Water, water everywhere. That’s how many people will remember 2011. But we haven’t forgotten the drought throughout the first decade of this century. In some ways Armidale residents were spared the worst of it because we have a reliable water supply. Water restrictions were introduced in many towns during the drought. There was a time when Armidale was one of the places which regularly had severe water restrictions. With all these thoughts in mind let us end the year with the story of Armidale’s water supply.
From the beginning of white settlement in the infant village of Armidale in 1839 until 1898 Armidale’s sources of water were iron tanks, underground tanks, wells and the Dumaresq Creek. Large quantities of water were increasingly required for the railway, the local brewery, tannery, flour mills and swimming baths. Hotels also had special needs. The problem of an ample and reliable water supply to meet the increasing needs of the growing city of Armidale had plagued successive local councils and State governments for years.
An increasing number of fires which had caused severe damage in the CBD was an incentive for a water supply with fire hydrants for the business parts of town to be installed in 1892. A well at the gas-works supplied the water which was powered by a steam pump. That was just the beginning. A parliamentary committee came to town in October 1892 and heard evidence, inspected sites and made recommendations. This process revealed the complexities to be overcome for any plan to succeed.
Dumaresq Dam was the first to be built. The site was surveyed by March 1895 and the concrete wall was constructed between 1896 and 1898. Very few houses had bathrooms so the demand for water was not as great as it would become. Droughts resulted in tanks emptying regularly. Houses on the higher portions of town were also regularly without water because of low pressure in the pipes. White ants caused problems in wooden pipes which had to be replaced at great expense with iron pipes. Moreover, Armidale soon began to outgrow its water supply.
Puddledock Dam was built in 1928, but this was a short-sighted venture because the demand for water increased greatly with the installation of the town’s sewerage system in the early 1930s and the limited Puddledock catchment area was soon to prove inadequate.
The Gara weir was built in 1954 but was only a stop-gap arrangement. However, it did mean that with tight water restrictions we were able to live through some severe droughts without a complete breakdown in supply. A filtration plant was opened in North Armidale in 1943 to improve the quality of the drinking water.
As early as 1919 schemes were considered, discussed and discarded for water supplies from the Malpas or Styx River. But as the city continued to outgrow its water supply, the building of a major scheme became daily more urgent. In 1958 Armidale City Council adopted the Malpas scheme, but there was no Government money. According to one Armidale Express editorial, Armidale’s needs were recognised by everyone except the NSW Labor Government: “Repeated representations were just as repeatedly met with the statement that “you’ll have to wait your turn on the priority list”.
The maddening aspect of this position was that no one would say where Armidale’s desired new dam was on the priority list, and while the authorities dithered our water supply became increasing precarious. Summer water restrictions became almost permanent and in the longest of dry spells there was always talk of having to close the educational institutions and sending the students home. There was also a real threat of the breakdown of the sewerage system.
Then in May 1965 came a change of State Government and the appointment of the Member for Armidale, Davis Hughes, as the Minister for Public Works. Almost overnight all the obstacles were swept away and we had a clear run for the construction of the great Malpas Dam scheme. Malpas Dam (near Guyra) was opened in November 1968, with credit given to Davis Hughes and the Mayor (Alderman Lloyd Piddington). A 22-mile pipeline was laid to connect the dam to the filtration plant in town. Additional filtration and reticulation works were also constructed. Total cost of the works was estimated in 1968 as $3.9 million, of which the Armidale ratepayers would have to pay half. By 1971 Armidale had its new water supply, and 40 years later we are still thrilled with it.
I extend to all readers every good wish for a happy and prosperous 2012.
