the surface. The water was never stagnant, but always running in, and out through the waste pipe. l -.'... : ; By Cr Harley : I have seen green .stuff, growing, on the walls, but never, on .the surface. ■ ••„.-, /,' . Cr Little: Did you not go, with me and , say it was filthy and looked as though it'had J riot been^leaned out for napnths!?r^l.said it, \yas on the walls but not pn ;the , surface. There jyas a sort of green scaly. Bluff on the Wnllsj. > .; :- . -■..' -. ■: „',. .:.-) [) ,;.:. . ..:-.- . j Gr ; Harley;: Would thiaba likely jtp.x drop . ; off as the water lowered, and to fosni.that. spurn which I Baw.tfq-tNojalttbinJfe; w.hat you eaTv.must.have-been.the.green on the walls. ..- Cr HoiiDßoll<:,-' Dp you^think that between tie 4th and 2'otn two "itjches of* Scum could afccumulateon {.he, surface ?R-Quite, itnnos-, slbl6 J . iVwblild* bkfd 1^ green .^ec-* taclenM.se6.it; ' '•«..£ 1-.- ±, *r J- , iv " otahtto be called to draer. 'He^aVeumi 1

moned here to give evidence, and not to be saucy. ' • Mr Harris, a.Eon-in-law of Mr Stone's, had' been in the habit of visiting the reservoir on and off for over 'four years, and had frequently seen it in'a bad state, but never so bad as described by Cr Harley. Had seen greens-vegetation-- Qnjtbe walls and at the. bottom, and sometimes on the surface, but not much. Had seen the water in the reservoir stagnant for weeks together, indeed, had never seen it running more than six times in four years. Stone sometimes cleaned t^e reservoir by- emptying ityat others, he just Went.' rpund^the top, with a brush &nd swoj)t rouhd* the Walls; When the reservoir was half empty the Stun 3 would peel off the wa115....,, ,-.--,.--. -.• -..-... - • By Cr Everett : Had been living at the ■reseryoirfor a; fortnight, but that was over twelve months' ago 1 . BiirirJg 1 i'otir ye'arswas there three or four, and sometimes seyM and eight times a week. Had not seen the reservoir within the last month. By Cr Ttaste : Had been there night and (dayjaiid always observed- the .water -in, thereservoir,. fiafl rid perkmal ajririiosity'agaiust Stone. Never toltL Josepli Mills he wduld do Stonewall the harm in his power. ■Mr ~Haase -: Haid been to the reservoir ten months ago and saw green matter floating ■,on the surface- of the water, but eowld not "say the thickness of it. Cr liar ley 'said there were other witnesses he" had hojiipcl to -'produce -but they were not present. He protested' Hgtliiisti' tiie position in which he had , been placed. He" had never,. in any, .way, been' known to be a grocs perverter of the truth., and in all Ms business dealings iie.iin.cl Udell fespb'etgd arj'd thought -of equally well with any of the Councillors, ?and ypt he was, abcused;6f untruth. Of the press wHich" had treated him 'unfairly -and' dishonestly he could not speak, in terms sufficiently selreM"\lle v .had. f (tbne that swhich Jy"as His'-dMy'. k.th§ rdtepayeHyand had adduced evidence to proves ihti correctness of his., statement! . Ho-, complained bitterly >that the sei'yant'sof the-Council who -ought ,to respect him were brought there to give ;Mm?the,4ie^~W.as-it -likely-they-would tell ■toeitrufiri wlieii, if tlieyVUd/ so', ; tHey would ]lqTe;itheir "ralletsr- He\.Had acted in the SnteresW^of the-ratepayerl; and4e asked the Council to consider the matter fairly, and npOd be biassed i&itheir opinion, .but to sayy. .' < i C<mncillor Harleyfhas done'liis dflty like, a man, and we aiTologise to him for the actiorf ( . we have taken. 1 ' [i itlipßEarley, examined by Cr Everett : I drove -toHne reservoir past Stone's house. We stopped alongside the fence. I did not get ,ouk-.x>jL Jbh.e^irap,., i^,dii jn.pt _ meajure , .the thickness of the scum, but judged by my eye jbhatit^VastWo'inclies'tWek. I was within ten' feet of- it.. -•• i* ; -- -■ ■-■■>■ i Cr Trask : If you intended to bring, this, charge, why .'did-'.yqu not get out and exjnuine. more closely, instead of leaving it ;to ; Mr Mprey ? — I did not leave it to him. I saw for.myself. "I did not go inside to look. I did not speak to- Stone about it. He was >-oirig..tp..oiean the reservoir 'out, and was letting the water ruin oitt-for that purpose. Cr Trask, examined by Cr Everett : lam a member of the Waterworks Committee. I usually visit the, Reservoir once a month and. Sometimes of tener.' ' I was there on the 4th inst;' Vhen the waiter ! was as clear and pure la it was- yesterday. None of us ever saw green matter, floating on the surface. The vater' -was always running over, and we :iever saw.it stagnant. . .._ Mr Stone: I am reservoir keeper, and have been so for 13 years. It has "been scrubbed and lime washed during the last six months six times, on the dates mentioned iv the record which I" now produce. The ivater, has neyer ""remained- stagnant except when the* river was discolored; and'theu it is shut off from the dam. .- The, water is continually running through the pipes from the dam into the reservoir, thence through' the waste pipe. Smce I have been in charge I have never seen any scum floating on the surface. The walls become green. It de-V penda upon the weather how long a time elapses between the walls being scrubbed and their getting 'green again; The reservoir was full and overflowing on Saturday, the 18th September.' Tho water supply to the on; Sunday, the 19th, was \ discolored, because there was a very hard shower on Saturday night. I was on my way. to. town, and before I got back some, of the discolored \yater might have got into the main before I it off.-.! A bucket would hold the whole ofthe green Btuff v taken"froui t.be -reservoir when emptied on 'Tuesday, the '21st. The green matter would not fall off the walls into the water as it lowered. It BticKs too tight, and has to be scrubbed off. My instructions from MrcLigHlfoot, who. generally conies up once a week, have always been to be careful (o keep the. reservoir as clean as possible. When Cr Harley was there there were about 4ft Sin.of water. It was so low because tbo ta>wn .had been.supplied from it owing to the river being discolored. It takes ten hours to empty the reservoir. I use a hard coir brush io scrub, the .walls. . I have a fine sieve for clearing off anything that may blow into the reservoir or float on tho surface. Standing near the hill. and looking into ; the reservoir there is a reflection from the walls that gives the. water a dark green matter. I By Gr Trask: Within the last six months members of the Waterworks Committee have, visited the reservoir once a mouth. ; By Cr Harley: I have never been asked the questions now put to trie by Cr Everett before.- Some of- the Committee asked me aome questions yesterday. , . ■ - . - ■ Cr Everett: I may Stale that I drew up these questions between 10 and-ia last night,and they have been iv my pocket evor siuce. The Mayor: I asked Mr Stone Beveral questions yesterday. j By Cr Harley: When you were there I was repairing tho wall in tha river. I didnot know it was you at the time. 1 Sometimes 1 a|m away for several hours. I have never slept ajway from there since I first went there. I ; .can't regulate the pressure for tho town. I don't remember ever being told by any Councillors that the reservoir was dirty. I think about two' years ago it was suggested by-o ne of. them that it' should be whitewashed. There was no scum on the surface I tie day you were there. - I think it must have bee*n the reflection thakyou sa.WL...;. j.:.-: CrEveret.t- wished to. ; Btate. that his queat oqSjW'eje put r with a view; of eliciting the exact-truth, for he felt it. to T be. -his duty tosif t the matter, to the bottom quite as much ak i^was^Gr -Harley Vto'niake the i'statementß h!e had d,ona; , . ';/ * ■;. . : Mr^Phiilips/ exaniinedj by n j Cp Everett: I ajsisled'M.r'JJtbne in 'cleaning out the reservoir on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 21st and 22ud instkntl' reservoir Was hot full" when we commenced to rurf tho' ' water" out." 1 I 'saw no green sbu'rn 'SvhateVer on the' stir'face either on the;Tii'esday;or Wednesday.'; Thers was a little green 6h t , the walla, and; bbt'tdm. •'What J was' oh the walls tpould, have put in my hat We used a hard brush : to scrub" it. out. . When wa r h^d finished scrubbing there was jio green,' matter at the bottom/; It had passed out of the sluice pipe a; the. bottom. ...l.havp. been there twelve, diys, during ,wliich time the water, always: appeared to be pure and clean. . The reservoir B4d been running over all that lime. IBy Cr Levieu : lam positive all the. green stuff off the walls would hive gone into my hat; . ' . jßy Cr Little: There 'is a valve at the bottom through which some, of the green stuff might have gone out. . IBy "Cr Everett: I saw none whatever on the surface. ' " . ■ By'Cr Harley : There was very little water in tho reservoir when you. were there. It was riot being. emptied theni From where I Was at work I could see you driving round ( the reservoir. 1J did not watch. you closely.' The waterwas just a little slimy when we were : cleaning it out. jMr Stone re-called and examined by Cr Harley : If there. was two, fpet. of water in .the reservoir it«would take twb'hours to run bit. It was on Tuesday morning that I run it!out.£ I started toifillit on (Wednesday. It^ takes four-hours; to fi11. ,, .On^Thursday and JTridaythejreservoir was full and running over.' There waa"a netting over /jthja; aluicj^ "pipe until the reservoir was nearly empty, v and"thenit was' takeii 6f£" """ IBy Or Trask : There are tviro; pipes from trie reservoir, one for" supplying the town, \Mr Coleman, examined 1 by- Cr Harley : I at£hjJjrMr£oi^ hdt more than a foqt of mi^v ..in- the reser''voirthen. -■„ ST.: 0 . 4 *-, t -,

Mr Lightfoot, examined by Cc Everett : I visited (he reservoir on the 7tb, 15tb, Slat, ~acd 25tb-September. "Up to the 21st the reservoir was fnil. It was then nearly empty, preparatory to being cleaned that nigiit. I have never found the water covered with a green scum. On the 15th it was full and overflowing. It would be impossible^or,any one driving along to see the whole of the surface when there was only two feet of water. The diameter is 70 feet, and not more than 50 feet 6 inches could be seen. The area of the reservoir is 6C2C feet. Jf that were covered with green matter two inches thick it would represent 40 cubic yards. Mr Stone isprovided with a longhandled net to remove anything floating on the top of the water. The walls and bottom of the reservoir become green two or three days after it has been scrubbed out. Mr Winklemann, examined by the Mayor; lam a stranger in Nelson. I w*s at the "reservoir 68 SaSday, the 19th. I was looking at it for about two iiiinttles. I noticed no impurity whatever on the Burfflce. The - water looked perfectly cX an. • By Cr Harley ; I was outside the railings on the road side. I could see all over the ; reservoir. lam quite sure there was no green matter whatever on the surface, anO I saw none below ft. - The following letter from Mr TweediD web then read ;—' ■ To tlie Mayor"and City Councillors of Nelson. Gentlemen,— As t.tmve been requested by Mr. Stone, I horeby beg to submit for your consideration my observations, in connection with- the recent charges brought against the above named gentleman re the alleged filthy I state of the reservoir On Tuesday, the 21st instant, I was up at th.c reservoir". A man was-then biisy cleaning ifc out j the gate being open, I' went inside'Chfe fence so that I might have a better view of the place. i The, walls appeared to be perfectly clean, but on theibottbm of the pond there was a quun- ,. tity of silt and a little gr?en fungus looking 'matter floatingabout. Having never seen the pond . cltaned out-before, I cannot say whether there was an unusual quantity of silt iv the pond or not. Owing to the recent freshes in the stream, I consider there was not any more accumulation in the pond than I would have anticipated, I have frequently visited the reservoir within the last two |Years, and-have always?considered it exceptionally pure and clean," and quite devoid of any obnoxious'matter floating upon ifc. I am, Gentlemen, Yours truly, Joun Tweedie. Nelson, 28th September, 1880. -.—The Mayor i We baye.,nq\vj}eard_the evidence on both sides, anS it is for~the Council to say whether they.think the charge made by Cr Harley proved or groundless. „If the. Matter, I trust that' some resolution 'will be bbught forward that will have the' effect of preventing any more euCh serious charges being lightly made,.," . :' . ': .- . ! CrT'rask said that Cr Harley, having admitted.that he was wrong in what he said about the Committee not visiting;; tbe~reservoir, was sufficient to show that he was justified the other night in saying that he ww'not to be believed. He took it very much to heart that so foul a charge had been 'made with reference to the condition of the water supply, as it was calculated to have a mosiiojurious effect ujaon Nelson. , • ! Cr Levien Baid ha, did not intend; going over the whole evidence, but would content himself with moving :— "'.-.,.-. - :" That this! Council after hearing the eViderice which ,bas been given are of opiuion that the statements niade by Cr. Harley at the meeting of this Council held ojf the 24th inst., namely, that on the occasion of a visit lately paid by. him to.the: reservoir the water was covered with a mass of thick scum or fungus twp';iuches deep, tbat the Water was so covered that you could not see it fi>r the green stuff,/ and that a great deal of the late sickness :in the town might be attributed to the impure state of the water supplied from the reservoir, are entirely without foundation." j Cr Little hoped the Council would pause before passing such a resolution. A lady had come there and declared that Cr Harley's statement was correct, ana a gentleman and 'ltldy,?now absent had corroborated it, and yjet they were to be asked to say that it was groundless. He might say that he had never seen the reservoir and the- two dams; so clean as they were that day, and ho felt sure that they.had been oleaned vp 1 in anticipation of the visit of the Councillors. Cr Harley could not" understand so condemnatory, a resolution being passed in the face of the evidence he had produced, and he could not find language strong enough to express his opinion of his fellow.Councillors If the resolution was carried he should call a! public meeting to discuss the matter. ! The resolution was then put and carried:— Ayes : The Mayor, Crs Levien, Trask, Houn■ell, ,lohnB f and Everett. Noes : Crs Harley and Little. | Cr Trask then moved,' {" That this Council desires to express its strongest censure upon the conduct of Cr Harley in making a public charge of so serious a nature as the above without being able to substantiate the same, as not only containing a serious charge of dereliction "of duty on the part of the officers of the Council," but calculated to create unnecessary ftjartu in the minds of the ratepayers and to damage the reputation in which the Nelson Water Works baTe hitherto been held not only in this city but in "other parts of the colony." •■ - - ■•■■•• ! Cr Everett seconded the resolution. I Cr Harley : Allow me to Bee the resolution, fit was shown to him.) This shows by what ;» prejudiced body of men I have been judged. Why; the resolution is not even iv Or Trask's own haudwriting, and it is clear that he came here with it in his pocket befbre hearing the evidence. ' iThe resolution was then'put and carried, the division being the same as the previous oiie. , j The Council then adjourned; -