A DRY WINTER
WATER SHORTAGE IN SUBURBS. WELLINGTON’S ANNUAL CONSUMPTION.
Those trustful people of Kelburne and other suburbs who have deferred connection of their premises with the newly installed water supply systems until the summer, are now lamenting their delay. The Wellington rainfall this winter has been exceedingly meagre, and depleted tanks are general in all the suburbs.
The corporation officials are hopeful that heavy rains will be experienced ere long, for, though there is no risk of present inconvenience, the water reserves of the city are not as great as they generally are at this time of year. Karori reservoir (the old one) is still some inches below the outflow, though the city officials are conserving this supply as much as possible.
There has been little better than showers experienced here this winter, and the Karori rainfall last month (1.9in) was less than half the average. As a matter of fact, there has been no heavy rainfall at Karori since October, 1907.
When Wellington’s threatened water famine was averted in March last, the relief came from the heavy rain experienced at Wainui-o-mata. Since that time Wainui-o-mata has been overflowing, notwithstanding the heavy drain put upon it each day. There is a good reserve force behind this reservoir, and even in the driest periods of the city’s experience an occasional shower at Wainui helps matters along.
In the year ended 31st March last, the total rainfall was 80.42, May of 1907, and March of 1908 being the months with highest averages, and November and December of 1907, with January and February of 1908, the lowest. In these four months only 6.3 inches fell.
Some figures quoted to a Post reporter by Mr. W. H. Morton, City Engineer, show that there is an enormous drain made upon the resources of Wainui. For the twelve months ended 31st March last, the consumption of water from this reservoir totalled, in gallons, 974,300,000, and the average daily consumption worked out at 2,662,000 gallons. The maximum consumption for any one day took place in January, when 3,003,225 gallons were drawn off.
There is no Venturi meter installed at Karori, and therefore the figures cannot be given with the exactness possible in the case of Wainui, but it is plainly evident that the present position there is unsatisfactory. Despite the conservation of its resources, the old reservoir remains some distance below its overflow point, and meanwhile the new reservoir has to wait with only a few feet of water in it.
There is, however, some cause for satisfaction in the fact that old records of the Karori reservoir show that similar dry times have been experienced there before, with compensation of plenteous rains at subsequent periods. In 1907-8 this reservoir was overflowing on 194 days out of the 366, but after the drought practically drained it, there was little or no capacity to make up the loss.
