CITY WATER SUPPLY
VISIT TO WAINUI-O-MATA
COUNCILLORS INSPECT WORKS IN PROGRESS. TUNNELLING OPERATIONS.
A visit of inspection was made yesterday by the Mayor and City Councillors and officers of the corporation departments, accompanied by their wives and lady friends, to the waterworks at Wainui. The principal object of the trip was to enable the councillors to become more closely acquainted with the operations now in hand in connection with the boring of the tunnel through the hill between Wainui and the Orongorongo, by which the water reserve at Wainui is to be augmented from the Orongorongo stream.
The party, which consisted of 105 persons, left the Town Hall at 9.30 a.m. by motor and returned to the city at about 5.30 p.m., after spending a very enjoyable and instructive day. The party was joined en route by a number of councillors from Eastbourne, who are greatly interested in the city’s new venture.
The tour was probably the most important that has been made of the city’s waterworks, and was of special benefit and interest to the representatives of the newly-amalgamated outlying districts, who had not previously inspected the area upon which the city is so largely dependent for its water supply. The opinion was expressed by several members of the party that the whole of the boroughs not yet linked up under the Greater Wellington scheme would have to look to the city in the future for their water supply.
DAM AND TUNNEL
On arrival at the Wainui reservoir an inspection was made of the dam, while many of the ladies indulged in blackberry-picking. After lunch, which was partaken of at the caretaker’s house, the whole party proceeded to the scene of the tunnel-boring operations, about a mile south of the Morton Dam, up George’s Creek.
A road has been laid from the dam right up to the mouth of the tunnel. A quarter of a mile from the tunnel the cookhouses for the men employed in the construction work are situated, and small dwellings are in course of erection. The cookhouses, besides serving the ordinary purposes of providing meals, will also be utilised by the men as recreation rooms during the winter months.
Sanitary arrangements are receiving due attention, and care is being taken to avoid contamination of the water in the watershed from the camp. The huts are being erected in corrugated iron and timber. Mr Robert Semple and his gang of tunnellers, who have been engaged for the boring operations on the co-operative plan, were found busily at work on the contract which they have undertaken. Mr Semple himself was in charge of the gang on duty at the time.
The face of the hill has been entered to a distance of about 200 feet. This constituted the easiest part of the job, for it consisted mainly of surface material which presented little resistance. The roof of the tunnel at the entrance being loose, it has been found necessary to timber it up heavily to prevent blockages.
PIERCING THE SOLID ROCK
The miners are now entering upon the heavier task of piercing the solid rock which forms the backbone of the range. The real work in the contract is therefore just commencing. Progress for the present must necessarily be slow, for the men are not equipped with the most up-to-date machinery, but are carrying on with hand-drills.
When the power-driven drills are installed the work will be proceeded with under more ideal conditions. A large clearing has been made around the mouth of the tunnel, upon which will be built the blacksmiths’ shops and stores for the appliances to be used in the boring. A quarter of a mile distant up the stream a magazine has been established for the storage of explosives.
The railway from the tunnel to the tiphead, from which the material from the shaft is discarded, is complete, and is in use. It is estimated that the boring of the tunnel will take about three years. The preliminary work in connection with the contract having been accomplished, it will soon be necessary to install the electrical plant necessary for the lighting of the tunnel and to work the drills which will be in use later on.
It is anticipated that hydro-electric power will be obtainable on both sides of the hill for this purpose, the power being produced from the waters in the two valleys.
TRANSPORTING MACHINERY
The problem of the transportation of machinery to the Orongorongo has given rise to much discussion. The city engineer is supported by a number of practical people in the opinion that the most economical method of transport is by way of the bed of the Orongorongo from the sea coast.
There are several good reasons for this decision. The first is expedition. Secondly, it will obviate the construction of a graded track over the hill; and thirdly, the contract of forming a road across the range would take too long, while the cost of construction and maintenance would be considerable.
Under the proposal for the utilisation of the course of the Orongorongo stream, it will be necessary to construct not more than three miles of cart track, and this will not present much difficulty, as the farmers of the district have for some time been using wheeled traffic along the riverbed. If a road were formed over the hill, it would be about eight miles in length.
Accompanying the visiting party was Mr Barrance, a construction engineer who has just been appointed by the City Council as supervisor of the contract. He will have complete charge of the works. Mr Barrance is a man of much experience in mining contracts, and has been connected with many works in the South Island.
The officials of the city engineer’s department explained to the councillors the details of the scheme and answered many questions, and the majority of the party gained a much better understanding of the scheme than they had previously held.
After inspecting the tunnel the members of the party returned to the caretaker’s house for afternoon tea, and motored back to the city at 5.30 o’clock.
