Ngāwhā could ensure power supply

I have heard Mayor Moko Tepania deliver some sad news. It appears that the Ngāwhā Geothermal power station is capable of supplying the Far North District, but cannot run if the line south to the grid is broken.

Can we have a “please explain” from those responsible? Nuclear stations always have auxiliary diesel generators to help them start up, or more likely, run down when the main grid is lost.

Since Ngāwhā cannot supply the Far North, plus Whangārei, plus south of the Brynderwyns, I assume it tripped out within seconds after the grid was lost. It should have been possible to open the breaker at the Kaikohe substation on the line from the south and reconnect Ngāwhā.

The only slight problem might be in synchronising and reconnecting when the grid is repaired. I have synchronised and connected one-megawatt generators to the grid of a country as big as Northland using only a couple of light bulbs, so the problem is not technical. It can only be penny-pinching on the planning budget, or political. Transpower does not want regions to be able to break away and look after their own people.

Peter Kerr kaihau

Pothole plan

The comment in John Williamson’s column regarding potholes was interesting, especially the amount of money the Government intends to commit to the problem. This at least shows there is an awareness of the problem.

There is, however, a certain element of it being another Covid which has just arrived, rather than something which has been with us as long as roads have. It is also unhelpful that tar-sealed roads and metal sideroads seem to be lumped together when talking of potholes, when in fact the prevention is quite different for each.

I was also somewhat surprised by the comment on the explanation of the cause of potholes, especially the idea that inadequate drainage in the bottom of a pothole meant the water couldn’t get away so it filled with water. Drainage is usually meant to occur along the sides of the road, I would have thought.

As I said in my recent submission to the Far North District Council planning hearing, potholes are the canary in the mine of road maintenance, or lack thereof. Ignoring the principle of “a stitch in time” seldom works. Whether in a tar-sealed or metal road, a pothole begins as a shallow puddle indicating that beneath the surface there is a weakness or difference in that particular small area compared to the surrounding area. With the weight of traffic, the area slumps and the puddle gets deeper.

With tar-sealed roads, as the slump deepens, the seal cracks and the water gets into the base. In the case of metal roads, there is the same cause except there is no seal to crack.

In both cases potholes increase in diameter and depth as wheels go in and out, splashing out the fines in the process. The bigger the puddle the bigger the splash and the more fines and smaller metal get washed out.

In preventing potholes from starting on tar-sealed roads, a puddle search and identification would be a good start. Followed up with plant mix or the modern equivalent in the offending hollow.

Potholes in metal roads can be dealt with at an early stage by more frequent grading which fills the holes and keeps the crown of the road in shape allowing the water to run to the water table alongside. Unfortunately in the council’s territory, this theory is ignored.

In general, the control of and the provision for getting the water off the road is the key issue.

Unfortunately, a major impediment, and probably already a contributor to the overall problem, is the suffocating effect of traffic management for the frequently minor works being done. Perish the thought but there probably aren’t enough road cones in NZ to deal with all the potholes there are.

Perhaps someone will develop a road cone which can splat some plant mix into a likely small hollow.

N. Wagener

Kaitāia

Missing Links

The Aratere’s been placed ‘in detention’: that ferry’s steering is getting attention. When you’re crossing Cook Strait you’ll be coshed by cruel fate – a matter for swift intervention ’gainst prats who court instant suspension.

For we cannot rely on a link whose malfunction’s but highlight a chink in a vital connection defies resurrection since its finite time’s right on the brink so it might be ‘goodbye’ in a blink.

A crossing is much to be feared on a ‘fossil’ that cannot be steered except onto rocks!

It merits detox as it listlessly sulks near the piers to guffaws, plus catcalls and jeers.

The public’s dumbfounded, in shock that a ship with its cargo can’t dock because of a ‘failure’ – of a Kiwi derailleur – this time not with old rolling stock. Heads should roll on the old chopping block!

This is another dent, rupture to our buckled and bent infrastructure which demands dimwits go into farthest limbo for blunders at critical junctures – such as potholes that sprig us with punctures.

Now our ‘top gun’, our PM’s marooned (not by hurricane, temptress, tycoon) in Papua New Guinea! You have to be tinny to survive shoot-outs in a saloon or lightning might strike your balloon.

Thank goodness I live in the North and seldom have need to go forth beyond finite limits blocked off by the dimwits who topple a pylon to dwarf a cruise liner that sighs at a wharf! Tony Clemow

Te Kamo