WATER SUPPLY AT OHAU.

Shannon News, 18 October 1929, Page 4

WATER SUPPLY AT OHAU.

OPOSED

tli,© Horoin response settlers on Muhunoa West Road, Ohau, in installing, gipthe property of Mr G-. F. j jfInJWJS, a hydraulic ram to supply t. : iMr farms with water, will he ' i f l superseded t as the result of further representations by the ratepayers interested; and, as was formerly inv timated 1 to them* their" needs will -. have to be met by an electric pump. .A deputation of .the settlers waited on the County. Council on Saturday, and after the mat- ; ter had been gone into an understanding was arrived at that they would consent to a special works rate to establish an electrically operated Water supply, which is estimated to cost £lB5.

A letter was received from Mr 6. F. Aityan, in which ho stated that, when the Works Committee met at his farm on September 26th, in reference to the water supply, it was decided that he should approach Messrs Brown and Yickers'in reference to the new scheme recommended by.the County Engineer. The writer subsequently met these two gentlemen, and together they discussed the-imatter very fully. As there were two points about which he was not quite certain, it was decided that he ask the Council to arrange for an interview, either with the Council or the jWorks Committee, so that the questioonpf water could be fully .discussed and>«ome agreement arrived at.

The deputation, which “was introduced by Or. Catley, consisted of Messrs Or. P. Anyan, J. Frew, D. Y. Brown, E. R. Vickers and A. S. Easton.

The position was outlined by Mr An- • yan, who said that the settlers present thought thsflt they were entitled to more water than they were getting; but if the,Council thought they were, not so entitled, then they would have ' to go in for an alternative scheme. They had been wonderiilg whether it would be possible to put in an electric, motor, with the existing pipes; but, on the County Engineer’s advice, this was hardly possible. They wished to knowhow far the Council would asist them in regard to installing a new water supply. The Chairman: Do you mean monetary assistance? ..Mr Anvan:. Yes. Continuing, Mr Anyan stated that Messrs Brown, Vickers and himself had understood, in the first place, that the rain-was put in to supply their three farms. Until those farms were properly supplied, no other farm could have been entitled to draw from that ram. Seeing; that the. system was already there, they had to make the best of it, but their object was to see what the Council would do for them. The Chairman said he presumed that the Council in the pa3t had not extend- . ed the water service without consulting the farmers already drawing on it. Mr Anyan stated that he was absolutely without a water supply this season; One of his paddocks, 14 acres in extent, had not had: a drain of water in it in the last twelve months; he could not get it grazed cut, because the cows would not stay in it —they returned to the homestead: at 11 a.m.

through want of a drink. If the trough were placed 'differently,. Mr Vickers and himself could get water, but at present they got none from it unless there was 4ft 6in. of water in the tanks. The deputation would like to know what ' a new installation would cost them., above the rates they already paid. The Chairman: To give this addi- . tional water, there must be some capital outlay. Mr Anyan: The first loan must bo

pretty well paid back,. .* The Chairman: Until it is we must eollect the rate. I cannot say what the state-of - that loan is, but I don’t think it is anywhere near paid off - . Mr Anyan: We are quite prepared to go on with the new system, unless it is going to cripple us in rates. We must have water. The Chairman: There is sufficient water coming (down that race* if yon , could throw it ovct the hill. , iMr Anyan: The ram at present is only sending a trickle. Wc have been carrying water from the raees to wash out'bails and do our washing, so as to see if we could not get water" baek in the trough. The Chairman: I suppose wc can assume there is as much water being thrown now by the ram as when the ram was installed? Mr Anyan: I could not say; but I have only seen water in the trough once, and that was when all our cows were away. The Chairman: I understand from Mr Brewster that the ram is sufficient for the cows that have to drink from that system. Mr Anyan: The only comparison I can make is a boy on sands carrying water from the sea. A member of the deputation stated that ’the ram was very often stopped. The Chairman: It is not Ihe most

satisfactory method of lifting water. Briefly, what you want to know is what amount the Council is prepared to put up by way of cash to assist you to get this? 'Mr Anyan: Yes; and how much additional it will cost us on our rate.

The Chairman: Do you suggest you should raise this by rvay of loan, to instal a better system, from a special rating area? Mr Anyan: Yes.

The Engineer informed the Council that the estimate for a first-class scheme was i £lB5.

The Chairman.stated that the money could, be raised’by ; a special -works rate I 1 spread-over-three or: four-years, instead ■ ■pf by, a loan. This course had beea >

in the case of a bridge at ( Mr Anyan: Under this new scheme, we would get all the water we want and to spare, for years, according to what Mr Brewster told us.

Cr. Colquhoun: What would it cost them on a short-dated loan, for five or seven years? It is of vital importance to them, and if the Council could do anything it should. The Chairman: Why not reduce it to four years and make a special works rate of it?

Cr. Gimbiett: Are they looking to the Council to share in the cost of it? The Chairman: I don’t think they put up an argument on that, because this is of benefit to a particular area of land. The question of the riding making a contribution towards the cost of this work will be one for very careful consideration for the gentlornen concerned.

Cr. Catley: It is not usual. . The Chairman; No; but you havfc done it for roads.

Addressing the deputation, the chairman stated that if they would submit the names of the properties that woull benefit, the clerk would work out the cost on a basis of four years. After that the settlers could advise the Council as to 'whether they were prepared to go on with the scheme. Replying to a question by Cr. Golquhoun, Mr Anyan stated that he could run seven more cows if he were not short of water. He added that he had had to send cows away to graze at the beginning of March because they had no water. He had had 40. cows out grazing, and he was paying 2s a week on behalf of young stock which he dared not bring home because there was no water for them. The chairman explained that the special rate would be struck over the properties according to valuation. The names of those composing the deputation were given to the Council as the owners (in one case the lessee) of the properties that would benefit from the proposed scheme. . Referring to the trough which served the properties of Mr Vickers and himself, Mr Anyan stated that the Works Committee had Observed that this was empty while there was water in the other troughs connected with the service. He added that he would be willing to pay for the removal of this trough to a lower position, so as to get the water. The point was that otherwise Mr Vickers and himself would bo in the same predicament again, whereas they wanted a fair share of the water that was being pumped. , The Chairman: I think that could be fixed up satisfactorily. Mr Anyau stated that he was farming the biggest area and had no water at present. The chairman remarked that, for the cows on the five properties, a supply of 240 Q gallons would be required. The maximum output of the present ram was 800 gallons. Mr Easton stated that he had two wells, in addition to the supply from t.he ram.

The chairman told the deputation that the Council would go into the question of what the cost would be to each settler over a term of years.

Mr Anyan asked if, in the meantime, he could alter the position of his trough. Cr. Colqnhoun said he thought that Mr Anyan's request for the shifting of the trough was reasonable; it "would not entail,any expense—the pipes ran along the fence. Mr Anyan: To-day the others are getting water, but myself and Mr Vickers are net. They do not offer any objection. The Chaim, n: You move it at your own risk, then,. Cr,. Jensen: It seems a pity that that water is not made available to all gf them. If of them have other schemes, it will be quite sound to eon-ne-ct with this supply, to save expense on their farms, on which they may have erected and paid for pumps. Ic only takes an electric pump a few hours to fill a tank that will supply water for several days. At the same time, it is important that the trough shall have a ball-cock, to provide aJgainst .any leakage. After the deputation had left, the Chairman said it was for the Council to decide what the term of years of the special works rate should be. The old scheme had not been a failure up to a certain point, but it now appeared to be so owing" to the increase in the number of cows. It was not a failure on the basis of what it was supposed to do, but it was not adequate. XU suggested that the Council find the money to do the work immediately'the settlers sign an agreement to pay the special works rate, to be spread over five years; and that they be not charged interest on the outlay.

A motion in terms of the chairman’s suggestion was moved by Cr. Gimblett, seconded by. Cr. Colquhoun, and carried, .with the addition that the five ratepayers be asked to present a petition consenting to the special rating, also to the levying of a maintenance rate for the supply of electric power and incidental repairs.