HARPER RIVER DIVERSION.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17113, 7 April 1921, Page 7

HARPER RIVER DIVERSION.

jjyff COLERIDGE SCHEME IMPERILLED.

PROGRESS LEAGUE'S ACTION.

The inadequacy of the present divcrjoii of the river Harper into Lake Coleridge, to keep tJhe water in the lake io'to the necessary level, and the ur-gent-need for the completion of tho schemo for the permanent diversion ot the river, was the subject of a lengthy discUßsion at yesterday afternoon's owrtcrly meeting of the Councilor the Canterbury Progress League. The possibility of the industries of the city and province being brought to a standstill in the event of tho Lake Coleridge hydro-electric scheme failing was strongly emphasised in the course of the discussion. The president of the League, Mr A. Q, Henderson, was in the chair, and there was a largo and representative attendance. The Position Outlined.

The chairman briefly cutlined the position, and said that the officers of the League had been very anxious about the work. So long as the work at the Harper was going ahead they tad not wanted to create a feeling of alarm, but shortly before Easter it was learned that tho men on the diversion work had been paid off, and that the prosecution of the work connected with the pormancnt diversion had been postponed. Communications with the Pul>lic Works Department not having resulted in anything of a satisfactory character, Mr Climie, the League's organiser, was sent to Wellington, and had interviewed the Minister, the Hon. J. G. Cuates, on Tuesday. The Organiser's Beport.

Mr P. R- Climic, with the aid of sketch maps, described the diversion work Completed, and the proposed permanent diversion work. He said that at a very conservative estimate the level of the lake had fallen Bft, which represented about 3,000,000,000 cubic feet ol' water. This -was a very dangerous level, the water being loss than three feet above the mouth of t)ho tunnel. The temporary diversion works at the Har,per. had taken about nine months to complete, and remarkably good work hod hcen done- by the Department s officers and by'the workmen. Although the water from tho Harper ihad been flowing* into tho lako since March 3rd, it had only affected, the level of the lako'to the extent of i/hreo inches. Dr. Thacker, M.P.: Only one inch and ilhrce-qußi-ters. Mr Climie said that three inches, was a liberal estimate; he thought, however, that Di. Thacker "was right. After explaining the nature of the permanent diversion, he said.he believed that two or three months would have completed the.work; the financial stringency experienced had. decided the Department to hold over this work. He pointed out -that the temporary works, owing to the rapidity with, which tho river rose in flood, could not be reliedon, and it behoved the Government, in view of the ] interests involved, to complete the permanent scheme as soon as possible. 'When he interviewed the Minister on Tuesday, Mr Climie continued, Mr "Coates admitted that the temporary 'diversion way a gamble, and, in view 'of'the financial stringency he did not feel .justified in completing the per''nranent scheme. The Minister did not quite agree with the speaker's estimate of tho cost of the permanent diversion, wliich was £6000; Mr Coates had said th'at it would be more like £10,000; the» advice the speaker had. got was that it could be carried out for £3500 -it was all straightforward work. The .Minister had said that ho would give a definite- pledge that electrical power would be continuously supplied, and .that ho would carry out the develop..mentj>rogramme as previously promisiiedi %he. speaker had pointed out that .the ''gamble" might not bo a success. •The/only .point of difference between "'"the League and the Minister was that Mr Coates had made up his mind to take the "gamble," and the League had made up its! mind that he was not justyied Ini taking it. ?^'^T -Thft.Mayor's Views. ~ ■.. •. j

The chair man asked the Mayor of Ghrfotcbureh,' as representing the body 'most largely interested in -the electricity: supply, lib speak, Thacker said he felt it was his -duty. to. assist tho League in the direcv^tion'indicated by Mr Climie. On Vdayffhe had vVisjted tho Lake and the ■ Haftier river diversion with Mr E. Vpttbhcock, the general manager of the <i Gitv' Council's Electricity Department, 'fcrntMr €f. Witty, MP., and; at his vreqttiesti Mr Hitchcock had supplied '; ihjni-with his notes on the present state He suggested that in the SiSventV-bf the Government .failing to work in hand at once, the local ishbuld. find' the money for it, lipoid ask the Department to do the feiWork.;He also urged that'the Lake .?;|pbleridge hydro-electricity , scheme fifchbtild'oe brought tinder the control if fa Power Board. He road Mr Hitch'ft cock's uiotes.

;, ' ? An Expert's Opinion. ? ;: 3fr Hitchcock, in his notes,, first {! dealt with the fact that, originally, the ?i 'diversion of the Harper river into the § Lake was contemplated, and described s*'the proposed works, fie stated that If. tho intake gates and intake channel Shinto- the Lake from the Harper river. > ; - wjire of a substantial and permanent £ nature, the only question of doubt beits capacity for ultimate require- : f .'nients.' ' ' . completed the intake channel;" he continued, "the next work ■ was;the permanent groyne for the nu,;ti«il diversion upstream. As this was ■a work of several months, it was de-vViCided'-io make a temporary diversion i'tb secure a supply into the lake as ' early'al' possible, while the groyne conv Btructidn was in progress. The tecnvporary diversion has been effected by shingle, banks built across the main . half a mile above tho uitaK* 'This has apparently proved ; than was anticipated, : and tab Deportment' appears now con--tent tolet the work remain in this stago -for the"pfetent. As far as it goes; it is biit it is a fine-weather job, and makes no provision for dealing with flood,water. , The arrangement results. in;the "whole of the diverted river having no' alternative but to flow into tho diversion gates. The intended ar--rangememVahi tihe only safe one, is <p • arrange for the river to flow past the diversion gates in such a way that, if ,; necessarysthe eates mav be: (a) Open feto 'take the faff-quantity; (b) open to ; M take a portion; (b) closed. The location 'j A of the gates, under the shelter of a g.yJocky bluff, should ensure their succeSs!f£ ful operation iri provided the :%river is diverted into its eastern chanTho present position is that the i|v Government has stopped work on a .piece of p&ctially-completed construcIpipn, the most serious disability being fethat; the whole of the river is led to, |£and not past, the intake gates. Any S' r flood in excess of the capacity of tho legates must, therefore, find relief by over the temporary shingle llgroynes huilt; in the . river-bed upgjStream. If these were of bubstantial they might act as weirs, Bpiiver which the excess water would flow, ilphile continuing to divert a sufficient Hpmount to the gates, but; being comfor the most part of shingle only, H& is probable they would rapidly dis-

appear. At tlho same time, it must be admitted that their temporary nature is also some measure of the ease with, which they could be replaced from the material lying on the spot, and shou.d the fine weather continue, and floods be few, this method might be justified for the present, as it is giving to the lake practically tho ivholo contents of the river. The dependence upon this temporary groyn3 is admitted by the Department to be a gamble. Under tho heading "Pipe Line," Mr Hitchcock reported: "The pipe line is, as matters stand at present, the most) serious factor in delaying the supply of an increased amount of power. About one-quarter of the total length is completed. The more difficult portions at cither end are, however, not completed, and as the work progresses, lighter plates are dealt with, and *he progress should be more rapid. Phe contractors' equipment and methods appear to be very satisfactory, but in view of its obligations to the community in this matter, it is to be regretted that the Government have not taken steps to have the work pushed on, by arranging for three, or at least two, shifts per day, and representations might reasonably be made in this direction."

Under "genernl" Mr Hitchcock wrote:—"Considering the position as a whole, the most pressing need is for the restoration of the lake to its original level.' Its area, 13 square miles, is such that, assuming the present powerhouse consumption to be 130 cusecs, the lake level would be lowered at the rate of 1 inch in 2.7 days, without supply from tho Harper rivor. When the Harper diversion was first put into operation, about 240 cusecs were made to flow into the lake. On a recent Sunday, during a flood, this ainount was increased to 340 cusecs, but tho temporary diversion groyno then failed, and by th;' following Thursday the quantity had dropped to 180. As repair work progressed, the flow was 190 on Friday, 260 on Saturday, and 240 on Monday. If the flow of 240 cusecs can be maintained through the intake race, and tho average consumption continues to be 130 cust'os, leaving a margin of 110 excess of supply over demand, the level of the lake would be raised at the rate of 1 inch per 3.2 days. This would mean that it would take practically a year for the Harper diversion, at the mates mentione, to maintain supply, and at the same time restore the lake level. This assumption does not provide for the increased supply into the lake from its present sources in the spring, nor for the increased consumption when the third pipe line is in operation, but it gives a definite indication thatthe position is sufficiently serious to show that no risks can be taken to be dependent upon a temporary diversion, and warrants every endeavour being made to convinco the Government of the need of completing the permanent diversion work.

Mr Climie said it was rather important to state that Mr Hitchcock had arrived at his conclusions independent of tho League or its officers. The Discussion. Mr 6. Witty, M.P., expressed the opinion that the temporary diversion works would not .stand the floods.' Mr D. Sykes (Tramway Board) moved—- ' '(That in tho opinion of this Council, representing all the local governing bodies and all public organisations in ■Canterbury. and Wcstland, it is imperative that steps should be taken as early as possible to secure and maintain the diversion into Lake Coleridge of the full normal flow of tho Harper river'; that tho Government be urged to proceed at once with work on tho permanent diversion."

Mr Sykes said that the maintenance of the supply of electricity was of the greatest importance to he business lifo of the city. If the Tramway Board; liad to go back to its previous mode of generating electricity it would result in fares being increased. Mr H. Holland, who seconded the •motiohy said'that the position was much moro serious than he had understood.

, Mr A. F. Wright strongly supported the motion, and said it was absurd for the Government, at this juncture,- to say that it could not go on with the work. Unless the Government was prepared to do the work, some steps should be taken for Canterbury to undertake its own public works. The whole Dominion had benefited from the Lake Coleridge scheme during the coal shortage, owing to less coal than otherwise would have been the case being required in- Canterbury. Mr W. J. Jenkin (Industrial Association) said that Qhristchurch manufacturers had Bcrapped their gas-producer and steam plants, and if the supply of electricity railed, industries would be brought to a standstill. Mr W. M. Tyers (Chamber of Commerce) said that it would be foolish on the Government's part to let things remain as at present. Mr L. M. Isitt, M.P., said that he had no faith in the resolution effecting anything; another deputation should be sent to interview the Minister. Mr F. Thompson (General Manager of the Tramways) hoped that there would be no reference to local bodies subsidising the scheme; he did not think that they could do so legally. Every local body in Canterbury had unsold debentures on hand. Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P., said that the Government's estimated surplus was about £5,000,000, and in view of the big expenditure on public works m the Auckland district it should be able to complete the permanent diversion of tho Harper. Messrs F. Horrell and J. Longton spoke in support of the motion. The Mayor, replying to Mr Longton, B aid that the City Council had reports on the Waimakariri scheme providing for 15,000 h.p. . x J i\i.\-tx. The chairman pointed out that the lbwness of the level of the lake was not primarily due to the dram upon the waters to operate the turbines; there had been two or three dry seasons, and there had been very large evaporation. If the full normal flow of the Harper wefe turned into the lake it would be more than sufficient to fill the existing two pipe lines and the new third pipe line, and still raise the level of the lake. Those who had seen the present condition of things at Lake Coleridee said tßat the Government was absolutely wrong in taking anr chances. Mr taWn suggestion to send a deputation to Wellington would be considered by the executive. The motion was unanimously agreed to.

HABBOUR BOARD'S SUPPORT. A letter from the Progress League was received by the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday, asking the Board's support in the agitation for the construction of permanent works for the diversion of the Harper river into Lake Coleridge. . The chairman (Mr H. B. Sorensen) moved that the Board express its very strong opinion as to the absolute necessity of tho Government proceeding at once with the construction of the permanent works for the diversion of tho Harper river, in order to ensure a certain supply of power. Mr Sorensen said the work was absolutely necessary, and he took it the Board held that opinion as well as the public generally. It was not a case of town v. country, but of Canterbury as a whole, and no half-measures would be satisfactory. Tho motion was seconded by Dr. Thabker, who said if the Government could not carry on, the local bodies should combine to provide the funds. Mr W. J. Walter said the Minister of Public Works had given an assurance that the supply would be available, and tho Board should have confidence in the Minister. He saw no justification for the motion. The chairman said the support of such bodies as the Lyttelton Harbour Board would strengthen the hands of the Minister in the work he had in view. The'motion was carried.'