LAKE TAUPO FULL

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28795, 16 January 1959, Page 8

LAKE TAUPO FULL

Heavy Flow Into

Waikato

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 15.

Water roared over the spillway at the Karapiro hydro-electric station today as a heavy outflow from Lake Taupo—now full at 1177 ft above sea level—passed down into the lower Waikato.

Early this afternoon the spillway flow was 4400 cusecs, and the total flow at Karapiro was 13,000 cusecs. The State Electricity Department said that this was only equal to the usual full load flow, but the station could not use all* the water through its turbines because one of its three units was out of action on overhaul.

Engineers were rushing the unit back into service today. Lake Taupo had reached its full five feet of controlled storage by the time the lake gauge was read this morning. A check reading at 4 p.m showed, it steady at this level.

The control gates were not fully open this afternoon, but the outflow from the lake reached 7000 cusecs, compared with the normal 4000 to 5000 cusecs.

This helped to steady the take at the 1177 ft beyond which the Government would face compensation claims from landowners around the lake. The inflow into the Waikato river from tributaries between Lake Taupo and Karapiro was reported today to be less than was expected after the widespread rain.