The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1885. THE WATER SUPPLY QUESTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2173, 17 December 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1885. THE WATER SUPPLY QUESTION.

Moon as we should like to sea a proper supply of water for domestic and other purposes in llasterton, we think the Borough Council acted wisely in not submitting either of the' schemes prepared by Mr K, K, Smith, the Gas Engineer t6 a public meeting of the burgesses, because we feel assured that it either jof them were to be adopted the supply would prove most unsatisfactory, Wbea .the Waipipi scheme was first recommended, p pointed .out that the stream had its origin in a ]ar®e raapo swamp, and that the water would therefore bo unfit for domestic purposes, even if the present supply from the Waipoua were , not cut off. This opinion was fully justified by a statement niade by Or Chamberlain, to the .effect that tho water was unfit to drink m pow. The Serpentine creek, which has flisp feaan examined, is to our mind even soi;e WMjjitable than the Waipipi, because it flso swamp of considerable size, a po.rfeon.of, which is bush, while its bed is, moreover, a mass of mud until it leaves the upper fortion of the Fernridge. A connection with the Black Creek would not wholly remedy this defect, and if the latter source is touched at all, the wjiole supply may be obtained from it without any additional expense. The Waipit'ipiri is very properly set aside, because the Ration is altogether insufficient. It will thus j>e seen | that the three sources of supply that, | have been examined are practically ! Mge i ess , To have called the ratepayers | together to consider them would have been waste of time and money. We must again ask why the Whakamobikau has been altogether ignored. Its water is as good as that of the Black Creek, while' the stream is ftt least twice as large. We believe that a very fair fall could also be obtained. The difficulty fM regard to laying a pipetrack to the Wpiripiri which is mentioned in the report, piild, if it exists at all, also affect this scheme, But we do not believe in its existence, ( It is true, that the tqck would run through bush; but a road was cut right .through mo.i;e than ten years ago, and we do not aee .iwby that could not be titiliied in laying ihe pipes. £f the niembets of the Borough Council out their proposal of visiting the various Igcalj.ties from which a water supply digit be obtained, they would soon satisfy themselves that-our statement is perfetoly'&woV