PROPOSED HUTT DAM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 199, 18 May 1920, Page 9

PROPOSED HUTT DAM

WILD CAT HYDRO-ELECTRIC PROPOSALS TBy Coleman Phillips). '.- Now that Colonel Mitchell has abandoned his 2f1,000-h.p. idea from the Hutt River, and comes down to a more reasonable SOOO-h.p., this i lesser power can be considered. Personally I advise Wellington not 'to-.touch it, but depend entirely upon Mr. Evan' Parry's- proposals, now relied. upon by Mr. Birks, as "the big Government sohsmo for the whole of the North Island." In tlrs big' scheme the putting of dams in shingle'rivers is avoided, except in tho Mangahao itself, which 1 is slightly shingly even at'fflie proposed Jiiead works,' but nothing to trouble about. .... '.

The simple truth is that there are as many local wildcat hydro-electric schemes Ibring eagerly • voted for, all round the ■North Island 'to-day, as there were in 18S0to*1890, when everyone was., clamouring for. harbours,- and 20 Harbour Board "Acts were passed, to allow tho'localities to throw their money into,the sen, which they, very carefully have done s ; nce, there being really only three ;rood harbfurs in Nw.Zealand for large .ships, viz., 'Auckland, Wellington, and Akaroa, the two former oven shallowing now slightly In places at the Heads. But engineers were found to commit this extravagance '(notably the Wf-million cost, or over, of the' Napier breakwater folly),; as they lire now. coming forward to pronose dams in. .6.hingle rivers; the very thing thnt was anathema to Mr. Parry. Dunedin, : I am told, is going to spend .£2,1)00,000 on hydro-electric poWer, faking its supply "direct from Lake Wanaka, thus very properly avoiding fho shingle difficulty. > Switzerland harnesses- its mountain streams everywhere; but, as I understand it, nearly all these streams are free from the shingle difficulty. No sensible engineer ever enters upon a contest with a shingle river; if lie does it spells ihe most.heavy rating and loss. The mountain reaches of the'main Upper Hutt stream might be harnessed; but I venture to warn Wellington against putting in a dam below t-hie Pahakurntnhi Besides, I do not thing tho borings-will give rock ■bottom there within .a reasonable distance. Mr. Morton d ; d not find rock bottom in two",of his borings in his proposed third Wainui dam, ."'•■•

Wellington must simply pro' on with its coal power stations, as Melbourne is doing.. It-does not .matter whether "'it is Karris .Street selected or any other street. The. power must he derived from coal, and hydro-electrjcity treated as a standby anil extra, wtfen it, does ..come. Melbourne will not touch hydro-electricity in any shape."and it has a f ar poorer supply of coal to depend upon than Wellington. ■.■.'■■■• ■-~'.•..•■ . It will be three year? beforp any hydro---elec,trio power can be delivered, .owinpr to the shortage of labour aridnrnterial. The city cannot wait for .that,. Neither can it expect to get flll .the ; btydro-electrjo-supply from Maneahao's 2t,000-h.0.. when it is ready,.as Wairarapa,' Palmersfon, Wanganui, and Hawke's Bay are each to 'draw; their share l , under Mr: Party's pro.:posals. The Mangahao. boing a'Waira-: fnpa river, that district-has a first claim upon it, or it will pick up .the stream 'somewhere near Ballance, carry it-round the hills, until a 150 ft.' drop is gained, ond harness it for Woodville io Master.ton use; before it reaches the Manawatu. ' Wellington cannot possibly hope, : to monopolise the whole of 'Mancrahao' supply. I expect it will get 10,000. "h.p. from it; the city aeitating strongly in- the. meantime for Waikaremoana to bo-.har-nessed. for an additional -Jfl.flflO- (one-fiftb-of a horse-power per inhabitant is the; amount allowed for by Mr. Parry, or 20,000 h.p. for 100,Q0O people). 'Now add *his to the coal power station's, and the city will have a sure,and certain power aupply • for' all its wants in - the_ future. To even dream of gettincr a sufficient and certain supply from Colonel Mitc-rjell's last proposed Hutt dam, at the PahaIrara.tahi junction, is.utterly out of thequestion, and the city should not depend upon it. Besides. Mangahao's 10.000 h.p. l will be in Wellington lone; before any Hutt supply can be brought in. The Colonel is ito be complimented upon the «ray he' is sticking r.p for fes wants of the c'fy, but he has not apparently '(studied''Ml 1 : 'Pa'rry's-'i'epoTt, -lind'-'l' -have."Sir William Fraser and' Mr. P. N. Holmes; (our Chief' Engineer) both-lament the dreadfully poor engineering' talent our local bodies employ in New Zealand work's. I, for one (notwithstanding' the unanimous votes of the various districts), do not intend to see the dreadful waste in this hydro-elcotric matter-as-we.have : witnessed in trying to make 20 harbours for New Zealand; a firfit-olass harbour being the-most scarce thin? .on God's earth (about, three in Australia, and only .one-each, in all,the wide coast line's of India. Africa, and South America). I .certainly consider .toe. lastly proposed Hutt-dam a. dreadful waste. Mr. Parry would have : -nothing, to do'with'it.. .'. ,As to gas,for cookery, Mr. Parry is quite clear upon that point. Gas w ; ll be required for nearlv all cooking and heating purposes." Hydro-eleotric'ty is chiefly for light aud power.-- Some people may use it for heatinp and cook : ng, but it is e. very costly business, and I don't think tf will pay the city to supply it. In con-' clusioni I wish to tell Colonel • Mitchell . that I do not. mind the- mountain streams of New Zealand being harnessed any- . where for, hydroelectric supply'., but it must be above the main shingle flow. Of course .that, vaatly decreases the poifer to be got from any shiiigle river. Lam interested in this question because.our Wairarapa Electrical Power Board is thinking of putting in a 130 ft; dam in the Waioliine TCiver shingle, and I am objecting toil'(The'danr fit Te Avnmntn carried away lately, ond left. thait ' town " without ■ 'light and ■ water.) Shingle, river dams are always a very • uncertain proposit'on. Moreover, I want- a good motor road madefrom the city, outwards, via Mr. Piddi- • ford's homestead at Orongorongo, into the Wairarana, in order to avoid the present renlly shock : ng Pimutnlca Hill rond. Also, the railway line deviated via.the' Wainni. . I tlnnk it will pay Wairai'ana ■far .better to. strike a general rate for these two purposes, than one ;'or putting in a costly and unnecessary dam in a shingle, river stream! Like Mr. Parry, I dread putting one or two kindred thousand cubic yards of-cement work in any Rhinalc river, and that is whv I warnWellington not to do so in the Hunt.