OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 May 1940, Page 4

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

OCR WATER SUPPLY (To the Editor.) Sir, —The borough propaganda machine has been working hard on the proposed cement-lining of the water mains, which even if successful will still leave us short of water besides wasting the greater part of the £10,500. These pipes could be lined for a fraction of this sum if out of the ground; and they will have to be taken out in a few years when the major scheme is gone on with. i In all the questions and answers I did not see an estimate of how long these pipes will last when lined. Blown rivets in a spiral steel pipe sound pretty serious to me, and the holes they leave will be hard to fill unless they can be got at from both inside and out. ' Another thing, too, as anyone who knows steel and cement knows, any dampness getting to the steel causes rust, which soon cracks off the cement. In conclusion, sir, I would rather wait another year or two for the full scheme if we cannot have it now: — Thanking you, I am etc., G.A.S. Masterton, May 6. Sir, —I was amused to read the footnote to my letter on May 4. To discover that Mr. Mead's report (which was printed to clinch the nail, so to speak), should now, under pressure, be acknowledged a mere “preliminary report” was an adroit move, though not particularly commendable. However, the efficacy of the Tate system is not questioned, but rather the spending of thousands of pounds without ascertaining (estimates are always dangerous) the condition of pipes to be treated. My allegation, I note with satisfaction, in this regard, while skilfully evaded, was not denied. —Yours, etc., » SHERLOCK HOLMES. Masterton, May 7. The borough engineer, Mr. C. R. i Mabson, replies as follows to the above letters: “According to the experience of an American local body (at Denver), referred to in previous reports, con-crete-lined pipes were still in service 76 years after they had been lined. Prominent waterworks authorities claim that the life of pipes will be extended 40 or 50 years as the result of lining. Two or three years ago it was necessary to cut into both the mains concerned on the Upper Plain, and in each case the mains were found to be structurally sound. Three reports of Mr. Mead were published concerning proposals by the Auckland City Council for the concrete-lining of its mains. The first one (1934) referred to preliminary tests carried out to prove the efficacy of the scheme, in which Mr. Mead pointed out that the tests showed that the flow of water in the treated pipes was equivalent to that in new pipes. Following on these successful tests the Auckland City Council adopted a general scheme to concrete-line an considerable length of its mains. Other points raised have already been answered in the questions and answers column.”