Plans For Lake Scenery Preservation Revealed

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30213, 19 August 1963, Page 12

Plans For Lake Scenery Preservation Revealed

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 18. Little, if any, scenery preservation work will be needed at Lake Manapouri until the lake is raised to permit the construction of the second stage of electric power development there. This might be 10 years away. The Manapouri-Te Anau Development Bill now before Parliament reveals for the first time the details of the scenery protection obligations first undertaken by Consolidated Zinc Pty. Ltd., and now' assumed by the Government.

Under stage one conditions the fluctuation in the level of Lake Manapouri will be virtually identical with the natural rise and fall of the lake. The scenery preservation provisions of the agreement as they affect Lake Manapouri. therefore, have relevance to stage two only The agreement provides that trees which will be completely below the lower level of Lake Manapouri (that is five feet below the lowest operating level of about 638 f abtve sea level) may be left untouched, except that approach channels, with a clear depth of 10 feet, shall be cleared to all jetties Trees projecting above the lower level must be topped at or below that level Between the lower level and the highest retention level, otherwise known as the operating level (that is between about 633 ft and 666 ft), the following conditions will apply: (1) Where slopes are generally less than one in seven or are otherwise accessible for mechanical clearing, all tree stumps and scrub shall be cleared and either burned to ashes or removed. (2) Where clearance by mechanical means is impracticable, all trees and scrub shall be cut close to ground level and together with

stumps exceeding 24 inches in diameter shall be burned to ashes or removed. (3> Where the slopes are generally steep (of about 35 degrees or more) no treatment is required until the effect of raising the lake level has been observed for up to three years, when fallen trees, scrub and remaining trees shall be dealt with as in (2)

The zone three feet above the highest retention, or operating. level of Lake Manapouri, must be cleared of all dead and dying scrub and trees, but the Government has the alternative choice of adopting the methods listed in the above three requirements All dead and dying trees and scrub must be removed below a point three feet higher than the maximum control level of Lake Te Anau, but the same alternative treatment is available Inundated jetties and huts must be replaced as near as possible to' the originals, in consultation wteh the Fiordland Park Board. When Lake Manapouri is raised, and is at any level within the permitted 27 sft operating range, there may be shallow-water areas (less

than 10ft of clear water) lying more than two chains from the lake shore or the shoreline of islands. These areas must be marked by beacons, indicated by notices, or shown on a published chart. At each jetty or wharf constructed on Lake Manapouri, gauge boards must be erected to show the lake level in relation to the lowest operating level. This point, about 638 ft above sea level, would be zero on the board. All this work must be completed within five years from the date on which the lakes first reach their new normal top levels. A sum of £5OOO a year for five years will be paid to the Fiordland Park Board for such maintenance for further work as it considers desirable The only precise levels in terms of height above sea level given in the b 11 are the maximum for Lake Te Anau (676.6 ft the lowest natural level for Te Anau (656.6 ft and the lowest natural level of Lake Manapouri (575.5 ft The other figures given have been calculated by a senior engineer associated with the scheme.