Page 12 - City of Cessnock Water Supply and Sewerage Service Utility

11

Concurrently with the laying of this section of pipeline, a new pressure pumping
plant with a capacity of fity thousand (50,000) gallons per hour was installed
at Neath. This plant was operated by a crude oil engine. In the previous
twelve months to this date, Neath Pumping Plant had pumped 94,452,000 gallons
at a cost of 533 tons of small coal at eighteen shillings and ninepence ($1.89)
per ton. An additional small boosting plant was also introduced in February
1923 at Heddon Greta. This small boosting plant on the Buttai to Heddon Greta
mains-section consisted of a five-inch (5") centrifugal pump, belt driven from
a 'Robey' engine operated by steam provided from a 'Marshall' boiler.

To meet the ever increasing water supply requirements, a new re-inforced
concrete reservoir was completed on the previously selected high site at Cessnock
in May, 1923. At its top level it is 387 feet above sea level. This reservoir
was circular in design, with a diameter of sixty-four (64') feet and a depth of
thirty feet, six inches (30 1 611 ) when full and it has a capacity of six hundred and
seven thousand one hundred and sixteen (607,116) gallons. The contractors
were Paterson Bros. and Teasdale Smith of Sydney, who employed 16 men on the project.
A ten-inch (10") pipe laid in Millfield Street, Cessnock connected the new
Cessnock Reservoir with the exisiting eight-inch (8 11 ) main pipe-line running
through Cessnock. The mining hamlet of Kitchener was connected to the South
Cessnock water supply in September, 1923.

The summer of 1925 - 1926 found an extraordinary consumption of water
in the Cessnock Division and caused some shortages of supply. This required
some urgent steps. During 1926 a larger engine and boosting pump was installed
at Heddon Greta; and two electrical boosting pumps plus a stand-by pump were
installed at Neath. New larger pipe-mains were also laid and included 2213 yards
of eighteen-inch (18") wood-stave pipe between Buttai and Heddon Greta; and an
additional thirteen-inch (13") steel main from Neath Reservoir to Bellbird
villiage. In the following year (1927) a ten-inch (10") cast-iron main was laid
from the end of this Bellbird thirteen-inch (13") main to a new Pelton Reservoir
site.

Neath Pumping Station in its infancy had been steam driven. In the
early 1920's it had progressed to crude oil-engine power. A special oil holding
tank was constructed adjacent to the goods vehicles siding at Neath Railway
Station, for the needs of the Neath Water Board unit. In late 1926 two of the
earlier crude oil engines were converted to electric pumps, as was states in the
previous paragraph. On 22nd April, 1927 work was commenced on the Neath Hunter
District Water Board site on the construction of a new corrugated iron shed to
house the new enlarged plant particularly the new electric gear.