LEAKAGE AT WAITAKI DAM

Evening Star, Issue 22084, 18 July 1935, Page 3

LEAKAGE AT WAITAKI DAM

SEALING THE VENTS NO IMPAIRMENT OF EFFICIENCY [Per United Phbm Association.] CHRISTCHURCH, July 17. The engineers at the Waitaki Hydro works have been concerned for many weeks about a leakage in the dam, but it will now be possible to go on with the work of sealing and arrest the wastage of water. When the dam was completed towards the end of last year 11 sluice gates had to be dropped into position to close the passages through which the river had flowed while the work was being completed. _ Eight of the gates closed satisfactorily, but three did not. The engineers were at once aware of the trouble, and suspected the cause of it, but had to wait until the river had fallen to its low midwinter level before the work of sealing the vents could be done. _ The river this year has maintained a high level for * an abnormally long period, but has now fallen to a level which permits the necessary investigations, and the engineers have already located the leaks and sealing is being poured in Mr F T M. Kissel, chief electrical engineer of the Public Works Department, stated that rapid progress was expected. The great difficulty confronting the engineers was to find out what had happened to the gates when they were closed. , . This week, in the presence ot Mr Kissel, the engineers on the job made now tests with _ coloured dyes. These dyes, showing in the water escaping through the gates, indicated where the principal leakage was occurring, and now sealing is being poured on this SP Thcrc had been rumours that the leakage was so serious as possibly to impair the efficiency of the scheme, but Mr Kissel said that these were quite without foundation. The engineers, he said, knew they could remedy the defeet, but had to wait for a fall in the river level before they could do the work. The flow escaping through the leaks, he said, was less than 5 per cent, of the total flow of the river.