WATER FOR THE CITY
HOW THE SYSTEM HAS DEVELOPED
ADDRESS BY MR. J. M. MORICE
KARORI, WAINUI, AND ORONGORONGO
An interesting survey of the development of the city’s water supply system was given by Mr. J. M. Morice, engineer in charge of the Waterworks and Drainage Department of the Corporation, while addressing members of the Philosophical Society last evening.
In the early days, said Mr. Morice, the sources of water supply were springs, streams, wells, and roofs of buildings. Water from these sources was liable to be polluted as population increased, and a report to the council in 1871 showed that much of the water from those sources in Wellington was far from satisfactory.
As far as he could learn, the first water supply conveyed any distance by pipes in Wellington was taken by the Government from springs on their property in Tinakori Road to serve their various buildings in Hill and Molesworth Streets, and Lambton Quay. In March, 1871, the City Council (constituted under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1870) considered a report of the City Surveyor, Mr. Nicholas Marchant, whose proposal was the first for a really adequate supply for the city.
It included the construction of a storage reservoir of 35 million gallons capacity at Karori, a tunnel about 1200 feet long to Polhill Gully, a service reservoir to hold 500,000 gallons and about 13½ miles of pipes. The estimated cost of the whole work was £17,358, but whether the work had been carried through for that sum he had been unable to ascertain; the minutes of the council did, however, show that the contractor had made claims for “extras” in respect of the service reservoir equal to the whole amount allocated by Mr. Marchant for its construction.
STILL IN SERVICE.
The works still stood, and were today used for the supply of the lower levels on the western side of the city, while the Karori supply was also used to increase the pressure in the rest of the city when the Wainui supply was unable to keep it as high as was necessary to reach the higher levels served by gravitation.
Apparently the Karori supply was sufficient for eight or ten years, but it then became evident that some other supply was required, and the council’s attention was directed to Wainui-o-mata. The late Mr. J. D. Baird, the then City Surveyor, designed and carried out the works which, with the Karori works, met the city demand for nearly thirty years. Mr. Baird’s chief assistant was Mr. Thomas Ward, who is still in Wellington in the practice of his profession.
For the time being, the new supply was ample and hydraulic lifts and motors for all sorts of purposes, from coffee grinding to organ blowing, were freely installed, and for some time the street lamps were run by electric current generated by water from Wainui. As the city increased, however, it was found necessary to reserve the water for its legitimate uses.
The City Engineer, Mr. R. S. Rounthwaite, carried out improvements at Wainui by replacing a water race which had given some trouble, by an extension of the main, and he also recommended the construction of a new reservoir at Wainui, an important alteration of the main and the acquisition of the catchment area at Karori. A poll was taken upon the proposals, but was rejected.
ADDITIONAL STORAGE.
By 1904 the amalgamation of the surrounding boroughs had made the need for increased water supply a matter of urgency and the new City Engineer, the late Mr. Morton, reported in similar fashion to Mr. Rounthwaite. The ratepayers were kinder on that occasion and one of the first authorised works was the building of the second Karori dam. About the same time pumping stations were established for the supply of water to the higher levels.
Later, an additional storage at Wainui, recommended by Mr. Baird, took shape under Mr. Morton’s direction in “the Morton dam,” impounding 107 million gallons.
After referring to the mains leading to the city, Mr. Morice dealt with the Orongorongo scheme in detail, its variation from the scheme as first put forward, and the difficulties overcome in carrying it out. The proposal to bring water from the Orongorongo, said Mr. Morice, did not originate with Mr. Morton. It was proposed by Mr. Baird in the earliest days of the Wainui scheme, but the present scheme was very much larger than that proposed by Mr. Baird.
