CONTROLLING MIGHTY RIVER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19941, 27 October 1934, Page 9

CONTROLLING MIGHTY RIVER

GIANT DAM OF TO-DAY

Waitaki Small by Comparison

Comparisons between the huge electrical power schemes of the world and the Waitaki Hydro electrical undertaking, were made recently by Mr R. H. Packwood, engineer-in-charge of Waitaki.

Mr Packwood said that actual comparisons were rather difficult to arrive at. Length, height and volume of masonry, however, could give some indication. The volume of concrete in the Waitaki dam was 230,000 cubic yards, with an addition 50.000 cubic yards for the power house. The Hoover dam on the Colorado River, although not yet actually completed, was the largest dam in the world, it having 3,400.000 cubic yards of concrete, which,, with material needed for the Dower house and tunnels, would bring the total to about 5.000,000 cubic yards, or 20 times in volume the size of Waitaki. The Hoover dam was 730 feet high, while Waitaki was 143. The next largest dam was at Metteur, inMadras, a work undertaken by British engineers who, owing to their modesty, were rather tongue-tied concerning operations. This dam involved 1,850,000 cubic yards of concrete, and was the biggest and finest achievement actually in the world to-day. A total of 1,600,000 cubic yards of material was necessary for the Dneiper dam in Russia. The volume of water at Waitaki was about 1,000,000 gallons a second, while at Dneiper the volume was five times greater. Waitaki was expected to develop 115,000 horse power, while the Russian scheme could develop over 1,000,000 horse power. “What they are going to do with all that power is more than I can say,” he remarked. Mr Packwood explained that the well-known Assouan dam required 1,400.000 cubic yards of masonry, while the Wilson dam in America had a similar amount. The height of the six largest dams in the world was as follows:—73o, 530, 446, 394, 389 and 377 feet. Waltaki’s height was 143 feet, and Arapuni's 210 feet. The biggest dam in the world, however, from the point of view of material, and disregarding the kind of material, was the Gatoun dam at the Panama Canal, this dam containing 3,000,000 cubic yards of rock material. This dam, however, would soon be surpassed by the erection of an earth dam over the Missouri River, which would require 75,000,000 cubic yards.

“Electric current for all, in town and country” Is practically the policy in which the Government is working through the Hydro-electric Branch of the Public Works Department. The plans provide for comprehensive hightension transmission systems linking up the main points of supply of the Power Board districts and the local electric-power authorities. The farranging transmission systems will be based on several large hydro-electric power sources of the North and South Islands and will be joined up with the principal local sources of supply including steam-power installations. North, south, east and west through each Island the magic waves will run, with an ultimate reticulation surpassing that of the telegraph and telephone system