LANSDOWNE WATER SUPPLY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 2993, 18 September 1908, Page 5

LANSDOWNE WATER SUPPLY.

INSPECTION OF THE RACE : ROUTE. \ ' BY THE DISTRICT HEALTH ] OFFICER. I MR LAING-MEASON EXPLAINS HIS SCHEME. _ A visit was paid to Opaki and j Lansdowne yesterday by Dr. J. P. , Frengley, District Health Officer, In- \ spector Hicks, of the Health Departn,ent, and Mr G. Laing-Meason, , when the latter showed the Health ( Department officials over the pro* 1 posed route of tho main race for the f Opaki irrigation and Lansdowne { water supply schemes. County Coun- ( ciilors and persons interested in the { scheme were also invited to accom- \ pany the officials over the ground, but only Cr W. Harris, Messrs V. Donald A. H. Wrightson and C. Wilton accepted the invitation. The party left the County Council offices at 10 o'clock in the morning, the best part j of four hours being occupied in a ] fairly exhaustive general eye-survey c of the country through which the \ main race is to pass. t AT THE HEADWORKS. £ The proposed site of the headworks . for the scheme was first visited. r There has not yet, of course, been c any actual surveys made by Mr * Laing-Meason, nor have any conclus ive steps been decided upon in connection with the details of the two i schemes, but the Engineer took the r party to a point ju.-t I elow the double i rail-and-road traffic bridge over the e Ruamahanua river, ac the foot of' a t low terrace on which Mr F. Dorset's t homestead is s tu ited. There waf a t big volume of water coming down the t river on the Opaki side at the point I where Mr Laing-Meason s.iid he pro- s posed to commence his race, which J might be four or five chains below ] the bridges. t Cr Harris pointed out that the river \ was, like all Wairarapa shingle-bear-ing streams, given to shifting its course from one side to the other. Mr Laing-Meason replied that that would not interfere with his scheme in the least, as he proposed running . well across the river with his filtration chamber, through which, as in the Mas'erton and Carterton highpressure schemes, the water will be drawn from the stream. Cr Harris then pointed out that the bed of the river about the point where Mr Laing-Meason proposed to i establish the headworks was of papa, I covered only with a small depth of \ shingle, and would thus be unsuitable i for the purposes of a filtration cham- j her. The Engineer replied to this that c there was as yet no certainty as to 1 where the headworks would be situ- i ated. It would all depend on thg re- i suit of surveys and tests. It might I even be lound necessary to go higher up the stream, above the railway bridges, to tap the river. j IN OPEN COUNTRY—SETTLERS' t OBJECTIONS. 8 Mr Dorset joined the party on their t arrival at his farm, and he courteously allowed the Health officer and \ Mr Laing-Meason to have free access 1 to the various parts of his property from where a good bird's-eye view of the fiiist half-mile of. the country to be traversed by the main race could ba had. Mr Dorset is to the schemes on the ground that they mean the cutting into halves o£ one of his be§t paddocks, which will, render it more difficult to work up for cropping purposes, avid because i t likewise intersects another pnddock of a diamond shape on the opposite side of the main road and would practically spoil it for cropping. With these objections the Health officers, of course, were not concerned. Cr Harris took the opportunity to point out, however, that a sum of £SO only had been set down in the loan for compensation purposes, while it would probably co?t more than double this to recompense Mr Dorset, and the latter was only one of t several'objectors. : The main race, after leaving the riv_r, is to follow a course at the foot of the tsrrace on which Mr Dor- ] set's house standsi. The Engineer stated that if it were found necessary nearly the whole of the race running through Mr' Dorset's land could be covered in to ailch a depth as to allow ploughing to be .carried on in the paddocks uninterruptedly as now. NEGOTIATING THE WAIPIPI. The main race crosses the Master-ton-Opaki jmain real a few chains before the rise is reached on which the Pairau swamp is situated. It again enters M[r Dorset's property first, and whilst there it encounters the Waipipi creek. Mr Laing-Meason stated positively that trie water was to be fiumed across this creek, which would not enter the water supply question at ail. A box-race about four feet wide, carrying a big volume of water would be constructed right across the Waipipi, and thus eliminate any chances of contamination from this creek, which is a very dirty looking one, and unsuitable even for stock purposes all the year round. After leaving Mr Dorset's land the main race enters Mrs Cameron's property. About the point of entry into the latter territory the irrigation races take off, the main race running in a southerly dii'ection to a point behind Mr Wrightson's house. About thirty chains of race will be in the latter gentleman's property. Dr. Frengley made various inquiries as to the nature of the country through which the race passes after crossing the road, and himself, made a careful scrutiny of the localities most likely to cause contamination to the water, Mr Laing-Meason explaining various means to be adopted for obviating these difficulties. DOWN THE OPAKI PLAIN. Mr Wrightson invited the party to his residence, where, he provided 11 them with refreshments, prior to an | 1 inspection being made of the lower 1 lying country through which the high-pressure water supply race is to run. There is nothing striking in the [ nature of the land aftex- leaving Mr Wrightson's. The country is open and eveh, and is used for both cropp--3 ing and grazing purposes. The race • runs practically parallel with the ' railway line for some distance, the property of Mr C. Wilton being cov--2 I ered by nearly ja mile oi the race. | Mr Wilton stated that he, too, was

strongly opposed to giving the right- ' of-way for the water over his land free of compensation, as the race will cut his paddocks into longitudinal halves throughout most of the way, and as there was an upward grade as the race advanced along his property the depth of it would render the water in some parts of little use to him. WILL THE WATER BE PURE? Mr Laing-Meason, in answer to questions put to him as to tho keeping of the water pure in its course down the Opaki plain, said that the race would be fenced in where desired, but personally he did not think it would be necessary to erect fences, except for the last halfmile of the open race. The entry of stock into it was not a serious matter, as the water would purify itself every few chains by natural means, and added to this there would be filtration chambers further on. A SUGGESTION REGARDING FENCING. Mr Laing-Meason suggested that when the sanction of the Health Department was given to the scheme, Dr. Frengley could accompany him over the route after it had been surveyed, and point out where he thought it desirable to erect fencing, and his wishes would be carried out. Mr Wrightson expressed his willingness to erect at his own expense any fences found necessary on his property. THE PIPE LINE. The race will cross the main road again in the vicinity of the angle near Mr McGrath's residence. Almost immediately aft°r crossing it will enter into pipes, and jbe carried by the latter means around the foot of the hill by the reservoir, to a spot at the south end of the latter, where aft6r being filtered it will be pumped by means of a ram to a reservoir situated at the back of Mr W. P. James' residence near the golf links. From there it will be reticulated through Lansdowne in the ordinary way. NO DRINKING WATER FROM THE DAM. Mr Laing-Meason said the water of the dam had nothing whatever to do with the supply at all, except that it woulJ be used to work the rams with at the pumping station. The dam, in its turn, would receive the water from the main race, which did not enter the pipes. COST OF THE WORK. Cr Harris asked Mr Laing-Meason if he thought the two schemes could be carried out as he had explained with the money which had been raised, including the fencing, compensation, etc. Mr Laing-Meason , replied that he certainly held that opinion, and he had taken into account the increase in the population of Lansdowne, and increase in the houses erected, since his original report. ( THE DAM AS A RESERVOIR. As to the purity of the water the Engineer was very positive in h ; s belief that it would be very pure, and in every way suitable for the nurposes lor which it was to be used. "Why, even in your dam, here," he said, pointing to the reservoir, "you have water which I guarantee I could convert for you, by natural filtration, Into splendid drinking water. It ja far better looking water than that of Loch Katrine, in Scotland, which supplies the city of Glasgow with its drinking Mr LaingMeason thoughi it a pity he had to take the water round the dam in pipes at all. He said emphatically that if it were left to him he would turn the whole race into the reservoir at the north end and run it off at the south end 'as pure as anyone could wish for. "You have in that dam one of the fine.t natural reservoirs I have seen," he said. Dr. Frengley made a number of in : , quiries as to the reticulation, and the means of pumping to be adopted, and after being given the information on these points the party concluded its .t'-iur ani returned to town. Dr. Frengley and .Vr Laing-Mea-son left i for Wellington by the afternoon train.