Tekapo Canal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tekapo Canal
Tekapo Canal as viewed west from the State Highway 8 bridge

Tekapo Canal as viewed west from the State Highway 8 bridge
Data
location Mackenzie District , Canterbury Region, New Zealand
source Hydropower plant Tekapo A
44 ° 0 '52 "  S , 170 ° 27' 38"  O
Source height 680  m
muzzle Collection basin above the Tekapo hydroelectric power station B Coordinates: 44 ° 7 ′ 1 ″  S , 170 ° 13 ′ 54 ″  E 44 ° 7 ′ 1 ″  S , 170 ° 13 ′ 54 ″  E
Mouth height 660  m
Height difference 20 m
Bottom slope 0.89 ‰
length 22.5 km
Tekapo Canal as viewed east from the bridge on State Highway 8

Tekapo Canal as viewed east from the bridge on State Highway 8

The Tekapo Canal sometimes, Tekapo-Pukaki Canal called, is a 22 km long canal in the region Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand , which the water used for energy of Lake Tekapo from the hydroelectric plant Tekapo A to the to the southwest lie hydroelectric plant Tekapo B directs.

geography

The Tekapo Canal begins at the Tekapo A hydropower plant , initially runs a few kilometers in a southerly direction and then turns west, after a total of 12 km it crosses the New Zealand State Highway 8 and then ends after a southerly turn in a 300 m × 400 m reservoir , from which around 1.2 km long penstocks lead to the Tekapo B hydropower plant .

On its way, the canal, which varies between around 25 m and 35 m wide and has an average depth of 5.3 m, bridges some natural watercourses such as the Fork Stream , the Mary Burn and the Irishman Creek , whose water passes under the canal pipes laid is forwarded south to their natural river courses. The landscape that the canal traverses was named after Irishman Creek . A small settlement is 2 km west of State Highway 8 and directly north of the canal.

Description and history

The Tekapo Canal is not a stagnant body of water in the sense of a shipping canal. The canal was built in 1970 to pass through the water for energy generation and is designed for a maximum flow of 130 m³ per second.

In 2008 the canal caused serious problems for the then owner Meridian Energy , because the canal had sagged in various places. The cause of this was suspected to be in leaks that were due to the tunneling of the small streams that cross the canal. This should cost millions, as the Otago Daily Times reported at the time .

In June 2011 the channel changed hands together with the two power plants and was sold to Genesis Energy . With the help of European specialists, Genesis Energy finally began renovating the sewer in September 2012. In summer 2013 and summer 2014, several sections of the sewer were lined with a PVC film and thus sealed. The repair of the 5km stretch from 2013 alone cost the company NZ $ 150 million  .

In order not to endanger the embankment of the canal any further, the path along the embankment was closed to motor vehicle traffic and only opened to hikers and cyclists.

Further use

In addition to the popular hiking and cycling tours on its dam crest, the canal is used for fish farming. In 1995, the Southern Sockeye Salmon company began to set up a fish farm in the canal and at the time boasted that at 677  m it was the highest trout fish farm in the world. At the moment the fish farms are in the lower third of the canal.

literature

  • Genesis Energy (Ed.): Tekapo Power Scheme . 2013 (English, online [PDF; 1.7 MB ; accessed on February 17, 2017] observation period July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Coordinates and longitudes of the Tekapo Canal were determined by Google Earth .
  2. ↑ a b Tekapo Power Scheme . 2013, p.  5 .
  3. ↑ Topo250 maps - East Coast - Timaru . Land Information New Zealand , accessed February 17, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b David Bruce : Tekapo canal repairs will cost 'millions' . In: Otago Daily Times . Allied Press Limited , November 25, 2008, accessed February 17, 2017 .
  5. ^ Tekapo Power Scheme . 2013, p.  12 .
  6. ↑ Tekapo canal due for reopening soon . In: Otago Daily Times . Allied Press Limited , April 3, 2013, accessed February 17, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Rebecca Ryan : Easy riding in paradise . In: Otago Daily Times . Allied Press Limited , February 24, 2015, accessed February 17, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Sally Rae : Salmon farming expansion 'stunning' . In: Otago Daily Times . Allied Press Limited , September 29, 2012, accessed February 17, 2017 .