The Power and Light Scheme.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 42, 19 February 1901, Page 3

The Power and Light Scheme.

(To the Editor of the Times. Sir,—The proposal to utilise the waterpowov of the Te lleinga Falls for the purpose of supplying light and powor to the town of Gisborne is a very interesting one, and worthy of great attention; but there aro some objections to it which do not seem as yet to have been noticed. The prinoipal of these objections is that the installation would be liable to fail at times when it would be most needed, that is to say in any vory dry season, more especially if the power were to be used for pumping a permanent supply of wo,ter. The roport of any engineer, no matter how competent he might be, would be of little value unless the data on whioh such report was based had been collected over a considerable series of years, including at least one very dry summer. A report based upon measurements taken in a year like the present would be utterly misleading. It is probably the general opinion that there is at all times an ample supply of water at Te Iteinga. At most times there is, but is there at all times, especially in a dry season when the requirements of power for pumping would greatly increase. What is wanted is a measurement of the water, not at its maximum or average, but at its absolute minimum. It takes a lot of water to supply any considerable horse-power with only a small head, as tho following notes will show. To meet the requirements of this district for all purposes it would probably bo necessary to develop at least 500 H. P. at the power house, as it is must be remembered that even with tha most modern appliances the loss of energy by resistance is very considerable. To get 500 H.P, with a CO inch turbine, and a 20ft. head will take about 18,500 cubic feet of water per minute. To most people large numbers like these do not convey much information, but it means a square pipe full of water 2ft. by 2ft. opening running at the rate of seven-eights of a mile per minute. I do not think there is as much water as that going over Te Eeinga in a df-y summer. It may be taken as granted that no river in the northern part of this Island can be considered as a reliable water-power, with the exception of those rivers such as Waikato, Kaituna, or Wairoa, which have their rise in a large lake system. In rivers whioh have no lake at their head, the only remedy is to make one in the form of a reservoir, but such work is very expensive, and not very reliable, as a reservoir takes time to fill, and a service which would supply power by day and light by night, with pumping going on all the time, would leave but little time for water to accumulate. As for such rivers as the Motu and Wbarekopae, they have neither fall nor water for anything like the power required. But there is another source of power which is now being uselessly destroyed, and that is to bo found in the Motu forest timber—not, of course, such timber as would be suitable for milling purposes, but the hundreds of million tons of wood which are now burnt to clear the land. Suppose a main line of tram or railway were constructed along the ’ best route, with branch lines tapping the bush on either side, and these again fed by wire lines from the hillsides into the valleys through which the trams would run; such a system would take out all the milling timber, and at the same time would derive its main power from the wood which wa3 left, turned, through steam, into electricity. One of the great disadvantages of a water power is that it is of necessity confined to one spot, whereas by such a plan as this a plant could be put wherever it was required; and after the bush in any particular valley had been cut out, the plant,, which would be comparatively light, could be removed to fresh ground, and the cleared land used for purposes of settlement. The bush would practically take the place of an easily worked coal mine. Any required amount of power eduM be produced from this source, both for the purges? <?{ tunning ft railway and Sot

supplying the town with power and light. It may be objected that the bush is not unlimited, neither is a coal mine, and a time will come when all the wood will be burnt. The answer to this is, that by the time the timber is all gone the district will be quite rich enough to buy coal, petroleum, or whatever may be the origin of power which will be used in those days, and the plant will be available for a hundred other uses. One of the great troubles of the Motu settlers is what is known as “bad burns,” that is, that owing to the wet the burnt areas are left so cumbered with logs and branches that stock cannot get about on the land, a state of things which now takes many years to remedy. If the settlers could dispose of their wood for an amount which would even partially recoup them for the expense of logging, it would be of the greatest advantage to them, and by the use of wire lines and skidways, both timber and fuel wood could be put alongside the tram lines at a very moderate cost. Whatever scheme may be adopted, three things are of paramount importance at present. Gisborne mu3t have water, or some night it will be a heap of ashes; it must have drains and water to flush them, or some day it will be swept by typhoid; and the Motu timber must be saved. —-I am, etc., - Motor.