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Wednesday, February 24, 1971
HIGH ISLAND WATER SCHEME TO BE IMPLEMENTED
Importance of Interim Desalinisation Plant
Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary, said today the Government
had reached the conclusion that it must proceed at once to implement the
High Island Water Soheme costing $1,000 million and eventually providing 70
million gallons a day.
The cost included the necessary extension of the main trunk distribution
system, and was $300 million more than the Plover Cove reservoir in its
extended form.
Sir John told the Legislative Council the Government's basio aim
was to provide "a minimum of four hours every day from our own resources,"
and a supply system that would achieve this would, in practice, give the
Colony a 24-hour a day supply in all reasonably normal circumstances.
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Researches into the probable growth of demand and the possible sources
of supply and into their significance for the basic aim made implementation
of the High Island Scheme necessary but since the Scheme could not produce
water until 1976, and would not reach full supply before 1979, there would
be a period between 1974 and 1976 when the Colony would be in some difficulty
in meeting the minimum supply criterion were rainfall to be significantly
below normal.
"We have therefore come to the further conclusion that we must set
up desalting plants capable of producing 20 million gallons a day by 1974,
although the water so produced will cost more than twice as much as natural
sapplies at present," Sir John said.
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