POWER SYSTEM DAMAGED

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28471, 28 December 1957, Page 10

POWER SYSTEM DAMAGED

“Absolute Chaos” At Otira

Communications with Otira had been completely lost, but a man who had walked through from Arthur’s Pass had reported that there had been almost a complete wash-out there, said the district engineer of the State Hydro-elec-tric Department (Mr W. H. Gregory) at 5 p.m. yesterday. The river, blocked by a huge slip, had come through an old stopbank, and rushed through department houses and a sub-station.

“One of our houses, and a garage and car, were washed away by the river,” said Mr Gregory. “The report we had said that there was absolute chaos in the sub-station, which supplies the power to take electric trains through the Otira tunnel. We think it will be at least a week before we can get it cleaned up and operating again; and then only if there is no more rain, and we can get the necessary material up there.”

The West Coast was still being supplied with power from the Cobb Valley plant, the Arnold river, and the Dobson diesel plant, said Mr Gregory. Five men had been brought back from their holidays, and sent to the West Coast

to help there, but had not been able to get past the Bealey. They had taken a large tractor with them, which was being used by the Ministry of Works to help to restore the road. One of the generators at the Cobb station had failed under the load on Thursday night, -.but the damage, a burnt-out cable, had been repaired by yesterday afternoon. Flow Into Coleridge “There is a lot of damage at the Harper river,” said Mr Gregory. The Harper, which normally has a flow of 5000 cusecs, was up to 40,000 cusecs yesterday morning. The-flow into Lake Coleridge was so high that many of the stop-banks had been washed out, and there would be a big job for the Ministry of Works. “We thought at one time, when the water was very high, that we might have lost the gates at the intake, but they were still there when the water went down a little. We did lose a toolshed, and the damage to the stopbanks was pretty bad,” said Mr Gregory.

Both the Waitaki and Clutha were in heavy flood, but there was no danger to the dams on them, said Mr Gregory. The main problem was on the West Coast, and at Otira.

“We just don’t know what has happened there, but from the sound of it there is quite a mess,” he said. “I only hope there is no more rain, or we may really be in difficulties.”