Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

6 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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The Cowlyd Water Scheme.

ConteponUnu.

To Ilie Editor of " The Veeklv…

THE WATER QUESTION.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

THE WATER QUESTION. Sir. — With your permission I should like to nuke a few remarks 0.1 llu water-supply of this district. At the Public 11a 1 on l-ndav f ven.ng. there was a good deal of fault-finding with the Joint Board, and no doubt the Board m ide a great misiake w.ieii, in response to the clamour for watt r, it allowcJ toe Lowiyd water to be turneJ into the main before tne Contraci.11- had completed his work, thus breaking the contract. but the chief points to mv mind are Has the board done its best, and is it right to blame one memo-r more than another .■> So proof has yet been given that the Board could have done better than it has done. At the meeting the blame was hurled, by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, ehieily at the C"L,ir," ,l or the Board -the C ibinet consisting of a unit--vet I believe the Ratepayers look to the Board as a whole, and not to the mdividu d members. If it is wished to blame sing.e members, wny should not the Chairman of the Finance Committee receive his share of it for the excessive expenditure wmch he alleges h is taken place. He admitted sijfnaig the cne_iues when lie should have palled Hie Board up instead. turther, why should "the evil which men do live alter lliem while "the good is oft interred with their hones"? It is well for the Ratepayers to know and to remember who has proved himself the greatest friend to (and done his best tor) the town in the past. To ascertain this, we must look back, it is so easy to look back sometimes; it is so easy to be wise after the event, but the Chairman of the old Sanitary -authority was wise in the year 1879 when the Water Co. of that day_ was applying to Parliament tor its Act, and he was anle to ioo,i forward seven years to see it would be in all P'obabihty to the interest of the village (Colwvn Bay was only a village then) to possess itsown water-supply; therefore with Mr 1. L. Parry (the Clerk), he went to London t,» oppose the Bill, and, in order to avoid this pending opposition o n ,lt-LT Company agreed to the insertion of'a clause in th-" bill which enahled the Ratepayers to purchase the Water- works within the stipulated time (7 years), on to the Company six months notice of their intention to do so. and at their value then, such value to be fixed by the County Court Judge. Th:, Act, which was passed July 3rd, 1879. authorised the Company to caarge £ -j ios. per cent, of the rack rent beside extr is for water. This w is the amount actually charged. At a meeting of Ratep ivers called by the Chairman ot the Samtary Authority, and held in the old Mission-Room in January, t335, it was decided to give the Water Company notice ti, t it was intended to purchase the Water-works. The Company s valuation ranged as high as ji,o >:>, but ths- award was £ ,11.750. immediately, the consumers reaped a benefit ot at least os. per cent, yearly, and are doing so now. for, while the Company charged the maximum Rate of 7per cent, on the full annual value ot property, the Local Board Rate was i/u per £ oil the r iteable value. Thus. the immediate saving was great, but toe prospective benefit much greater, tor after thirty years from the date of borrowing the purchase loan, the charge for water (it' the requirements of the District had remained stationery) would be but 2 percent., i.e., a saving ot 5(4 per cent. annually for ever. I venture to say, without hesitation, this is a record ot work for the good or the town which no other man in it can siiow, either as regards water or anything else. Il the old \Vater Company had obtained its Act without the clause referred-to, its members would without doubt have kept the Water-works in their own hands, as the Act gave them the sole right to supply the District, and the charge would now have been the full Rate allowed. Tnere would have been no Cowlyd Scheme nor any Ratepayers Scheme at all tor discussion. Hence, although the present Scheme has not oeen competed -is speedily as could he wished, and has presented difficulties far beyond what was expected, still I think the Board with a Chairman who has done so much for our benefit, should not be assailed in a manner which only enemies ot the tOWII deserve. In conclusion, I would remind those who think payments have been wrongly made, that the Audit of the Account's takes place 011 January 4th next. Yours, etc.. Colwyn Bay, Dec. 31st, iS-a^. B.J.L.

THE COWLYD SCHEME.