DAM HAS ONLY 100ft TO GO

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30289, 15 November 1963, Page 21

DAM HAS ONLY 100ft TO GO

Benmore's huge earth dam is now heaped 270 ft above the bed of the Waitaki river, less than 100 ft below its planned height. The man-made mountain contains 13,000,000 cubic yards of earth and gravel, with 2,800,000 more to be added to bring its total weight when finished to about 27,000.000 tons. When the plug is dropped into the diversion culvert a lake will build up behind the dam for 18 miles up-river as the water level rises to the edge of the six penstock intakes.

Already three of the giant penstock pipes are virtually complete. These are the three which will, carry the water down to the first three turbines to be brought into operation in April, 1965. The other three, which have all been started, will not be used until later. The six penstocks will each feed a turbine of 126,000 horsepower coupled to a generator of 90,000 kilowatts. Together the generators will be capable of producing 540.000 kilowatts and will have more than twice the capacity of those at Roxburgh.