THE WAIMAKARIRI.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16856, 9 June 1920, Page 7

THE WAIMAKARIRI.

TO TITE EDITCP. OF "TITE mrss.'' Sir, —The article in your .Monday's issuo is ot' tho greatest interest to all these who reside between Ellosmere on tho south, and ltangiora on the north. Tho position of false security into which the community has been lulled by the many years of immunity from "flood disaster will 110 doubt bo "rudely broken in the near future unless direct action is taken to efficiently control the river. Already incalculable damage has been done to the river course by the shortsighted _ policy of tho South Waininkariri JRiver JJoa.rd. Their only thought has been to hurl the river water away from their side, never thinking that when they divert tho mighty floods of this river against the high banks on the north side they are most probably making a rod for their own hack. Onno-

making a rou lor ttictr own duck, upposite their main groyne, which sticks out over 70 chains into the river, the banks are 2offc high, and for over one and a half miles in length they have 'been washed away from 5 to 7 chains back into the solid. Again, a miio and a half further down stream, where the banks average 10ft high, they have beeil washed away an averago of 17-i chains # into the solid for over three miles in length. Now where are these billions of tons of shingle? Have they evaporated, or havo they raised the side of the river-bed that the banks were more adjacent to or tho other. There is ono thing plain to any reasonable pci'son, and that is'"that they have choked tho river-bed in a way which would not have occurred in centurics had it not been for the hastening effect of tho works on tho south side. The time has now come when immediate steps are necessary to try and avoid the disaster foretold with such wonderful foresight in that most masterly report prepared' 40 years ago by j the man whoso record started in those ] parts with tho early surveys of the j Kangiora and Ohoka swamps, Mr A. Dudley D'obson, present city surveyor! in Christchurch. We greet him. In the 1880 report Mr Dobson says: ' 'The present railway bridge will ho too short to span the stream when brought to its full width, and this should be provided for instead of attempting to protect the end of the embankment with stono work, which will ultimately hesGme an obstruction." This refers to Stewart's Gully bridge, and wo all know how the Railway Depart-! ment shortened it, and because the stream had scourcd out so deep that thev were afraid that the niles would

: mcy were arraici mat tiie piles wonici i ; go, they, in the late nineties, filled the j ; whole river tinder the bridge with rock ' ; from tho Port Hills. The filling ur> of! j the water area at the Empire bridge | i since 1900 coincides with this work, and i jis no doubt directly due to it. The | ! moral is obvious, and that is that the i ■ conservation of this . river should be' 1 under the guidarfce of the best river j ! engineers we possess, and under one i control.—Yours, etc., I EYRE COUNTY.