COAL CREEK WATER SCHEME

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 113, 9 January 1872, Page 5

COAL CREEK WATER SCHEME

surveyor's report to the projectors. 11l pursuance of your instructions, I pro I cseded to the Oarrick Range upon the 11th j a instant, aid from that data until the 23rd j '- instant I was engaged in taking rough levels ; I ti first from the low saddle on the C.irrick Range (close to the main road from the | f Nevis) to the road leading to the Royal j J Standard claim ; and then from the saddle | to a point upon the Coal Creek sufficiently i c high to permit of water being brought from that point over the saddle. 1 also measured t along the course that a race would probably E have to be taken between those points. I found that the difference in level, after c allowing a fall of eight feet to the mile, would I permit of water being brought from the saddle J to a point on the road leading to the Royal I Standard claim about two and a half miles •" above the Heart of Oak and Elizabeth claims, t close to and at a level of about thirty feet above where the road turns off sharp to the 1 right to enter the Royal Standard claim. The ' distance from the saddle to the road will be ' about six and a half miles. The ground ap- s peared to be good all the way for bringing a t race over, with the exception of a few feet ' of rock in three or four places, which will * have to be flumed round, unless the water is l allowed to drop a few feet in order to go be- ; low them. From the saddle towards Coal Creek, 11 < i found the ground apparently of average qua- j ; lity for about six miles. A great deal or itM is very good ; but there are a-few rocky spurs | < !to cross over that will probaoly have to be j j flumed. Several small streams containing from one j and a half to two heads of water cross the | I proposed line of race between the saddle and I ! Coal Creek. These can be taken into the j ; race at a very small expense ; and, from the i I best information [ could obtain on the ground, |. I I believe only one of these streams has been j i granted for mining purposes. This water, if ! i obtained, would more than compensate for ! probable leakage, evaporation, &c. For about, two miles and thirty chains from ' | the distance of six miles from the saddle the : ! ground is very rocky in many places ; but j I the rocks seldom rise more than a foot or j two above the level of the ground. At the | distance of eight mile 3 and thirty chains from j the saddle, I found some high, nearly per- ! pendioular cliffs, that rise in some places j about two hundred feet above the level of the : j proposed race, and descend almost to the water in Coal Creek, two or three hundrel ! feet below. Relieving, then, that it would I be better to avoid those cliffs, even if 1 had ; ! to go several miles further with the proposed | line of race, I levelled up to a point about eight hundred feet higher, and endeavoured to find a better route at this level. I found j ! it necessary very shortly to rise another sixty I ■or seventy feet to avoid other cliffs ; and ! even then the best route I could obtain was ; ivery bad. 1 did, however, produce the line jat the upper level until I roached the first ' | main branch of Coal Creek, at a distance of little over ten miles from the saddle. I then • I levelled round to the other main branch of I the Creek in Hall's Cullv, and reached it at ! a distance of twelve and a half miles from . j the saddle, or nineteen miles from the road to the Royal St mdard claim. I measured roughly the quantity of water [ I in Hall's GuUy, and found it to be about i seventeen and a half sluice-heads then. This ' | is considerably less than when I measured on j I tiie 30th ultimo. The quantity will probably j •continue to decrease until the end of Feb-j ' | ruary, and then will reach its minimum, i r | There is apparently as much water in the] | first branch as in Hall's Gully ; but owing to j j the very rugged nature of the bed of the j > I creek, T found it impracticable to measure it' rj in the very li.aited time I had at my dis- ' I j posal. j i I was not able to finish the levelling, &c, ' ■ | up to Hall's Cully before the evening of the ; 21st instant, and on the morning of the 22.id " j instant, Messrs T.ivlor and Goodger, in ac--1 cordance with your request, walked over the ' \ woi'3t parts of the ground with me : and after I; examination we came to the conclusion that i \ it would be better to flume round the rocks fj at the low level, instead of adopting the l higher and longer one. This route will be j about seventeen miles inclusive of the con- ' tinuation to Hall's Gully. Without a closer investigation of the cliffs * : than I was able to make, owing to want of e : time, it is impossible to say with much confiI j dence what kind of fluming will be best : but - at present I consider an iron channel for the e water, oval shaped, open at the top, bolted - and bracketed to the rock, would be most . ! suitable. T think there will only be about . , from twenty to twenty-five clia'nsof this sort of fluming to be p it up ; and there are some r iedges in the cliffs that could be made available for supporting part of it. This portion II might have a fall of a 1 on 1 in 20. Between the end of the cliffs and the stream e there are some bad rocky places where 1 think g it will be best to build up a bed of loose i. stones (of which there are great quantities), t and lay down an iron channel, somewhat like t t that proposed to be put round the cliffs, but 3 jof a much lighter description. This sort of ~ : channel might also be used with gr.-at advanr I tage in other places along the race where : there are plenty of loose stones. j ! The probable cost of the first six miles will cl be about £600; of the se:ond six miles, n 1 £I2OO ; of the next two miles and thirty »-! chains, £OOO ; fluming round cliffs, £2OOO ; ie remainder, £SOO ; being a total CAit of £U">°o. d ! H. W. Smtthies, Surveyor. Cromwell, December 31.