DEEPENING RIVER AVON.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3009, 11 March 1926, Page 1

DEEPENING RIVER AVON.

NOVEL CRAFT DESIGNED.

Lying in the Avon, underneath the Colombo Street bridge, is a curi-ous-looking water craft, says a Christchurch paper. Everyone who crosses the bridge stops and looks down.

Although it appears a simple thing, this trim water craft, when it starts to work, will manufacture such force that the silt and weeds in the bottom of the river will disappear. At least this is the hope of Mr. R T. Stewart, of Dunedin, the designer.

This barge-like structure, which makes the Avon resemble one of those quiet canals in the north of France, is really an hydraulic sweeper. It will sweep the river clean —if all goes well —and when it really starts to work the Avon will be anything but a quiet stream.

Standing in the little house on the craft there is a two-stage centrifugal pump which will be driven by electric power supplied by transmission lines from the shore. On the down-stream end of the raft (or pontoon) there will be a nozzle reaching to the bottom of the rivei. The water will be pumped from the up-stream end of the pontoon and forced at high pressure, through the nozzle. As the water rushes through the nozzle it will bore out them ud and silt on the bed of the rLer and lift them ? » 'hat they will be carried down-stream. In flu®, way it is hoped to deepen the irmr to anv de sired depth, from bark to bank. It : s hoped <o Hewt h work very sh< ily, and Mr. Stewart is confident of success. Should the experiment prove successful the ( ‘iris'chu, ch Drainage Biard will pro- , .... und -Hake the cleaning cf . ;hei reaches of the river. A stretch of the rver between Colombo and Manchester Street bridges will be experimented on first. Perhaps as a result of Mr. Stewart’s invention there will be good days in store for the rowing men of Christchurch.