WATER SUPPLY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 3203, 27 October 1876, Page 2

WATER SUPPLY.

The following is the extract from the ! report of the Foreman of Works, sub- I mitted at the last meeting of the Borough Council, which touches upon the late irregular action of the siphon, and which will doubtless be perused with interest by those who have sought to be enlightened as to the supposed causes thereof : — On Monday, 16th instant, I found the water was not running through the service pipes as it ought to do ; in fact some service pipes had no water. I reported this to His Worship the Mayor, and he informed me it was slack at his place on the hill. On my suggestion His Worship agreed that the boat should be taken up to the lake, to see if there was anything on top of the strainer. I took a large broom and scrubbed it well down that night. I found, by timing the meter, that the water was coming quicker. I then shut the meter off and opened the 10-inch main, and found the water still came quicker. 1 can assure you there was no such thing as tampering with any stop-valves or anything connected with the water works. I came back the next morning at daylight and scrubbed the strainer well. During the afternoon I came to town and reported to His Worship that the siphon was not filling up, and the air-pump would require to be used before the water would come freely. His Worship was satisfied about the pump going up the followiug morning, if the pipes were not full. I went around early next morning, and found that thay were not full, nor anything like it. I then had the airpump carted up and fixed as soon as possible ; shut the stop-valve at the bottom of the hill, and pumped for 14 hours before the siphon was full up. Then came down to town and turned the water as far down as Guyton Street that night. I could not then go on any further, on account of so many service taps being open, occasioning a considerable loss of time finding them in the dark. Got home at two o'clock in the morning, and came back at' daylight and turned the water on all over the town by eight o'clock, and sent a man up to the lake at daylight to . take, the lamp down and try the pump. It took^him lj hours pumping before the pipes were full at about eleven o'clock, aud two hours pumping in the afternoon, with 1-jj extra hours to keep the water running. ' His Worship the Mayor came up to the lake in the afternoon, to advise me on the matter ; but a newspaper reporter came up with him who knew all about the matter, and expressed himself that there must have been some tampering with the water works. This I deny. No Councillor, nor any other person connected with the Council, or any other person outside of the Council, had anything to do with it. I never was instructed by any person to tamper with the works, nor ever heard any one accuse me of such, but the one man. When any of the Council require any information about the works, 1 give them the best of my opinion, and have always done so. But I really cannot talk engineering to them, for they put some very strange questions to me at times. _ Tho lake has gone down half an inch since the 16th instant, and I find this morning the pressure is getting slack.