Trove – Newspapers and Gazettes

Sunday Times (Perth, WA 1902 – 1954) 14 January 1923 P8

The following text has been transcribed as it was written from the full newspaper article in Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58039063?searchTerm=Water%20and%20Worse

Recently a Mount Lawley resident got up in the morning, and, as usual, went under the shower; but no water was forthcoming, finally he managed to obtain a wash in some water in which clothes had been soaking all night and then went to office without his usual cup of coffee.

lt seems a most extraordinary state of affairs when a law-abiding, self respecting ratepaying member of the community, who has to pay exorbitant water rates, should have to put up with inconveniences such as this; but it has ceased to be extraordinary, it is simply the ordinary state of affairs, part of the numberless difficulties that the unfortunate inhabitants of North Perth and Mount Lawley have to labor under for many months of the year.

Year after year conditions have been the same, supplies have been short, and what water has -trickled through has been, more often than not, quite undrinkable.

For many years the position has been the same, and practically nothing has been done by the department to rectify it; in fact, the supply is getting worse. Numberless meetings of indignant ratepayers have been held, and numberless complaints lodged, until the whole thing has become a crying scandal to Perth. But what care the powers that be; year by year they gather in their rates, and nothing is done.

During, the summer months of 1921, from January to April, it was impossible during the day to obtain any sort of a decent supply, and it was only from about 9 to 9.30 in the evening that anything like a suitable pressure was maintained. The water was cut off from 6.45 am until 11.45 am – during the very time when it was most wanted – when the fancies of most of the household lightly turn to thoughts of a cold shower, and when domestic operations are in full swing. After noon a dribble of water was usually obtainable until 4 pm, when the taps were once more dry until late at night, thus again depriving the household of water when it was badly needed. This state of affairs prevailed – on the higher parts of the suburbs mentioned – right throughout the summer months, and the inconvenience and extra work to which it put the long suffering housewife, especially on washing day, is beyond description.

As regards the quality of water supplied, it was, to put it very briefly and very mildly, utterly and absolutely rotten. It resembled the juvenile mud pie in colour, and quite often was nearly of the same consistency. The odour of it would offend the nostrils of a crocodile. The scents of the septic tanks or the river algae were as sweet smelling bouquets compared to it. It had an individual and awful scent all its own. lt was liquid offal.

An intelligent officer of the Health Department recently came out with the profound remark that the water was really quite harmless; in fact, he said, the foreign bodies were rather an advantage than otherwise. We believe him.

It seems a pity; that he did not venture into further intellectual profundities. We are certain he would not give the muck to his pup. It seems a pity that a man of such towering intellect should be in the Health Department. He should be selling mulga socks.

Last year it was thought that the supply could not possibly be worse. But we were too optimistic. If anything it is worse.

We have only had three really hot days this summer, but, nevertheless, at the residence of many of the northern suburbanites the water was entirely cut off during three days. There has only been one warm day in December, and yet from 7.30 am the water slowly started to diminish until 12 noon, when the northern suburbs revelled in a fair pressure for about an hour. From 4 pm until 6 pm there was a mere trickle.

January 2 was, comparatively, a cool day yet at 7.30 pm not a drop of water was obtainable. These particulars have been obtained from a well known Mt Lawley resident, and they can be substantiated by dozens of other sufferers, all with the same tale of woe.

For the last year, one resident was called upon to pay the sum of £12.10s in water rates, and this, mind you, does not include excess water, which, notwithstanding the filthy liquid which J had to run off daily, amounted to £3.ls.9d. So that, for the privilege of putting up with numberless discomforts and actual hardships owing to the lack of water when it was needed most, and the weird and awful, composition of it when it did taridly trickle through, he was mulcted ?? to the tune of £15.11s.9d. Ye gods, 'twere enough to make the most law-abiding citizen turn Bolshevist. If Mr George is not careful he will have to travel under an armed guard and carry bomb-proof nets about with him.

The Minister for Works (Mr W J George) says that compensation is allowed for water run off and that everyone gets a fair deal. Yet, although thousands of gallons had to be run off during the year, only 7s.6d. was deducted from the total amount payable by this man. Probably if the 7s.6d. was charged for actual pure water used, and the other for unusable water, the proportion would be fairer.

In Fremantle the position is even worse. There is not sufficient pressure to operate the hoses in case of fire. Many of the pipes are corroded and almost rusted through.

Mr M'Callum, the member for South Fremantle, says (‘Hansard,’ December 12, p. 2161): "After all the protests made last year we had the experience this year that on the first hot day practically the whole of my district, and a great portion of Fremantle, was without water supply at all. Even in normal times, the supply in the White Gum Valley and Beaconsfield areas, closely populated, is very scarce. I know of numerous houses where they cannot get sufficient water to meet their domestic requirements."

And again – on the same page: "There is in my district a private hospital which, during the summer, was for a day and a half without a drop of water."

Undoubtedly the metropolitan water question is an absolute disgrace to any civilised community. It is not only an intolerable inconvenience, but is becoming an absolute menace The first, necessity of a hospital is a plentiful supply of clean water, and if they cannot get it, lack of water becomes not merely a nuisance but a criminal one. Then there are the babies and the young children to be thought of; they cannot live on mud. The dilitariness and incompetence of a procrastinating Government will yet end in tragedy of a particularly grim nature unless we get pure water, and plenty of it.

The only solution that we can suggest is that the water supply should be handed over to the municipalities, or else the department should be controlled by a competent engineer, with a thorough knowledge of the work and a large experience of water supplies in the older countries. Such a man, even if paid a high salary, would, after the initial output, save his salary many times over, besides accomplishing the inestimable boon of providing us with something that could, without irony, be called a water supply.

But of course, according to the Minister for Works, it is our fault entirely. Mr George says, in a tone of pained reproof, that if we are foolish enough to use water for our gardens, how can we possibly expect to have enough for culinary purposes. Well, the stuff, he supplies is only fit for a Chinese garden, and what the people want is water that they can drink and enough of it.

It is quite absurd to criticise anything without suggesting a remedy. The remedy in this particular case seems to be the Helena River, upon the upper reaches of which the Mundaring Weir is now built. Every winter countless billions of gallons of pure water pour over the weir and are wasted. A thousand streams come hurrying down from the hills to mingle uselessly with the salty Swan. As much water is wasted in a few months of the winter as would keep Perth in pure unadulterated water, and lashings of it. all the year round.

But what care George and his sorry men. He hasn't any funds, of course; no one ever has; but surely, as Minister for Works, it is his business to see that they are obtained. Now that we are on the threshold of another summer, and every indication is given that conditions will be more serious than they have ever been before, this is one of the most serious questions that we have to face, and it is only a fair thing that some consideration should be given to the thousands of ratepayers who are sufferers owing to this scandalous state of affairs.

Twenty-three years ago, C Y O'Connor, probably the greatest engineering genius that Australia has yet seen, foresaw that the Mundaring Weir was totally inadequate to cope with the ever increasing demand, and so he drew up plans and specifications – for the construction of three subsidiary weirs below the present one. By the aid of these he intended to impound the overflow from the weir, the gigantic catchment from the hills and the waters of Piesse Brook. This, he said, would give to Perth a great and cheap water supply.

C Y O'Connor is too great a man to be ignored, even though dead. We wonder where his plans, are? Probably they moulder and decay in some forgotten corner – with none but the cockroaches and spiders to take any notice of them.

And in the meantime the hot months are coming. God help us: the Department certainly won't.