Author(s): Guinevere Nalder

Linked Author(s): Guinevere Nalder

Keywords: Water supply; Engineering heritage

Abstract: From its first founding, the City of Auckland suffered from inadequate water supplies. Public wells with hand pumps were the first provision supplemented by private wells which, due to the equally inadequate sewerage system, were liable to pollution. The two earliest engineered supplies were the gravity fed system from the springs in the Auckland Domain and the major pumped system from the Western Springs. The Domain supply began in 1866 and was so small that it was provided primarily to commercial and governmental users and was the cause of many complaints to the Auckland Provincial Government which was responsible for Auckland’s water supply. The first adequate supply had to wait for the Auckland City Council, founded in 1871, which was responsible for developing the water supply at the Western Springs beginning in 1874. Expanding population and poor catchment management practices soon limited the value of the Western Springs supply and with the new century the Auckland City began to develop water supplies in the Waitakere and Hunua Ranges

DOI:

Year: 2014