MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4480, 26 July 1893, Page 2

MASTERTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

;>;.' Special Meeting, ' Water and Drainage Scheme, A special meetiug of the Masietton Borough Council was held last evening to consider the question of drainage and a water supply. Present: His' Worship the Mayor,'and Crs 0 Dixon, Mutrie, Onllen, Yates, and a Feist, '. :' ( The Mayor briefly explained the j object of the meeting, ana suggested r tho advisability of hearing Mr John ; King's report on the proposed water c sobemen. c Mr King said he had prepared rough levels, etc, of the different [ sources from which a water supply for j Masterton could be obtained, but had not bad time (o estimate the cost, The , rough sketch before the Counoil j would show the disfeinces.to the most c suitable points froi'm whicha supply i could be taken, arid also tho fall to , the junction o{ jQueen and Perry streets, from thehead of the proposed t supplies. -.TheWaingawn would have to be tapped five miles from the point j mentioned, and the fall would be 207'7feet; the Ruamahunga would ( have to bo brought five and 8-half j miles, the fall being 187-6 feet; and E theLansdowneddm—about one mile —with a fall of 83-4 In reply to the Mayor, Mr King , said he thought the Waingawa would t be the cheapest and most suitable t soheme, as they would get a purer \ and better supply from it, There . would also be another 50 feet of pressure, and the distance was half a c mile less than to (he Ruamahunga. „ The oonditionnof the surrounding t country were raostfavourable, and all ( required would be a dam or weir at ; the head. -...-...■. j In reply to Cr Mutrie and other j Councillors, Mr King said that if the, supply was taken from this source a ; reservoir would be unnecessary. A j supply could be obtained from the | Miki-Miki, by building a large reser- ( voir at Hawllburst, This would give a fall of 160 feet. A small tilterbed would be necessary if the Waingawa ( scheme were adopted. He did not , thiuk there was much danger of the river shifting at the point whero he proposed to tap it, and the works, if properly co,ostruoted should not be damaged by floods. A very high pressure was required to be of material use for fire extinguishing purposes. The present dam at Lansdowne was sufficiently strong, unless the head were raised to give a greater pressure, and then it could bo strengthened, Any of the schemes mentioned could be worked in conjunction with drainage, He had not yet had time to go into tho cost of laying pipes, as in addition to the quantities required and cost of laying, an allowance would have to be made for the future requirements of an increased population. In the main sewer a fall of about one in 400 could easily be obtained. Or (Men asked if a main drain of two feet glazed pipes would be sufficient for the next ten years ? Mr King said he thought they would, Most of the main sewer could be. glazed pipss, but portions would have to be brick or concrete. He was also of opinion that the natural 1 conditions of the country were so favorable, that the work could be done yery cheaply compared with some other places. If glazed pipes were properly put in, with cement joints, they would probably stand , good for a hundred years, A water- . supply was perhaps not absolutely ' necessary to a drainage 'scheme, bat [ it was better to work the two to- . gather. | Mr Feist asked if the two sohemos l would cost £20,000. t Mr King said he did not think so. ! Of court*, he could not say what compensation would be required, but from the conditions of tho country over which it would be ' necessary to pass, it should not be \ much, and the roads could be largely , utilised. He did not think there could be much objection raised to the sewage of Masterton being run into the river, as there were no towns ; below them on its banks. He could [ not say exactly, but X 16,000 should be far nearer the mark than £20,000, This would provide for main sewers only and not all by-sewers. The Mayor said that various' motions were befora the Council regarding both water and drainage. To simplify matters, lie would, with the consent. of Cr Cullen, move" That this Council place forthwith before the

ratepayers a combined water and drainage scheme, and a vote be taken on the question of raising a loan for the purpose." It was no good maki"g any further movement untii the feeling of the ratepayers was ascer tained, He took this course to put the Council in order. If the resolution were passed, they could then place some scheme before the ratepayers, , Or (Men seconded the motion, Or Feist expressed himself in favor of this movement. It was the proper course to take. The motiou wrb then • put and carried.

Or Cullen said after Mr King's remarks he was strongly in faTour of tho Waingawa : soheme. He would therefore move that Mr King be in* structed as soon as possible to lay bofore the Counoil, plans and estimates of the Waingawa water supply and drainage scheme in accordance with the previous resolution. Cr Dixon seconded the motion. He quite agreed that the scheme was the best. The motion was then put and oarried. ' In reply to tho Mayor, Mr King said it would take at least two or three months to prepare plans and estimates, but he oould no doubt give an approximate estimate of the cost of the scheme in abouta month, The Mayor said by their resolution they had practically pledged themselves to lay a scheme before the ratepayers, but had yet to deride on which scheme. Under the Loans to Local Bodies Act,. they must prepare full plans and estimates, They oould not raise a loan haphazard, :butmu6t proceed in the. manner set forth by the Aot, He congratulated the Council on the step they hadtakeh. It showed they were doing their duty, and when thematt'er came before the ratepayers -if the plans and estimates to.be prepared by Mr King were approved by the, Counoil-aad the ratepayers vetoed tlje proposal, tho matter would rest entirely with them, He need hardly point out the necessityof both a water supply and drainage'soheme, because they all knew, how much'both were required. H« also wished to thank Mr.King for thetrouble he Ui taken in laying the alternative Bohemesso clearly before them', ,! ' !: ' ■ ;; V' I '' Or Cullen asked if anything conld bedoqebycallinga publio moetlAg of ratepayers. The Mayor pointed out that this would not be prop« until the plans

were ;i brought before them and ap- ' '4 proved by the Counoil,- ■:: _ After further desultory, cbnyersa* .: : tion the meeting adjourned,-' • ■ '