ARAPUNI TO LIVE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 217, 13 September 1930, Page 7

ARAPUNI TO LIVE.

CLEAR INDICATIONS. PLANT TO BE OVERHAULED. FAXILS TO BE CONCRETED ? TIMBER LANDED FOR PURPOSE. (By Telegraph.—Ow'n Correspondent.) PUTARURU. this day. There now appears very little doubt the Arapuni hydro-electric works will continue. One of the chief evidences of this is the fact that the plant is being completely overhauled. During the past week large quantities of timber suitable for concreting work have been landed on a site above the falls. There must be something like 60.000 or 70,000 feet of this. It is not suitable for the erection of buildings, and as it is being stacked at this isolated spot it can be safely assumed that it is for the purpose of eoncreatiss the face of the falls, and perhaps the channel from the spillway to the falls. Gravel Supply Located. During the past fortnight officials of the Public Works Department have been prospecting for gravel, and .they have located suitable "deposits alongside the Waiteti stream, which has its outlet quite close to the base of the falls. The Government intends to take about 20 acres, under the Public Works Act, either from Mr. Rea's or Messrs. Paul's and Sharp's properties, and the necessarv machinery for carrying out this intention has already been put in operation. Exactly what the intentions are with regard to carrying water to the penstocks is not certain. All sorts of schemes are talkod of, but '.lie solution suggested by Professor Hornell is not disclosed. It is anticipated that this will be made known during the next fortnight or three week. Mr. T. Rabone, engineer in charge of Arapuni, left for Wellington several days ago. The »saot duration of his stay is not known. His business there is to be in immediate touch with Professor Hornell for consultation purposes, and, as the man who is most familiar with the whole system at Arapuni, to be. at hand for conferences and discussions that are likely to take place during the next weeK or so between Professor Hornell, the Public Works Department, and Cabinet. Among numerous suggested remedies for the present trouble is one to construct another dam across the mouth of the headrace through which huge conduits would pass and carry water to a email lake, to be formed just above the penstocks. These pipes, it i≤ suggested, should lie loosely along the channel, so that any breathing action would not disturb the earth. The river overflow could find an outlet through openings pierced through the present dam. Cleaning the Headrace. The work of cleaning out the headrace is still proceeding and during the past three weeks thousands of tone of earth have been lifted by a crane stationed on the spillway and deposited on the down stream side. This will be sluiced away quickly should the river ever flow over the spillway again. If not it will do no harm, piled as it is in irregular heaps against the apron of the weir.

Blasting operations are in progress above the diversion tunnel on the upstream side of the dam. Thousands of tons of rock forming the overburden has been shifted by explosives. This apparently is to prevent a heavy fall at any time blocking the mouth of the tunnel.

The small population that remains in Arapuni township appears very optimistic that Arapuni will soon be a hive of industry again.