HARNESSING THE RAKAIA

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11535, 18 March 1903, Page 5

HARNESSING THE RAKAIA

TO THE EDITOB OF THE PB_3S. Sir, —I have only to -day- read Mr Allo'e report (as reported in your paper of the 12th) on the way the Rakaia River could be dammed for power- Why should we waste _Ir Alio _ time, and add to the burden of the ratepayer, by going to the expense of getting a, report, only to give Mr Alio a wrong basis to work on? In the first place, there are not two branches in the Kiika-a, above the bridge, except, when there us a fresh in the river. If there vero two streams running when looked at by Mr Alio, then the river must have been at least six ft_t higher than __n_ _• level. This morning 1 rod. to th- bi:ay*, and theie was no *.-ooud *_i_»_i to .by m_ii: tho river iiii* fallen two feet since WeJn-.day. and is still fulling. H.w your itpont-i- tuben Mr Alio up wrong.* He m it* potted to have j?aid that he would put iv tw _ iiaiii_, onv iv each branch of the riv-i: 1 supjwse what- v»«_. meant, was one continuous cLrni, hiving one side- higher than t-iii- other. but if the n__outiij» of each of tbe opsning- a:c- to be dammed, it would leave till* island uuP'OtteUd. punn of which aie iov tr than tlie dft-y foot level, a_.d in ilood -..nit- the water would rise another thirty ltxt above, the duui, aud sweep tight over the isluudThat is to say, if the water it. to 1_- confiutd to its two present narrow outlets, aud as I have seen water to tlie depth of thirty feet und*_* booh bridges, the provision made by Mr Alio, of lowering one dam to fortytwo feet would not be nearly sufficient- to carry off the ilood water, which might be expected to rise in a heavy flood to the height of .seventy feet. '1 he rise of tho river in flood time must liave b:en entirely misrepresented to Mr Alio. The top of the highest tree showing on the island is not more than seventy feet above winter level. . I liave drawn a line across tho lifty foot level, which is -the height the dams will average; besides this, there ia low-lying land of a sandy nature on the right of the photograph, which in places its actually below this level. I send another photograph, taken at the head of tbe gorge, where the river is vt-n* narrow, and is only another two miles further on. Mi- Alio says the shingle will fill up to the height of th. dam—will it stay there, with tine whole bed of the river "shifting? Does the shingle ait the Timaru breakwater stop on its proper side, or has it Ixmhi known to fill up the other sides level to the top? Will it be possible to keep the shingle from choking the turbine-)? If it was not that Mr Alio ha _ had such great experience, I would be inclined to say, that in one night, when the Rakaia was really in flood, with a boiling torrent forty feet deep from bank to bank, rushing through a narrow gorge, she would take down enough shingle to fiill up fifty dianis on both sides. If a dam must be tried, why not put it where it will cast the least, and" where there will be leas dkince of it doing damage? Is scenery of no consequence? Why spoil a pretty spot with an abomination, if it could be hiddieii away further up the gorge, at a less coat 1 _i_ place chosen for the proposed dam is on the main West Coast road, and is a .great resort for tho general public. It seems to me Mr Alio was only shown the first place the party came to, and was not told there anight be bettor spots about one and a half miles further on, which were only about one-third the width, If a further inspection is to be madle, why siliould those who wish the scheme every success, spend fewer minutes on the spot than they-mean to spend thousands of pounds on the construction? If those interested wish information, why not ask someone who haa lived in the gorge? Had Mr Alio and his party come on last Wednesday another mile, I could have shown them where the highest flood-water had come to in this garden, and they could have seen for themselves, without putting the Government to the expense of taking levels, what would have happened had the river been banked up another twenty feet. Mr Alio refers t»> my house, when he Bays that it is tße only obstacle in tlie way of the proposed! dam.—Yours, etc.,

DONALD W. McLEAN. Mount Hutt, March 14th., 1903. P-S-—I hope if anybody care, to read Una letter, they Trill mot tthink that I dare to criticise Mr Alio. On the contrary, what I find fault with is tlie false basis he ha. been given to work on. I know nothing about engineering, but do know the Rakaia. and when she. talks, well, to put it mildly, she dots talk (with apology to Mr Rudyand Kipling's "Bridge Buildera"). If Mr Alio has been told to provide a flood-water outlet, equal to thirty feet deep m both channels, and lias done so, then I have nothing more to say, hut apologise But even then he is only providing for what has taken place, and is not on the safe side by ten feet, at the least. As far as I can see, lie has not been asked to provide for the one-quarter of this, flood-wuter. Is or am I even blaming the two cliannels tho. have to carry away the flood-waters. *or years tdiey have done their duty manfully, and kept tlieir bridges over their heads, although often only having a few | feet up their sleeves. But then, up to now, they have never been tied down by a Liberal Government, and liave not been forced to belong to a union. When a press of business came. t__ev worked day I and night, If they had stopped for one instant to put strange hands on, who ww-e new to the waik after working their tight hours, then their bridges must have gone. But now- they are to be d.imn_d and one of thorn is to be asked to do what the two combined could only do when allowed to work overtime, and nut cramped for space W _ W _V 7?*_ hto S£ * if he bn *--*s down. —D. VV. McL. [Tliis letter was referred to in our subleader of yesterday.— Ed.. "Press."]