The Hawaiian gazette., 1891-09-29
WATER SUPPLY.

ent Ministry if they made use oi
the time yet to eIapse between the
present day and the opening OF the
next session of the Legislature il
! preparing a complete plan for pro.
viding this city with an ample
supply of water. Let this plan
with drawings and estimates com
plete, be ready to put into the
hands of the members the first
time they meet, that it may be ex.
amined by committee and if ap'
proved, the money necessary be
provided in the Appropriation Bill
To supplement the suggestion, a
few hints are offered that may
prove of service whenever the sub.
ject comes to be practically DIS
cussed.
First, then, the idea of leaving
the city dependant upon stream-fed
reservoirs must be ut once and
completely abandoned. Our pres,
ent reservoirs may be utilized, as
we shall show presently. in supple
menting the artesian supply upon
which the greater part of the city
must, for the future, rely.
Let the city be divided into two
main divisions by line drawn
parallel to Beretania street, or per-
haps by Beretania street itself.
Everything mauka or lnshore of
this line to be supplied by the
present reservoirs, which would be
sufficient when they are relieved
of any demand from the town be-
low the dividing line. All this
lower part to be supplied by arte-
sian wells, sunk, grouped and
worked as we see those at Eva
Plantation.
Il is q delusion, although appar-
entity y popular one, to suppose
that an artesian reservoir is mex
haustible; it is not SO, and it becomes
sensible people to avoid waste and
extravaganza in the use of artesian
water as well as in anything else.
So deeply are we impressed with
the necessity of conserving the ar
tesian supply that we would gladly
see well-sinking strictly regulated
by law.
No well should be sunk without
the permission of the Minister of |
who would not issue his
permit without taking the opinion
of the Survey or Public Works
certifying to the neces-
sity and advisability generally of
the new well. A license fee should
be charged for the permission and
the Government should reserve to
itself the right of overlooking the
quantity of water used, at least as
much as is the case with present
in private premises, with
the right if necessary of closing
any we'll or the wells of any dis
trict for so many hours in each
day. In case of fire the Govern
ment, OF course, through the Fire
would claim all the
water needed; and in case of
drought or any other emergency
the Government should be entitled
to certain recognized proportion
Of the water from each private
well, paying Of course a fair rental
for it, which would be settled at
the time of granting permit to
sink.
With some such scheme as this
and with regulations something in
the line of these suggestions Homo
lulu need not fear another water
famine or see fire engines standing
helpless by for want of water.
These regulations we would pro-
pose to be laid down, in the first
instance, only for that portion of
this island of Oahu between Dia-
mond Head and the Waianae noun
5ains and between the seashore and
fifty feet (vertical) above it.
Within this circumscribed dis
5rict there are already nearly if
not quite one hundred flowing
wells at the present moment.