The Public Works Department’s engineer-in-chief suggested that the government seek the advice of Swedish engineer P. G. Hornell on fixing the Arapuni dam. Hornell designed a complex, flexible lining of the dam’s headrace (the watercourse leading to the powerhouse). The lining consisted of steel plates, concrete slabs and a lot of bitumen. Hornell’s solution was not effective, and nor were the ongoing attempts to prevent seepage. In 2007 a two-year drilling project intended to stabilise fissures in the rock below the dam was completed.
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Alexander Turnbull Library, F. W. Furket Collection
Reference: PA1-Q-769-07
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