The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1921. HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1921. HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME.

There is a disposition on the part of members of the New Plymouth Borough Council to reconsider the decision arrived at some time ago in connection with the proposal to increase the .size of the tunnel and make provision for a fourth pipe line in respect to the hydroelectric extension works now under way at the Waiwakaiho. This will prove gratifying to ratepayers, for we are sure a mistake was made then in disregarding the strong advice tendered by the consulting engineers, supported energetically, as it was, by the town manager, whose judgment in matters connected with the municipal undertakings has never been astray. It will be recollected that as the result of an inspection of several days’ duration Messrs. Blair Mason and Lee came to the conclusion that there were considerable possibilities of gaining extra power on or near the upper reaches of the Waiwakaiho by diverting streams from the Mangorei and other watersheds to feed the proposed storage areas, and by providing further storage basins further up the Mangaraaho Valley. They suggested that it might be to use the water twice over, and, in a communication to the council, stated: “The question of whether' such power is, or is not, economically available, can be settled definitely only by engineering surveys,”

The cost of making the extra provision was estimated at £BOOO. The town manager expressed the opinion in a report to the council that there were “immense possibilities” in the scheme affecting the future success and prosperity of the electric undertaking, and he strongly recommended the council to further investigate the proposal. The complete scheme as at present designed provides for three pipe-lines capable of conveying watei' to give 9000 h.p. A fourth pipe line would provide another 3000 horse-power. At Monday’s meeting the Mayor stated that there was no necessity for going to the expense of widening the tunnel to give the extra 3000 horse-power, because as it was there would not be sufficient. water to develop more than 6000 horse-power when the scheme was completed, let alone 9000 h.p. provided for by the consulting engineers. His belief is based on a report by the electrical engineer, who stated that they could only rely /and base their estimates upon the minimum flow of the river, which would produce but 6000 horse-power. But the consulting engineers put the position somewhat differently. What they said was this:

“The whole question appears to hinge on the possibilities of the river maintaining a low level over an extended period. The electrical engineer shows that the reservoir when completed will give 10 days’ storage (we make it a little more), assuming the maximum output of the station to be maintained., It must be admitted that it is possible for the river to remain at a minimum flow for ten days. Such possibilities ai’e generally expected, but occur so seldom that any inconvenience has to be borne and treated in a similar manner to that of domestic water supply, in which services that- are not essential are cut down for the time being. This contingency is present in many existing power schemes, but, as it does not often, occur, the expense of providing against it becomes unwarranted.”

Since this matter was brought up, a communi’cation has been received from Mr. Leggatt, on behalf of a large Home engineering firm, who was in New Plymouth some time ago negotiating for a large supply of current for elec-, trically smelting ironsand,. indicating his readiness to again treat with the council for supplies, and to finance* the cost of the bigger! scheme involved. It is ’ fairly j plear that the council cannot sup-

ply the rest of Taranaki with current, as it is desirous of doing, and at the same time supply the large quantity necessary for the smelting works; but if another .3000 horse-power can be developed, as suggested by the consulting engineers, then there will be no difficulty in the way. The attitude taken up by the general manager at Monday’s meeting was, in our view, a right and reasonable one —namely, that the council should not further treat with Mr. Leggatt unless it is prepared to make provision for generating further power than is now embraced in what is known as No. 1 scheme. It would be unfair to the British firm, and place the council itself in a wrong position. The first thing to do is to test the proposal put forward by the consulting engineers, and have a thorough examination of the country made. This should not involve a great deal of time, and need not hang up the work now proceeding on the river. The Tefkirt would prove whether the scheme is worth going on with or not. The council owes it to ratepayers and the district generally that do opportunity of developing further electric power should be missed, especially in view of the possibility of establishing in the town an industry the potentialities of which it would be hard to estimate. Provision can now be made at a cost of £BOOO, an amount which is comparatively small considering the total involved, and would not seriously endanger the council’s finances for this work; whereas, if the present works proceed, it will never again be possible, except at very great expense, to exploit any additional hydro resources in the vicinity. For these reasons it is gratifying to see the bulk of the councillors are disposed to reverse, the previous decision arrived at by the council, and we trust that they will insist on the engineers being empowered to make a detailed survey of the ground and fdrnish a full report to the council.