THE WAIMAKARIRI SCHEME.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11528, 10 March 1903, Page 6

THE WAIMAKARIRI SCHEME.

MR ALLO BEFORE THE COMMITTEE

A nneting of the Waimakariri Special Canmihtee was held yesterday afternoon* when M. Edmund Alio, manager and engineer of the Foreign Department of the Maschinen Fabrik, of Oerliken, near Zurich, who recently visited the. Waimakariri River at the point where the proposed ■works in connection with the electrical power scheme are to b* erected, was ir, attendance, and submitted a report on tiescheme on the lines of the int. rview published in yiHterday's issue of "J he Press. Mr Alio "explained the details in connection with his nc-hcme. and answered a number of questions put. him by intnilx-is of the- committee. The committee appeared To be favourably impressed with -Mr Alio'. schem<\ A vote of thanks was accorded him for his report and his attend_:e.. Interest in the .scheme for obtaining electrical energy from the Waimakariri has been revived by the publication of Mr Ailo's opinion, on the subject, and generally amount those competent to judge his rcl'ieme i. looked upon with favour. One local engineer, who has some considerable kiiowled.e of the river, does not think that the expert hats fully recognised the magnitude of the shin_le and floods ditii--.uilics. In conversation with a representative of "The Pn-ss," Mr J. L. Scott, a member of the Special Committee that has the "Waimakariri scheme in hand, said he had no doubt that .Mr Allo's scheme was feasible, but whether the estimate of the cost was correct he was not prepared to say. in.t !nviii_ gone into the details. In Mr Scott's opinion, the scheme providing for a <iiim will get rid of the shingle difficulty, and ho a.reed that the banking up of the -diin.'.e against th dam would have tlie • ii.-.-t of .--ti-eiigtlic-niii,' it. According to MoU-sworth. the average angle of repose ot slnn/le is 40 degree!., so that the shingle luou.ht down would not be deposited evenly 7\s to the ixuv-ible attrition by shingle and grave! being earned over the top of the darn, he tlmmdit any damage done could Im.- easily n-ir.edied in the dry season, but ho did "not anticipate that much damage would result, .is by the time _.■ g'-avel and stone reaehrd the dam they would ba found to he lotinded and smooth. The question of the cost of the undertaking was mi important one, and as Mr Scott '» not in the habit of jumping at estimates he thou.ht the matter would require very '.rueful and exhaustive -consideration. -" x - s to the disposal of all the power that could pos-sil.lv be generated, he thought there notild be no difficulty ultimately in disposing of it.