LAKE COLERIDGE POWER.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17984, 30 January 1924, Page 9

LAKE COLERIDGE POWER.

JHo HARPER DIVERSION. CK. M'KELLAR'S STATEMENT DExNIED. Ti.c siaur.ont made in yesterday s "I'iv.-s" I'v Cr. A. McKel'ar, chairman in" ti"' C v itv Council Electricity Com-niltti-t.-. tSisit vtic intake at Lake Colerii!l;'-* <>i" 11 i«> Harper River diversion h u.- k(:(l by shingle, was denied yo:»i.T'iu j' bv Mr It. G. Mac Gibbon, roificiit electrical engineer. ■ On the .Sunday of Mr McKellar's visit.' 1 ".aid Mr Mac Gibbon, '-'there w-cr.j 'i'si', (-usees flowing into the lake. T!;i.-> is l 11e normal amount carried by 111<- race.''

With regard to* Mr McKcliar's .itati■iin-nt that the llarper ltiver liad, he reeeiiL floods, changed its course,

and was now flowing past the gates iearihrx into the lake, and that the L-aies were all blor-lceil up with shingle. Mr Mai-Gibbon said th.it the race was i:it in ll■ 11• Ifl to carry all the water fi urn i In- Harper, far that at times was t In:;: ,a nils of ( usees. The 3-")0 cusccs was the normal supplv which the Public Y* orl-> Department had decided on for duplication. '■The statement that the Tlarper lias eiia:i"ed its '-ours'' is Jibsobitelv incorrect." be added, "a.s the diversion was lies cued so that, the Harper would flow pn.«r 'lie catcs as it was doint sit pre|Ji- means of :i sketch of the river "iid intake jrntes lie demonstrated h'liv the sv-'cni worked and niaintained thai "vervbinc: was satisfactorv. al- • Vi'tsili. owing to the two recent fr-Ofls. ivas ." fertain «;npunt of .silfing of the intp'-e gates, but that trouble was rcmo'-ed by in less than aweek's time. The avcras" flffw of water tt-o lake f r, r a week previon = to ]\[r M"7\ellar's v{.cit ivas neariv 900 cs"'.v The fort that the fbnv on the flare of the visit was normal arid was also normal yesterday should disprov.e t.ho statement by the city councillor that the silt woujd take a week to remove.

''lt appears that Mj- .MeKpilar is 'virler a mi.sannrehension,'' lie continned. "as lie apnarnntly considers that the whole of tl-r. Harper should flow into the Ink". That, in addition to beino- practically impossible, is not intended.'' "With t\;feren-e to the statement that tbe level of the lake was falling, Mr Mac Gibbon spid that on Sunday the level was 1068 ft, within two feet of the new overflow lpvol. or s'-x inches above the old level. Qn Monday the leyel was Ki'vS.Ooft. shqwino- t|iat the lake was risiiisr and not falling. "J'herp is no anxiety whatsoever in t|ie ininds of tli.e Dcpartmpnt's officers regarding the floyy intp the )aWe throupn the intake race. .Certainly, there was a certain amqunt of shingje deposii, but that was onlv tp bo expected in flpod-tiine. Any silting will be offset bv closing down the gates and by scooping when necessary."

There' wqs absolntel-" no danger at T.-.'lce Cpipridge. as-serted Sir MacGibbon, who r>dded thai tho duplication was based 011 an average flow of 350 cusccs. and if at anv tiurje a smaller quantity of w,"ter flowed in for a short noriod the deficiency could easily he made tip hv lettnif a greater quantity flow in later, so that there would bo 110 difference in the quantity stored by thi«s n'°ans over the -whole year. •

Mr MacOjbbon intends to inspect the rljver=ipp tfi-mnrrpw avid has inyited Mr ']R Hjtchcqc-k, "rilfirijl manager of tlip City Council Electricity JTpnartr'ent and representatives pf t]ie Chri.=t 7 c-'iurph newspapers to accompany him.