Thames Borough Coucil.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3730, 8 December 1880, Page 2

Thames Borough Coucil.

Al special meeting ,of the Borough Council was held this morning in the Borough Council .Chambers. Present—• Cr Speight (in the chair), Crs Marshall, Wilson, Osborne, and Bawden. The Chairman said the. meeting .was called in consequence of a series' of complaints, made against.the manner in which the contract for laying the nineinch mains was being carried .out, they had to present the following report:— , WATEB SUPPLY COMMITTEE. ' ,

Your Committee have to report that,' in consequence of it having been represented to them, that the contract for laying the nineinch mains was not being carried out,in accordance with the'specification signed by the contractor, they inspected Jthe work on the 7th imt., and find the pipes are not. laid to as 1 to be two feet below the surface of that portion of the road in which the pipe track is cut, and alto the pipes have been laid on the top instead of underneath the culvert at the junction of Bowen and Fenton streets, Parawai, The Committee find in one or two plaoes that the pipes are less' than a foot below the surface, and for the greater part of the distance, they are. considerably higher than specifications provide. The Committee have directed, the Foreman of Works,to report, if at the depth they an laid, the pipe*., are likely to be injured by the occasional traffio that will pass over, them,,and if the permanent levels of the district will require the culvert to be lowered or raised to carry off the storm water. The Committee also notice that at some of the joints at the sockets the lead, after being beaten up, is not flush with the sooket, showing sufficient lead has not been used in every-inetanbe. The Committee lay "these comments on the first section of the oontract before the Council with a view to the Council deciding if this seption shall be taken over with the pipes as at present laid, pr if the Turncock shall be instructed, that the pipe t.-aek must be 1 deepened, and the pipes lowered until the , depth named in the specification is reached. The Committee oonsiderthe Turncock has neglected his duty in not seejngthat .tbe^ conditions of the specification were carried out, and recommend that sin intimation to .this effect from thejCouucil be sent to him.— Jambs Mahbham.. , fobekan 0* wobkß bepobt. The Foreman reported as follows:— Gentlemen',—ln compliance with instructions, I visited that PQftion of the contract for laying pipos fronvßbaunga House to.Grey street, and beg to report as FoHpws ,-r-At the starting point (back rof the, Rununga House) I do not consider the pipM will be in any danger, or liable to break from drays crossing, if the cutting is well rammed aeoording to specification, as the pipes are laid below the surface oa an average of 15 inches, and the footpath will require to be raised 18 inches to bring it to the proper road level as fanned*, which' would gite an average of Bft lin depth from surface. Where the pipes have, been laid in the culvert, I would recommend that they be taken up for a length of 60 feet, and then lowered under the culvert, as the culvert npw is too low for drainage purposes by 12

mcheß, as the pipes lay close on the water line in culvert at the present. At 1 the junction of Grey street the top of the pipes are one foot below the surface, the footpath requires to be raised 15 inches to the present level of road, which will give an average depth «f aft Sin. The pipes crossing the Hape Creek are not' laid to the depth ia specification, but will not make any difference toHhe creek, exoept ia the case of a flood, which might cause the gardens on the Parawai side to be overflown, as the edge of the gardens comes down to the water line. I would recommend that no culverts or watertebles be cormt ttt ttntU inspected and passed, as the culvert opened tbis morning by my instructions was filled in, and might have caused trouble aad expense in the future.-* am, Ac, Thoiob BaWdok, Foreman of Works. „, Cr Osborne asked if a copy of the specifications was handed to the Turncock, and if he understood he wps to saperintend the work? '

The Chairman said that a resolution had been passed authorising Mr Laurie to « take charge of the work. The work was not being carried out in the manner it out to be, and the question was whether the Council should order 1 the wort to be donf over again, or let the work go on. Cr Osborne said that he considered the Water Supply Committee were giving too much to Mr Laurie to do. They expected him to test the pipes and see after the laying of the pipeiT ai well. The Council could not expect him .to be at Parawai and here at the one time. The Chairman said they did not expect > him to do so, and had given him leave to4^ stop testing the pipes in order that he might superintend the work. , < Cr Marshall proposed that the recommendations of the Foreman of Work* be accepted. ■■' , ■■>..%

Cr Bawden seconded. '* ■•' This was carried. . . Cr Wilson moved,;" That the .portion of the piping related to in the first clause of the Foreman's report need not be re-laid.—Carried. " '•'■'• Cr Wilson moved—"That 30 feet past the aforesaid culvert to the valve at the Police Station the pipe trench need not be deepened. ' From that point to the completion of the contract the pine (a^ench mußt.be to the depth named in the specifications." : r / ' ' It was resolved to test the pipes with the fire engine.. „, T.* *-.>'> v .'., , °° th«.nwtibn of Cr Osborne, seconded by Cr Wilson, the report of the Water Supply Committee was adopted.' i' The meeting then terminated.'