ARAPUNI CONTRACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19721, 22 August 1927, Page 10

ARAPUNI CONTRACT.

POWER HOUSE FOUNDATION

A SUGGESTED DEADLOCK.

GOVERNMENT AND COMPANY. EARLY SETTLEMENT URGED. A grave suggestion—that the completion of the Arapuni hydro-electric scheme is being delayed because the Government and the contractors have not tried to settle who is responsible for the engineering trouble at the powerhouse site —is made by Mr. J. Park, a member of the Auckland Electric-Power Board, who recently visited Arapuni. Mr Park, who is an architect with considerable engineering experience, de clared, in an interview yesterday, that the disputed question should be decided forthwith, 'if necessary, by calling in overseas exports, and work on the original site or elsewhere should be resumed without further delay. "1 have visited the Arapuni works on two occasions recently, and am more convinced than ever that there is a serious deadlock between the contractors and the Public Works Department," Mr Park said. "Anyone with practical knowledge or experience will be convinced on a visit to the works that the position is one of a graver nature than those directly responsible will admit l'o rectify the difficulties existing will mean the expenditure of a huge sum, and the most optimistic must admit that until the question as to who is to accept the responsibility for this expenditure is settled; the Auckland Province will have to be resigned to doing without power from Arapuni Working oil Pumice Area. "Work on the darn is proceeding apace and concrete is being poured into it at an average rate of over 600 cubic yaids every 24 hours. l'he spillway on the headrace is practically completed, but under conditions for which I personally would not like to accept responsibility. The (ountry on which it is built is nothing more nor less than a pumice area. While extra precautions havo been taken by laying a bed ol concrete for a considerable distance, after the water has fallen over the spillway on the down stream side to prevent erosion, there is little or no provision to guard against this on the upstream side. A cut-oil wall is certainly being placed directly in front of the spillway, but it is problematical whether this will suffice. Kven with the provision that is being made, 1 doubt if the pumice country will stand the test for many years. Should my fears prove correct, the Government will be faced with a very serious problem indeed. "From part ol the spillway weir extension, which under flood conditions of ther river must allow at least .between 9000 and 10,000 cubic feet of water a second to discharge over it, the water is deposited against an excavation wall ot pumaceous sand. Here it * falls over a second weir. It is between these two points iu particular that I can foresee trouble. 'At tlx? present time no provision is made for a concrete bed and retaining wall for this area, and no amount of argument will convince me that byerosion the overflow will not eventually find a channel around the end of the spillway weir extension In fact, having regard to the nature of the country, 1 am certain that even if between £40,000 and £50.000 were spent in concreting part of the bottom and sides of the headrace channel on the upstream side of the spillway, the resultant protection would be well worth the money. Crucial Undertaking Delayed. "Another factor which strikes me as remarkable is that the contractors haw been allowed to continue with the installation of penstocks and penstock tunnels for the conveyance oi water to Lhe turbines before the possibilities ot the louudations loi the power-house itself have been determined. To one who has watched the progress of the work from its commencement, it is sad to see the power-house site in the same condi tion as it was two years ago. Work lias been entirely suspended on the site for the time being. It is quite obvious that unless some decision is arrived at quickly the contractors will have all other parts of the work completed before the crucial undertaking has been begun. "That the foundation expected does not exist is common knowledge in the district. That someone has blundered is openly suggested, but who, none, but those closely associated with the work would dare to suggest. If danger is involved in putting the power-house where first intended, the taxpayer should, be told. If brains available in New Zealand are not capable of handling the situation —and this I do not suggest—the sooner the Government decides to call in advice from overseas and secure an unbiassed opinion, the better it will be for all concerned. In my opinion, the present position is absolutely absurd. Data in Specifications. "We are assured that all investigations have been made. Then why are not definite instructions issued to the contractors concerning the necessary work for the provision of foundations for the power house ? At the present tune, to the casual observer, neither the contractors nor the Government are in a fair position. Until the history of this apparently impossible situation is written, no one will know with w r hom the responsibility rests. One wonders naturally whether the contractors are faced with a position they cannot deal with, or whether the information given them in the sped fications was incorrect, and the departmental officers are not prepared to admit it. "One thing is certain. In justice to the taxpayer, any difficulty should be tackled without fear or favour, and this national undertaking made into a successful in terest-earn ing enterprise. Charges, which anyone with reason must realise are creeping up day by dav at an alarming rate, should be thrown on the shoulders of those who should carry them, whether it be the contractors or the people of New Zealand. The trouble should nol he insurmountable, but the undertaking now involves a great deal more money than was anticipated under the original terms of the contract. As far as T can learn, nothing has been gone into in a lofrieal mnnner to settle the difficulty, and it appears as if each side is waiting for the other to move. The solution of this 'l'eadlofk is what is most needed to brine the work a successful conclusion."