THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1908. SEWERAGE AND WATER SUPPLY QUESTIONS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9087, 12 May 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1908. SEWERAGE AND WATER SUPPLY QUESTIONS.

The new Mayor is taking time by the forelock in the matter of drainage and water extension. The Borough Council, as is well known, has at least two resolutions on its records authorising the Mayor -to place the matter of drainage extension, based on Mr Douglas Dobson's report, before the ratepayers, bu 1 , important routine duties and a desire to secure a report from some competent outside authority prevented the late Mayor from giving effect to the desire of the ratepayers, as expressed through the ratepayers' representatives. Before the late Mayor retired, the report of Mr Laing-Meason on the question of sewerage extension was received, but too late apparently for the Council to do more before the financial year closed than to have it filed tor future consideration. Mr P. L. Hollings, the new Mayor, has

thua early in his term of office decided to have the matter, together with the question of extension of water supply threshed out without delay, and has called a meeting of the Council for Friday for that purpose. In regard to drainage extension there are now two expert reports before the Council, and in the main j both agree with each other an to the j course which ought to be be pursued. Some members of the Council hold opinions altogether different from those of the two engineers, and will probably endeavour to give effect to their own views, but we take it that the majority will favour the adoption of the expert reports, and decline to accept lay dictum as against high professional knowledge. The extension of the sewerage system is urgent. It will be costly, but . we think the ratepayers would prefer | having a complete and efficient scheme at the cost set out by Mr Laing-Measen under £23,000 to a "tinkered" job at a less immediate outlay, but which would probably in the end result in a much greater expenditure than the scheme put forward by that engineer. The water extension question is by no means so urgent as that of drainage. The minor scheme proposed by the engineer—part of' which has been carried out with valuable resultswill, in his opinion, meet all requirements for some years to come, while the duplication of the system will be a luxury for which the municipality will have to pay £10,860. This water question, like the drainage question, will ultimately come before the ratepayers for their verdict. The extension of drainage is an immediate necessity, the duplication of tne water system is not. It is for the voters to 3ay whether they are prepared to pay for both.