OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 November 1939, Page 4

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

LANSDOWNE WATER SUPPLY (To the Editor.) Sir,—l have been reading statements by both Mr Mabson and Mr Lennie in late issues of the •'Times-Age." I don't quite agree with them. The Lansdowne water supply never came from the dam, as some people thought. The lake was first fed by a race from the Waipipi creek, which has its origin in the Hawkhurst swamp and was always a nasty brown colour. Then when the County Council put on the Opaki irrigation scheme one of their races traversed the centre of Opaki and the surplus water ran into the lake. The irrigation water was taken from the Ruamahanga River, a few chains below the Railway Bridge, just opposite the Bluff. I believe the Lansdowne water supply was fenced in on both sides to keep stock out, but I know that a caretaker was employed to keep the Lansdowne supply race clean. This race ran around the lake on the east side to a pumping plant’ and was pumped up to a reservoir which was on the Golf Links. As for stock getting in the water race and dying, I don’t think many did. What the health inspector condemned the open race for, was not dead stock in the race, but dogs drinking and rolling in it, which left a supply of hydatid cysts.

Mr Williams owned the lake. When, he sold the property to Mr Maunsell he reserved sixteen feet of land on the eastern shore of the lake for the water race. After the dam burst he sold the land that was formerly covered by water to Mr Maunsell. Mr Lennie quotes animals dying in the Tararuas and their bodies being on the river beds. He only wants to take one trip to the upper reaches of the Waingawa and he will see that the Waingawa River washes its bed clean in every flood' — that is generally about twice a week in the spring. Nothing stays there to pollute the water. I think the real scheme would be to have an intake from the Ruamahanga River, with filter beds up above Mr D. McLeod's property, Mount Bruce, with a reservoir on the Mokonui bank (Hawkhurst). This would give Lansdowne all the water that was wanted and we of Masterton could have the residue If Masterton keeps increasing, the Waingawa will not be able to supply our wants in the summer. I have seen the Waingawa dry, or nearly so, in my time about seven times, but the Ruamahanga only twice. —I am, etc., CHAS. BANNISTER. Masterton, November 24.