WAINUI WATERWORKS
An Official Visit
One of the most important factors in our municipal life is the water supply. Day after day in our daily routine we consume many gallons of the fluid, but very few ever give a thought to the source of the supply, unless they may happen to read in the newspapers that the Council is proposing to spend several thousands of pounds in constructing another dam, or laying a fresh line of pipes, or something of the sort. But the supply is going on just the same, and once a year the Mayor and Councillors, as the representatives of citizens, make an official visit to the Wainuiomata waterworks and satisfy themselves that everything is in order.
That visit was made yesterday, and it may be said at once that the City fathers found a state of things existing which was in every respect satisfactory, and, although there was nothing much that was fresh to be seen, the trip was a pleasant one, in spite of the unsettled state of the weather, and it was also, to a certain extent, instructive. For instance, driving out in traps, his Worship and the City Councillors were able to see for themselves the perfectly disgraceful state of the Hutt road between the city and Ngahauranga. On the road out large mud-holes were to be seen, unpleasant evidence of the recent rains. Coming back a heavy rain was falling, and the road, in nautical parlance, was awash.
This, it must be borne in mind, is the middle of summer. What it is like in midwinter must be left to the imagination, or to the evidence of those who pass it in the train, or to those unfortunate people whose occupations compel them to drive along it. No one walks along it in winter. The Supreme Court has ruled that the City Council cannot be compelled to contribute towards the reconstruction of the Hutt road. It is probable, however, that if the Mayor or Corporation were compelled to drive along there once a week for twelve months they would willingly make any sacrifices to ensure the road being put in a proper state of repair.
At Wainui it was found that the new works commenced something over a year ago had been completed, and are now in good going order. The old race along the side of the hill has been replaced by a new race tapping the dam at a much lower level, so that the supply can be utilised to practically its utmost limits. The party also visited the site which has been selected for the construction of the new dam which is to be made when the ratepayers authorise the extension of the water supply.
The site appears to be eminently suited for such a purpose. It is situated near a dome-shaped hill, locally known as Solomon’s Knob, a short distance from the present dam, at the junction of two beautifully clear and fast-flowing streams, which babble over their stony beds with a musical tinkling which appeals with equal force to the lover of nature in her pleasantest moods or to the angler anticipating a goodly day after trout. On one side tower the ancient hills, thickly bush-clad from base to summit, and on the other sides the land forms a natural basin which would need comparatively little assistance from the engineer to convert it into a dam of a size sufficient to ensure a supply of water equal to the requirements of the city for, probably, the next fifty years.
Before leaving for town the party inspected the meter-house, where the pressure of the water passing into the mains is automatically recorded by a delicate instrument every hour in the day, and also had a general look round the works, which it was satisfactory to find were in a most creditable and orderly condition.
Tags: Newspaper Waterworks
