Water is Used Three Times
But There's not Enough of It

Lake Waikaremoana is 21 square miles in area, in the natural-forest area north-west of Wairoa, at an altitude of 2000 feet above sea level. It was first developed for hydro-electric purposes in 1922 and 1923, when the unreliability of the bar at the mouth of the Wairoa-River blocked for long periods the supply of coal to the town and freezing works, and electric power was urgently required as an alternative.

There are three power stations, all within a distance of five miles, now linked into the Waikaremoana scheme—Kaitawa, Tuai, and Piripaua. Together they can generate 124,000 kilowatts of electricity.

Today, as with most other hydro-electric stations in N.Z., this output is in danger of curtailment from shortage of water. At April 18, the level of the lake was down to 1974 feet with nine-tenths of the storage gone.