MOUTOA STOPBANK REPAIRS

Chronicle (Levin), 23 October 1947, Page 3

MOUTOA STOPBANK REPAIRS

RIVER BOARD TO TAKE ACTION Following a letter from the Moutea Drainage Board drawing attention to the dangerous condition of the stopbank adjacent to the diagonal floodgates at Moutoa, the Manawatu-Oroua River Board resolved that the engineer (Mr. H. R. Farquhar) , the. chairman (Mr. J. Chrystall) , and the Moutoa member (Mr. S. Newth) approach the engineer to the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council to discuss the question of banking and protection work on the Flax Plan Committee's property. The 'letter contended that the bank in question was a menace to settlers in the lower Moutoa area. The Moutoa sub-division was not in a position to pay £1600, which was the estimated cost of the proposed protection work, said the chairman. Financially the proposal was out of the board's reach. The board should not allow the river to develop into an S bend, said Mr. R. J. Law. Considering the permanent value of the work it woqld not be too expensive. ' "Mr. J. B. Chrystall pointed out that it was the duty of the Moutoa Drainage Board to logk after ' the banks in its area. If the river board did the work for them no one could say where it would stop. Mr. H. R. Farquhar said that as the Government had taken over such a large percentage of the Moutoa area (about 5000 acres), and was not paying any rates, it should bear part of the cost. On the motion of the chairman the board resolved to reply to the Moutoa Drainage ' Board pointing out that it had approached the Flax Committee, which had refused to repair the breach. The river board considered that it was the committee's duty to carry out the necessary work in view of the fact that the area was Government property. The estimated cost of the protection work was considered to be too great a burden to place on the Moutoa sub-division ratepayers, even if a subsidy were tvailable. However, the board was taking further steps to see what I could be done in the matter.-