THE WAIKATO RIVER.

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14764, 1 October 1921, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO RIVER.

ITS POTENTIALITIES, (By A.M.N.Z. Inst. C.E, ■ Power—the Upper Section. , • There are no rivers on the Australian Continent to be compared with (he Waikato in the North island, and the Clulha in the South Island. Most Australian rivers are mere drains, with a more or less intermittent flow. Only the Murray and the Snowy take their rise in perpetual snow. Ihe snow area of Kosciusko cannot compare with that of Ruapehu, still less with that of the Southern Alps. H-cnce the volume of water always available for power and other purposes in the Waikato is vastly greater than that in the much longer Murray. Therefore the generation of electricity from the former is much simpler and less expensive than it can ever be from the latter, where costly artificial storage must be resorted to, so as to ensure continuity. It may be safely said that if any Australian State had a river of such regular flow within its borders as 1 the Waikato gives, its illimitable power would not be allowed to run to waste for very long. From the upper reaches of this magnificent river must be drawn the power required for the greater part of the Auckland povince. Th'is can be accomplished at comparatively small cost, for there is a fall of over 1000 ft from Lake Taupo to Cambridge, ami also ample water for the purpose. And when this power has been extracted from it all this water will still be available for every other desired purpose, .such as navigation, water, supply and sewerage. As the province advances in population and prosperity more water that is contained in the normal flow will probably be required, and conservation must be resorted to . To this end a complete survey of the whole river, and especially of this upper section, must be made so as to enable the controlling authority to know of every possibility, and to put away part of this great national asset to the best, most economical and most effective use, as the connected portions of a great whole. Of course many of these portions will not be required for years, but each separate work, as it is undertaken, s'hould be so planned as not to impair the rights of posterity or mar the harmony or the effectiveness of a comprehensive, .economical and effective whole. With all the future uses the generation of the power now urgently needed does not come into conflict. There is exactly the same quantity and quality of water below as above Hora Mora, after the current required for Waihi and Cambridge has been taken from it. Works of this kind, as well as larger ones like the Government scheme above, may be added, as far as necessary, from time to time, as the survey will indicate. The possibilities of this upper section arc practically inexhaustible. And the cost of .producing the electricity will be many times less than from a river with a less fall, and with an intermittent flow. Power Urgently Needed. And power is urgently needed to make light and heating (both public and private) cheaper and more universal, in country as well as in town. It is wanted to run the railways, as well as to reduce t'heir cost. It is cUmourously demanded by the houseWife for heating and cooking, so 'nat the present awful uncertainly, and the prohibitive cost of fuel, may be ended once and for all. We have inspected, with much envy, "the house electrical" of some of our American cousins, where every such domestic service 'S done by electricity. Lighting and heating are not the only uses to which this safe and clean power is put. Water may be boiled, and the breakfast may be cooked as easily on the breakfast table a s in the kitchen stove, and boiling water can be had quickly in every rooms in the. house by the manipulation of a plug. The heat in every room in the house by the the stove can be so regulated that a joint may be left safely while one visits the grocer, or goes into town, and dishes arc washed and dried much more easily and quickly than in the old way. These appliances can only bo bought, now by the rich, but when electricity cheapens all manufacture, they will be within the reach of all. And not these only, but every commodity in food, clothing and hardware will be similarly cheapened. The banks of the Waikato will yet be a 'hive of industry, and its fertile lands will grow the food needful for a population which Will equal that of all New Zealand at present. Even the coal will be won at half the cost, and toil, and risk that arc now essential. And yet the number of miners will not be diminished. Only their tasks will be made easier, and their output vastly increased. But coal so won will not be wasted as it is at present. It will itself be converted into electricity for places far from the line of current. Cheap power will make it possible to convert profitably the iron deposits of thcisland into stce*, and to extract and treat low grades now workable. Cement can be manufactured, and limber, hewn and made marketable at a fraction of present costs, and sewerage and waste products cna be treated and turned into manures. Thus nothing will be wasted, but everything will be turned to profit. Even dairying, agriculture and navigation will be revolutionised by this power. Its production then 'is of paramount importance. The waters of the Waikato should, therefore, he applied first of all to this end, and afterwards to other objects. Navigation—lts importance. If power is the supreme use to which the waters of the Waikato river can be put, then navigation comes next in importance. Its value is inestimable. Fortunately power and navigation arc not at variance; indeed, one can be made the complement of the other. When the power has been taken from the water it may by engineering still be converted into a highway, on which the products of power may' be cheaply carried to the consumer and even to overseas markets. Before the days of Ocorge Stephenson the internal trade of England was carried most effectively and cheaply, if slowly, by 'a complete system of canals. These continued for many years after the railways spread their rival net over the kingdom, and thev were able to compete successfully in certain kinds of freight until the railway companies put their heads together and bought up a controlling interest in the canals. Then the management let the canals fall into disrepair until they became comparatively useless, and this freight had to be given to the railways. (To be Continued).