New Plymouth District Council is taking an in-depth look at Pukekura Park’s main lake dam to find out how it was built.
The dam, located between the band rotunda and the waterfall, is 147 years old and design specifications do not exist, Council confirmed in a statement.
“We want to know what the hazard potential is for the dam – how likely is it to fail during an earthquake or a major storm – but to do that, we need to know how it was built,” says Council Manager Parks and Open Spaces, Conrad Pattison.
“We don’t have the designs for the original build, given that it was built in 1878, so we have to take a look-see inside it. There’ll be a rig on-site to drill four bore-holes; samples will taken for analysis and we’ll install equipment in the bore-holes for ongoing monitoring.
“Once the work is done, we’ll restore the pathway back to how it was – no-one should notice the difference.”
The work will take place between 24 March and early April. The path between the band rotunda, waterfall and Hatchery Lawn will be closed during the project but public access will be available from time to time.
Some vegetation has been removed to enable access for the nine-tonne drilling rig but the area will be replanted afterward, Council says.
