THE AVON.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19159, 16 November 1927, Page 8

THE AVON.

WEIRS AND IMPROVEMENT. DRAINAGE BOARD'S POWERS. The Town Clerk (Mr J. S. Neville), in a letter to the Drainage Board, read at last night's meeting, said the Board's views on movable weirs in tho Avon had been referred to the City Council's Works Committee. The chairman (Mr H. J. Otley) said the Board was obtaining a legal opinion about the matter. The only right the Board had to sweep the river was in the interests of the health of the people and the better drainage of the City. They had improved the drainage by dropping the level of the river five or six inches and deepening it (in some places) by eighteen inches. The question was whether, having lowered the level of the water, they would b# doing right in bringing the water up to its previous level. Mr H. G. Livingstone suggested that they should get the legal position altered, and if the Act did not give them power to erect weirs his opinion was they should get such power. The river would not be useful for boating without the weirs. He was keen on the weirs. The chairman said they had to be careful not to exceed their statutory powers.

Mr A. T. Smith said the weirs might I be very nice for boating, but they were not there as a boating club, but as a Drainage Board. The letter was received. The pumping station engineer's report stated that the river-sweeper continued to do good work, but in his opinion the new engines should be installed as soon as possible. Mr H. G. Livingstone had given notice to move: "That the Government be asked to alter the boundaries of the Christchureh drainage district in such a manner as will bring the whole of the river Avon from the existing boundary to the line where the river joins the estuary into the Christchureh drainage district." In asking leave to withdraw the I motion, Mr Livingstone said he found that the Board possessed all the powers he had in mind when drafting the motion. If the Board's boundary were extended it would bring in the whole of the low-lying area in the vicinity of the estuary, and make the Board reponsible for the maintenance of certain retaining walls. The motion was withdrawn.