In another column we publish the City Engineer’s report on the Wainui-o-mata water supply. A very absurd amount of mystery has been made about this report, and even last night there was an abortive attempt to keep it still longer from publication.
It will be seen that Mr Loughrey gives a deplorable account of the condition of the concrete race, and states that to repair it properly would involve shutting off the Wainui supply for a whole fortnight—a very serious matter. He also urges the necessity of reconstructing the sludge valve, which certainly appears to be imperative in view of its present leakage at the rate of some 700,000 gallons per diem.
On the question whether the defective condition of the race and valve be due to original faulty design or construction, as Mr Loughrey seems to imply, we can express no opinion; and this is just the point upon which the official testimony of some competent independent engineer is required.
But we cannot acquit those responsible for the efficient condition of the waterworks of grave neglect of duty in allowing matters to drift with the race and the valve known to be in such a defective state, until the city was subjected to most serious inconvenience, danger, and loss, through the effects of the waste of water.
The City Engineer’s recommendation that iron mains should replace the concrete race and well—in which he concurs with Mr Maroliant—appears to us a very proper one, provided the funds are forthcoming. We cannot but deem it a disastrous oversight or a piece of most mischievous cheese-paring that the iron mains were not carried throughout in the first instance.
Tags: Newspaper Water Race Waterworks
