Safeguarding Arapuni

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1002, 19 June 1930, Page 10

Safeguarding Arapuni

SUGGESTION FROM M.P. “ Overseas Engineers Needed ” NO one in liis sane senses would accept tiie suggestions ol the Public Works engineers without some check after ihe failure of those engineers at iMangahao and now at Arapuni.’’ This statement comes from hlr. ,]. S. Fletcher, M.P.. who suggests that the Government should take immediate action and obtain the services of prominent overseas engineers to report on Arapuni and the present situation there.

Xo Ministerial ban on the supply of accurate information will lessen the public anxiety which has been caused by the serious news regarding Arapuni, he says. The people want to know the position; the people have a righ.t to know the position, as it is their money which has been invested in this great undertaking. In suggesting the line of action which he considers it would be wise to take, Mr. Fletcher makes the fol- j lowing statement: “When the erosion trouble 'took place at the waterfall I immediately suggested to the Government .that outside expert advice should be called in. As a result of this, the Minister of Public Works was authorised to get this advice if. in his opinion, it was desirable. Blessed with the departmental official view, he did nothing. Today, had he done so. the country would be in a position to know bow to deal with the situation. But the trouble is on us, and we are unprepared. “I suggest that the Government immediately authorise the High Commissioner, Sir Thomas Wilford, to approach several of the big contracting firms in Great Britain —preferably those engaged in such undertakings as the Assuan dam, the barrages on the Indus, the Tigris, and the Ganges. These works in some respects are similar in nature to Arapuni, and call for the highest engineering skill. These firms should be asked to nominate two men. The professor of engineering at the University of California should be asked to appoint a third. It should be noted that these men should be given a free hand to report as to how best to save the sitution. and how to save on an investment of £2,500,000 —if that can possibly be done. ALL IN READINESS What the Government should do is to get the Public Works engineers to prepare their plans, specifications, and estimates, and have them all in readiness to deal with the situation when those outside engineers arrive. It may be urged that such a suggested course would cause delay, but

it would be infinitely better to wait for two to three months to make sure rather than spend half a million and then be sorry. I am in no way reflecting on the skill of New Zealand engineers in suggesting outside men. but this is such a tremendously vital matter so far as the credit of the country is concerned that we cannot afford to deal with it in a manner which would in any way ! endanger the chance of an unbiased report. The second suggestion I wish to make is that the Auckland Power Board should, without delay, install a Diesel set to generate, say, 2,000 k.w. The present position is that no new , industries can be established if they need supplies of power. We cannot install even 250 milking plants using 2-h.p. without seriously endangering the present supply. DEFINITE INSTRUCTION I Thirdly, it should be a definite in- ; struction from the Government that a big scheme utilising coal should be formulated in the event of Arapuni proving in the last event a failure. This is always a possibility. The headrace from the dam to the spillway, the overflow from the spillway to the falls, the falls and the basin, may all be concreted, and what then? The engineers have then to start to solve the problem of No. 1 generator. They have committed themselves to saying “it is not the foundations which are at fault, but that they do not know what is the cause of the vibration in this No. 1 set.” Their experiments 1 will require to start again, and with what result? We should hope for the best: we should take every step possible to secure our investment; but with a wise precaution we should be ready with alternative schemes. It may be i urged that to bring engineers from , Great Britain and America would cost a large sum of money, but weighed in the balance against the loss of the whole undertaking it is only a very minor item. Action should, in my opinion, be taken at. once along the lines T have indicated.