St at i on I nf omat i on

The Manapouri Power Station is the largest hydro power station in New
Zealand.
The underground station is owned and operated by Meridian Energy. It lies
deep in a remote area of New Zealands South Island on the western arm of
Lake Manapouri, in Fiordland National Park.

Water flows from Lake Te Anau down the upper Waiau River to Lake Manapouri.
Water is also diverted from the Mararoa River, at the Manapouri lake control structure,
into Lake Manapouri, except during times when the water is turbid or highly coloured
when it is discharged down the lower Waiau River.
Water from Lake Manapouri is used to generate electricity at the underground West Arm
power station.
The tailwater discharge from the power station is released into Deep Cove in Doubtful
Sound.
A significant proportion of the stations power output is consumed by an
aluminium smelter operated by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited
(NZAS) at Tiwai Point near Bluff, some 160 km to the south-east.
Cons t r uc t i on
The power station is housed in a cavern (111 meters long, 18 meters wide, 39 meters
high) excavated from solid granite rock 200 metres below the surface of Lake
Manapouri.
Access to the power station is via a two-kilometre vehicle-access tunnel which spirals
down (1-in-10 gradient) from the surface and is wide enough for vehicles to pass.
Alternatively people can reach the powerhouse by an elevator which descends 220
meters (equivalent to a 70-story building) a journey that takes two-and-a-half minutes.
The power station uses a 178 meter height difference between Lake Manapouri and the
sea at Deep Cove.
Two tailrace tunnels take the water that passes through the power station to Deep Cove, a
branch of Doubtful Sound, 10 km away. The station was originally built with only one
tailrace tunnel, but a second tunnel was commissioned in 2002.
There is no road access into the site; a regular boat service ferries power station workers
and tourists 35 km across the lake from Pearl Harbour, at the eastern end of the lake.
Soon after the power station began generating at full capacity in 1972,
engineers confirmed a design problem. Greater than anticipated friction
between the water and the tailrace tunnel walls meant reduced hydrodynamic
head. For 30 years, until 2002, station operators risked flooding the powerhouse
if they ran the station at an output greater than 585 MW, far short of the
designed peak capacity of 700 MW. Construction of a second tailrace tunnel, 10
km long and 10 metres in diameter, finally solved the problem. The increased
exit flow also increased the effective head, allowing the turbines to generate
more power without using more water.
Hi s t or y
Earl y hi s t ory
The first surveyors mapping out this corner of New Zealand noted the potential
for hydro generation in the 178-metre drop from the lake to the Tasman Sea at
Doubtful Sound. The idea of building a power station was first suggested in
1904, but the remoteness of the location and the scale of the engineering task
made any project infeasible at the time.
In 1926, the New Zealand Sounds Hydro-Electric Concessions Company
obtained water rights from the government to implement a scheme to use power
from Manapouri to produce fertilizer and munitions. The idea was to use
electricity to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. The scheme did not proceed and
the water rights lapsed.
In 1955 the modern history of Manapouri starts, when a geologist with
Consolidated Zinc Proprietary Ltd identified a commercial deposit of bauxite in
Australia on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula, near Weipa. It turned out
to be the largest deposit of bauxite in the world yet discovered. In 1956 The
Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation Pty Ltd, later known as Comalco, was
formed to develop the bauxite deposits. The company started investigating
sources of large quantities of cheap electricity needed to reduce the alumina
recovered from the bauxite into aluminium. Comalco settled on Manapouri as
that source of power and Bluff as the site of the smelter. The plan was to refine
the bauxite to alumina in Queensland, ship the alumina to New Zealand for
smelting into metal, then ship it away to market.
Hi s t ory Breakdown
1904
Potential for a hydro scheme first recognised by Mr P S Hay, of Public
Works Department
1927 Public Works Department survey parties investigate the area
1947 Aluminium Co of Canada examines water resources
1954 Ministry of Works reports on various possible schemes
1955
Building restrictions on Crown Land within 100 feet (30m) of average
water level of Lake Manapouri
1959
NZ Government invites Consolidated Zinc to consider hydro-electric
potential of Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau
1960
Consolidated Zinc Prop. Ltd. granted rights to develop power from
Manapouri/Te Anau lakes, Waiau and Mararoa rivers.
1960 Petition of 25,000 signatures against raising of Lake Manapouri
1960 Manapouri Development Validity Act enacted
1961 Bechtel Corporations investigations for Consolidated Zinc begin
1961 Power station site reached by vertical tunnel
Apr, 1962 Work and investigation suspended
Jan, 1963 Government to build power station
Feb, 1963 Bechtel instructed by Ministry of Works to start construction
July, 1963
Utah Construction and Mining Company and two local firms won contracts
to construct the tailrace tunnel and Wilmot Pass road. Utah Construction
also won the powerhouse contract.
Aug, 1963 Manapouri Te Anau Development Act enacted
29 Aug, 1963
The Wanganella, a former passenger liner, was moored in Doubtful Sound
to be used as a hostel for workers building the tailrace tunnel. During the
1930s she was a top-rated trans-Tasman passenger liner, with
accommodation for 304 first-class passengers. She continued to serve as a
hostel until December 1969.
Sept, 1963 Wilmot Pass Road commenced
4 Feb, 1964 First shot fired on Tailrace Tunnel
1 Nov, 1965 Wilmot Pass Road completed
1966 1963 Act amended to let Crown take more power from Manapouri for
National Grid
June, 1966 Transmission Line started
July, 1966
Manapouri controlled level 610ft (185.9m) ASL 27.5 ft (8.4m) above
natural mean level
1967 Pilot shoreline clearing carried out
Dec, 1967 powerhouse construction was completed
5:42am, 22
Oct, 1968
Tailrace Tunnel hole through
29 Aug, 1969 Work on Tailrace Tunnel completed
6 Sep, 1969 Tunnel filled with water
14 Sep, 1969 First power transmission
29 Sep, 1969 Second machine commissioned
16 Oct, 1969 Third machine commissioned
30 Oct, 1969 Fourth machine commissioned
17 Apr, 1970 Wanganella leaves Deep Cove for Hong Kong
Dec, 1970 Second petition of 264,900 signatures presented
Apr, 1971 First aluminium smelted at Tiwai Point
Aug/Sept, 1971 The remaining three generators were commissioned
Sept, 1971 Power Station complete
Feb, 1972 Te Anau Lake Control started
28 Apr, 1972 Transmission lines completed
July, 1972 Manapouri Lake control started
10 Feb, 1973 Guardians of the Lake established
Apr, 1974 Te Anau outlet into Waiau river diverted
Nov, 1975 Manapouri to be operated within natural levels
17 Sep, 1977 Guardians of the Lake Guidelines announced
22 Dec, 1977 Government endorses the Guardians guidelines
10 Dec, 1997 Second Tailrace Tunnel given go-ahead
9 Jun, 1997
First blast of construction at West Arm, construction work by a Dillingham
Construction / Fletcher Construction / Ilbau joint venture
23 Sep, 1997 First blast of construction at Deep Cove
10 Apr, 1998 Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) arrives at Deep Cove
12 Jun 1998
until 13 Mar,
Work continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week
2001
12 May, 2001 TBM demobilisation completed
5 May, 2002 Tunnel 2 fully operational
2002 2008
A $98 million mid-life refurbishment of the seven generating units begins,
with the goal of raising their eventual output to 135 MVA(121.5 MW) each

Li ves Lost
In the ori gi nal power stat i on proj ect there were 16 fatal acci dents on the j ob. In l ooki ng and
marvel l i ng at the constructi on, we cannot i gnore t hei r deaths. It i s a remi nder of the dangers
these peopl e faced dai l y.


Constructi ng the Manapouri Power Stati on
Thi s si te i s about the constructi on of the Manapouri Power Stati on, Fi ordl and, New Zeal and. It
wi l l start pri mari l y usi ng bel ongi ngs I have from my bi rth father, Ray Wi l l i ams, who di ed j ust
before I turned 3 years ol d, and hopeful l y I wi l l expand i t as I c ol l ect other bi ts of i nfo about
the i ni ti al constructi on.
Why put somethi ng on the web? In my opi ni on the Manapouri Power Stati on i s an i mpressi ve
feat of engi neeri ng. I had these photos and i nfo from Ray and I had al ways i ntended to scan
the photos to have a backup copy of them but i n true geek styl e that was si mpl y not enough
and thi s websi te was born.
It i s not a tri bute to anythi ng or anyone, nor i s i t a fl ashy websi te ai med to i mpress you by i t s
desi gn. I j ust thi nk the i nfo and pi ctures are i nteresti ng and are about an i nteresti ng part of
New Zeal and and thought others mi ght too.
For the photos to have i mpact, they need to be a decent si ze. For that reason I have desi gned
the si te out si de of the 800*600 box web si tes oft en sti ck to.
Why on the constructi on peri od, not the power stati on as a whol e? Wel l that was what I had
photos on! But al so because i t becomes more i mpressi ve when you l earn about how i t was
constructed.
Hope you enj oy.
Cameron.
About Ray
Ray John Wi l l i ams, Di p.Surv., M. N.Z.I. S. father of t wo (Duncan and Cameron), marri ed to
Margery, di ed age 32.
Maki ng Contact
If you woul d l i ke to contact me about the si te, pl ease cl i ck here
Si te Updates
25 April 2009 added gallery functionality.
21 Feb 2009 started adding the article Power From Manapouri Construction Brochure.
16 Nov 2008 Initial launch.