Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. WATER POWER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14105, 11 January 1910, Page 2

Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. WATER POWER.

A short time ago the Borough Council instructed Mr. H. W. Climie, a civil engineer who has devoted special attention to this branch of his profession, to inspect the water power and electric light station at Mangorei with a view to ascertaining the possibilities of further development. The report is now available, and will be found in another column. Its outstanding feature is that over three times the power now being generated at the electric light station can be obtained from the minimum flow of the Waiwakaiho River, and Mr. Climie suggests three methods of developing this power without interfering in any way with the running' of the present plant, until such time ns any new plant installed is ready for coupling up. The position at present is that nothing can be done to the tunnel in the way of enlarging or lining it throughout with concrete, because' to put it out of action for any length of time would interrupt the lighting and power services of the town. The power is- limited by the amount of water which can be brought through the tunnel, unless an altogether independent scheme is adopted. The latter would be too costly to be seriously entertained just at present. To return to Mr. Climie’s report, the methods suggested for increasing the available power are these: : — By building a weir across the Waiwakaiho below the present intake so as to give a greater head of water; by diverting a portion of the water from the Waiwakaiho, at a point about thirty chains above the present intake, by means of a tunnel’ and open race into the Mangamahoe Stream, and building a dam across the latter a little below where the present tunnel passes under it, thus obtaining a sufficient head of water in the Mangamahoe; and, thirdly, by taking the water off the Waiwakaiho at the same point as proposed in the second method and conveying it by means of a larger new tunnel through the hill to the power-station. To our mind there is no doubt that the first method is the best, provided the existing tunnel is able to carry the extra water, and in Mr. Climie’s opinion it is. By building a weir below the present intake practically the whole of the water in the Waiwakaiho could be turned into the tunnel, the only limit being the latter’s ability to withstand the pressure and friction. Mr. Climie calculates that by this method an effective 876 horse-power can be obtained, equal to nearly 060 kilowatts of electrical energy. The existing plant gives 180 kilowatts, or nearly 240 horse-power, so that the gain would be 480 kilowatts, or 635 horse-power. This would provide for a very large extension of the lighting and power services and leave ample power also for an electric tram system for the town and suburbs. The cost of building a weir and making certain necessary alterations at the intake, outlet, turbine pit, etc., Mr. Climie estimates, with a liberal allowance for contingencies, at .■£5137. To this must be added the cost of new turbine and generator, of which Mr. Black will no doubt be prepared to advise the council. Whatever this is, the outlay seems to be amply warranted, for practically the whole of the available power is now being used, and much more would readily be taken if the council wore in a position to supply it. Having obtained this report from Mr. Climie and ascertained that for a moderate outlay a very large addition to the available' power can be made, we hope the Borough Council will take steps to carry out the scheme, together

with a tramway scheme, which is thus made possible at a cost well within the means of the local bodies interested.