THE OPENING OF THE WATERWORKS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 711, 27 June 1878, Page 2

THE OPENING OF THE WATERWORKS.

At i o ;i:'. :;.::■' 'ii ' .'■'"■.■. I? -oderson. the e ; l-.-i-ro" th-.- ;he :>. .:.:>:; W„; vworks. Os Wor-u, _ M>yor ao•.; a numb'-'. - of fri-.-nds '.'-s-iuhled at the rai.ivsv stjiiio. - ! yesterday morning for the purpose of doing honor to the opening of the waters of the Waitaki river into, what may bo termed the iirsi section of the Oamaru Wat-Tworks. The following gentlemen were present during the day, all, with one or two exemptions, proceeding by special train, namely—His Worship the Mayor, Councillors Booth, Gibbs, Mainland, Speuce, Procter, and FamiUon; Mr. M'Leod, Corporation Engineer; Mr. Roxby, Town Clerk ; Messrs. Athertou and ISTevill. Assistant Engineers ; and Inspectors Kirby and M'Lfjort. These formed the party representing the Corporation, Mr. Henderson, the contractor, was represented by hi.-, local manager, Mr. Carrington, support-ed by Mr. John Henderson, jun,, JYj.r. Howorth, and Mr. Wood. Mr. Snnipier, ex-Mayor, and ex-Councillor Scott were also in attendance. The general comnany consisted of the following gcrd!-°-min :—Mr. fiislop. M H.R., Mr. Loring, ■ ho was in charge of the frpr-cial train, Messrs. C m-e 11. De Labour, Christie, Forre- - '-r, 1., ngf <i - d, Coi-;naek, Coggins, ..iiid L..v. T. :V7 Smith. K |- b-]iispee:'or of i'uMc-.i. iri'r. K---IT, the M:na_ t of ihe N-i -: ' !; - iikow:s<! attended sa the I' ■■> . • - . ; •.;■! tion, ■■'. i'U'U l.um-.iiiaily at. halfpas :!. ;-. . ;'-;out any int. r.-nption. !■■'>::■. ;.■ a Biding KiMiated wiUiin a v. '-1-,ll' i.. !. yards if the lieadworks, " : ;>'v"..-d oil to the sotjlirig ponds and i ■o l : ■ •;;-i-t. K-.;thiiig could have been ■ i!io:e ■■■•-i--nictory timn the condition in i* ■ : ' f '".~y found'these v,orks. They i th i oioecedi..; to t.h-; Hood-gates throng!; \ii.iCh the v.ate.s were admitted into the settling pond. After a thorough inspecri'.n of ti.e works here, and at, the invitation of Mr, M'Leod, the Engineer in charge, an -xpvdition was undertaken to iho inlet itseif, from which, all returned to th fouiuain-head—the "first floodgate— to see the official ceremony of iiir irodiicihg the water performed. Here 'he duties proper of his Worship the Mayor commenced. He and Mr. exM.: ,- or Sumpter each seized an end of the iron handle connecting with the liftscrews of the fiood-gates. Manfully did they ixercise their strength in raising the mass of timber that had to be up-lifted . i- ■■ he waters could find an ingress. The work was laborious, and a volunteer being calied for, it was suggested that the

Corporation's Banker should assist in taking off the screw, the inference presumably being that lie must have had something to say to the putting of it on. Mr. Kerr accordingly lent a hand, and in doing so doubtless removed any doubts that might previously have existed as to his part in the business. The gates being opened, the water at once found its way into the settling ponds. Proceeding along the margin, of the pondsj;the party found itself in a very few minutes at their outlet; Here' the screws were again taken off, and' the Waitaki waters, :b'eing no longer confined, flowed freely mrd'the face., itself, ■■ w|vieli,. begin-.ing at this poiYiij.-.arid only 'terminating iViS.present; some'five miles distant, at Awamoko, will ultimately end at the reservoir, now in course of construction, immediately over the town of Oaraarn. At i.lie outlet of the ponds, the Mayor formally proclaimed the opening of the- works. He did this in a few well-chosen remarks, referring to tiie difficulties of the p'ist, to the success of the present, and offering--his opinion '■hat the diihoultiea of tiie future need nut be feared either financially, from an engineering- point of view, or otherwise. These, remarks were hailed with applause, it appearing to bo the unanimous feeling of all that the sentiments wore rue on-.s, spoken in good faith. Mr. Hislop, M.H:R, said that ho had originally supported Mr. M'Leod, the Engineer of the Corporation, believing implicitly in his skill as an engineer, and felt proud to be present to attest the proof of his judgment. The work before them was an unqualified success, and Mr. M'Leod deserved every credit for the way in which it had been thus far car/ied out. Sir. ex-Mayor Sumpter then addressed a few words to those present, expressive of bis great satisfaction with the way in :hlch the works had been undertaken and carried out. The contractor was likewise eulogised For the honest and skilful man.: r in which his contract had been fuliiile . and Mr. Carringtou, Mr. Henderson's representative, made a graceful acknowledge msnt. Three cheers were.then giveu for Mr. M'L-L'.'-d, for the contractor, and for Oamarn, which were duly acknowledged. The party then adjourned to luncheon. There was a:-. ■ -so■■ Dent spread, to which every one. did just:c . The Vlkvuv took th c'air. A'-. ..e usual loyal toasts.

.'l. 111,, ".hers fi. ■• tlie dini.-T't WliS pi'O--v ' )■.- ;:.. C -'-m-m. •■-.: d wiili the !)e.... ; of Mefe. ~ I- -•■:: R iirhll-ki. ■• "h.o;ki «t> -:-ible. '.:■:.•'.i.,ii iitdi^;i.;.iii ;••■>. : -- ho ni--.-:it. ;r;ri:ic:uiou with the success of the ui leriakilig thus far. Th u Chairui;m proposed the contra.-..;'. express 1 tig ivgrer. ;<> Mr. Uondoi'sou'.-. •iiis-.-nc-.i, to which Mr. Carrii: '"m mostaoly responded. Mr. Gibbs propositi the heahb. .■? Mr. tlie Engineer, iu a highiy eomji 1 Liji--ii i:\ry speech. .'!r. M.'L.od responded. M'\ C;uTin'.;fo!i proposed his Worship the Mayor and members of the Council, to which Mr. Steward responded. Mr. Sumpter prop is.d the commercial infcfi'ont.-i of Oaniani, coupled with the name of Mr. Humphrey, to which toasts Mr. Humphrey responded. .Mr. "R lotli, as Chairman of the Finance Committee., proposed Mr. K-.-rr, the Corporation banker, ■■■xpr' ashm his sense of the coii:'te o y kliovijs iho C 'Unci! by the Nafio'uil Bank in th'ir financial nnderMr. Kerr, in rerpon.ling. s:iid that tin-' C >rp iratiou ;.i;ght rely upon uie good oilices of the hank iu the future as in the past.

It. might, be interesting to supply our read 'l's with an account of the works wing on. We will euiutneuce ;it the intake, die waters of which are supplied by anew feeder, which it was found necessary to open up in consequence of a change in ilie couioc of ! he river. The intake or i;ilot is 20 chains in length.; or a quarter oil .-. mil.). The work is perfectly level, and is lift, in breadth at the bottom, ami, w'i.n fully charged, carries 2ft. Oiii. \i the entrance of the settling pond •Me i-vtijr j.d toree large gates, which can be r.'ils'.-.u <r lowered so as to regulate che iippiy from the inlet. The settling pond will hold three-quarters of a million of gallons.. This is a large work, protected at the lower end by a heavy concrete wall. Here again are a pair of gates which regulate the supply for ■ the race. Now for the race itself. The first two miles were designed to meet the peculiar nature of the ground, which is composed of porous shingle. On this portion, or about half a mile from the settling pond, are erected another pair of gates to enable the race to be repaired or thoroughly cleansed at pleasure. Some ten chains '"'irt'.ier on we come to the railway bridge. The race crosses underneath this. It has been found necessary to execute aonie rather extensive works here to rotect iiie foundations 'if the railway bi-kl.e and other works attached. An>ther quarter of a mile brings us to a point where the raoe discharges itsylf into an old water course, which lists been ulili>w' by banking in on either .side a. dhtaiio: of a mi!and a quarter. In going down this waterei'iirsa,' tiie Mi h ing so rapUl, a concrete I f*il and c■■■■*.l H hits been t-«nrst.ructed. [ i.'liis is a. good piece • ■? work, and answers I admirably. A u end of the banking, j in 0,i, ; ~;' the (i.a v,i.;;'V-coviv><"=; n. dis- ; c->.:c -,-f iuiiU, v-.-ri. ,„l). h ■■ ■".!• =!■/ Wair.iiki, lii • waters wre dischar .! e ..■ r a service of live rippl?*. int.. a s: :.> ■': .nl. This is •he beginning of che h-n . , ;de of ll'iiii to file mile—the gr.id.- which will be uinfu.ni all the way nil to. Oamai'ii from ijeiv. As some doubls wei'e thrown our as to the velocity of the srrrai ■-, on the low grade, it is pleasing to find that the waters flow freely on to Black Point, where flood-gates are also er -"-e 1 for a similar purpose as the last oi.os. From this to Awamoko two miles and a half of heavy cutting has been done, the race contouring the base of the hill the whole Oof-tance, the lower side of the race being in solid masonry. At Awamoko we are abont five miles and a half from the inlet, and we observed that the water which had been only shortly before admitted into the race flowed all. the way till within some ten chains of the dam at the Awa T inoko aqueduct. We understand that the minimum supply of our Qama.ru Water-i.-i rks will be 17,000,000 gallons every U hours. Taking Manchester as a standard case, wo could supply with, this over 300,000 souls ; some sav 600,000, giving to each person over 27 gallons per ■■'■ vv. Safely, indeed, may we therefore rely '■■

upon getting plenty of water for domestic purposes, and for our flour mills, and for any other manufacturing industries that may come in our way for many generations to come. We shall now close this report of an interesting day's proceedings by congratulating both the Corpora:ion and the contractors upon the tru.hfniness with which they have carried out' their responsibilities in this matter thus far, and wishing them the same meed of success in the future and until the completion of the scheme as they have been favored ■ with up till now from its earliest initiation.