KLONDYKE WORK

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 16, 29 October 1938, Page 8

KLONDYKE WORK

ON THE IRRIGATION SCHEME. GOOD PROGRESS BEING MADE. MACHINERY FULLY EMPLOYED. The interesting facts that the largest. unit of machinery on the irrigation work in Ashburton County, the steam shovel working at the Kiondykc section, was 15 years old, bad been completely written off the Public Works Department’s books because of its age, but was still shifting 2000 cubic yards of spoil in eight hours, were given to members of the Mackenzie County Council yesterday, when they paid a visit of inspection to the works where they* were shown round by Mr E. C. Smith, engineer in charge of that section of the scheme. The unit made the. deepest cut on the scheme, which is 82 feet from top to bottom. A special pump was installed to supply water for the boilers; at work, the shovel lifts two tons in a bite.

Until two months ago, constructional work on the scheme was held up because of a shortage of stool, but now all the steel required lias come to hand and bridges and drops are in the course of erection. On the average, there will be an eighteen foot reinforced concrete bridge every mile. To stop the velocity of the water and prevent scouring in the race, four seven loot drops are being installed. An interesting point is that the force of the 1000 cusecs of water in the race would when falling oyer each seven foot drop, generate 125 horse-power. The drops are all within a few miles of the headworks; lower down, the race is being kept as high as possible in view of the establishment of hydro-electric works at Rakaia.

Stock Race Supply. When the headworks reach the river the intake of tile Ashburton County* Council’s stock race will be severed. To keep it running, large electric pumps have been installed. The race has not yet been touched and will be left until it is possible to concentrate all the machinery on the headworks. The pumps however, are ready to work, in several places along the race where a water suppy 1 has been cut off, syphons have been installed! to supply stock.

Five or .six miles from the intake, three caterpillar tractors with bulldozers, • are at present working on a pug clay* face. The race is being cut a considerable height above the plains to maintain altitude for power purposes, and the face lies at an angle of 27 degrees. The working of machines on such a face is one of the wonders of the modern mechanical age, the. visi-

cated. First the surface soil is cut off and pushed down hill; then V-shap-ed steps aro cut along the hillside below the course of the race. The soil cut out of the channel itself, is held in placo as a bank by the steps. By the aid of powerful lights, the tractors work the round of tho clock. On .the southern section of the scheme at present, between 130 and 140 men aro employed. On the northern section across tho Ashburton river, 30 aro working. The scheme is now well advanced according to schedule, and work,, starting with the initial survey, has been proceeding for two years. It is expected that the scheme will he in operation in another two years. After they left the irrigation works, members of the council inspected the Ashburton Council’s stone crusher working near Mayfield.