ATIAMURI DAM

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28743, 14 November 1958, Page 12

ATIAMURI DAM

Filling Ahead Of Schedule

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 13. Six months ahead of schedule, the filling of the dam behind the new 84,000kilowatt Atiamuri hydroelectric generating station, on the Waikato river, began * at 5 o’clock this afternoon. The river will be allowed to rise 50ft behind the dam, before checks are made by Ministry of Works engineers. Tonight, the Minister of Works and State Electricity (Mr Watt) said it was hoped the first stage of filling would be completed within 24 hours. ‘‘The second stage will take place as soon as the engineers are satisfied,” he said. “The lake will then be brought to its full operating head of 81 feet, enabling the first machine to generate its full output of 21.000 kilowatts.”

Two years ago, the Ministry of Works diverted the Waikato through two big reinforced concrete culverts so that the dam and powerhouse could be built. One of the culverts was closed two months ago and it has since been converted into a high-level spillway which will control lake levels when the station is operating.

Tonight, the remaining culvert was closed by a massive steel gate weighing 20 tons, and the flow of the Waikato was temporarily cut off as the lake began to fill. Atiamuri, the fifth hydro-elec-tric station to be completed on the Waikato, will eventually have four 21,000-kilo watt generators. The second of these will probably be commissioned before Christmas, and the third early next year. Construction work at Atiamuri began in November, 1953, and the programme then called for the production of power bv the winter of 1959. COFFER DAM AT WAIPAPA Round-The-Clock Job Begun (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND. Nov. 13. • Work began under floodlights tonight throwing the upstream I coffer dam across the Waikato Waipapa hydrostation to complete the diversion., tyf he river. Men will Wsrk rounji the clock for 48 hours? pushing about 45.000 cubic of earth and rock into the Ao form the dam.