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Rakaia Scheme —total area proposed, 140,300 acres—is projected to serve the area bounded by the Rakaia and Ashburton Rivers and extending from the sea-coast to the 500 ft. contour. A preliminary report and estimate hasbeen prepared. Rangitata Diversion Race: Routine maintenance work, including 1 removal of noxious weeds and growth, was carried out during the winter of 1946. During the summer the silt and sand deposited in the race were cleaned out with mechanical plant in order that Highbank Power-station could operate to capacity during the 1947 winter. Three racemen-caretakers have been appointed, and cottages have been erected for them. WATER-SUPPLY D\ownlamLs Water-supply.—Normal maintenance has been continued. A supply of pipes arrived during the year, and 60 per cent, of the Waimate County area is now watered. Wellington Water-supply.—Work is proceeding on three concrete bridges on the access road to the headworks, two over the Pakuratahi River and one over Farm Creek; Pakuratahi No. 2 bridge is almost complete. Excavation for the foundations of the flume bridge between Nos. 1 and 2 tunnels is in hand. Work was started in July, 1946, on the, 9,200 ft. No. 2 tunnel; this is the longest tunnel on the scheme. Tunnelling operations are proceeding at both ends, and 2,375 lineal feet had been excavated up to the end of the year. Access to the Duck Creek area has been commenced, and a road following the proposed pipe-line route has been almost completed from Judgeford to the head of Takapu Road. This road will give access to Nos. 3 and 4 tunnels at the head of Cannons Creek and will greatly facilitate pipe-laying operations. Highway widening and benching for No. 1 section of the pipe-line have been carried out. A length of the pipe-line is to be laid along the Haywards-Paremata Main Highway, and the work of improving the highway alignment and width is in hand. Plans and specifications for fabrication and construction of the pipe-line are now being prepared. No such work of this magnitude has been undertaken in New Zealand previously. Erection of accommodation] has been continued at Trentham and Kaitoke. COAL-PRODUCTION Work on the opencast mines has been continued at Glen Afton, Glen Massey, Waitewhenua, Stockton, Ohai, and Wangaloa. At G-len, Afton for the year up to the end of February, 1947, a total of 16,646 tons of coal was extracted, necessitating the removal of 78,524 cubic yards of overburden, and at Glen; Massey 55,023 tons of coal was extracted for the removal of 528,129 cubic yards of overburden. Despite the difficulty of excavating in a swamp, work has continued satisfactorily on the Wangaloa Opencast Mine. For the year stripping amounted to 103,000 cubic yards and coal output to 32,759 tons. In the Southland area overburden totalling 250,000 cubic yards was removed for State and privately owned mines.

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