Decision on lake pleases society

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32720, 24 September 1971, Page 16

Decision on lake pleases society

(N,Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 23.

The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, one of the main opponents of the raising of the level of Lake Manapouri, is delighted that the Government has accepted its petition to keep the lake at its natural level.

Mr L. W. Woods,, the society’s executive secretary, said a 12-year campaign to save the lake had cost the society $lB,OOO, But, he said, the money was considered well spent in defence of New Zealand’s greatest national park. The Government's adoption of the recommendations of the committee was described by the national president of the Savd Manapouri Campaign (Mr R. J. McLean) as a step in thb right direction.

But the decision to go ahead with a broad-based dam at Mararoa was a facesaving move, and a Waste of g.Sm of taxpayers’ nwhey t he said. - .

“Why build a ready-made white elephant of a dam if the lake is not to be raised? If the Government does* decide to raise the lake in the future, surely it could then

build such a dam, and so rule out the possibility of an extravagant face-saver,” he said.

The dam was not needed to find out the amount of power which could be generated from the Manapouri Scheme without raising the level of the lake. “The flow of the Waiau River is known. If the electricity Department had done its homework the amount of power which could be generated from a lake in its.natural state would be known. There is no valid reason for putting in the dam,” he said.