Engineer Gives Report Of Flood Damage

Chronicle (Levin), 18 June 1948, Page 3

Engineer Gives Report Of Flood Damage

The engineer' to the Manawatu Catchment Board, Mr." P. G.,Evans, presented' a lengthy report .to • ihe meeting of the board held in Palmerston North- on Tuesday. Matters concernmg. this ■ area are as toilows; — Fiood' damage .- Heavy and prolonged rain in the catchment ' on May 21 and 22 caused a flood in the ' Manawatu an'd tributari'es. This jfioocl was ' par crcula'rly high in the 1 Ponangina; Oroua ' and Manawatu m tne Dannevirke area. Due to the movement of the storm in a southerly direction, the peak of the flooci remained up for approximately seven hours and the duration more than the peak of the flood caused some damage as follows:— . Breaehes in Banks; The worst, damage was a breach which occurred on Bryant's property, just below the Shannon Bridge, which flooded a large portion of the Moutoa area. A bank also coliapsed on the Otaru Stream, near Shannon, causing the . release of local water into the Buckley area. Another bank collapsed on the Barber estate, above the Shannon Bridge, due to un'dennining by riVer erosion, but this was held until the river went down by work done ny the local settlers.

In the Makerua area the work on Aliright's bend received a fair jbufletting from the flood, but no' serious damage occurred. It will be necessary to reconstruct some of the work and place additional weights over the groynes. Barrow s hend withstood the fiood very well and no damage resulted. At Hamilton's bend minor damage occurred, but the work is intact. On Whitanui bend slight damage occurred on the upstream end. On Old Foxton Road a certain amount of slumping on the bank took place, and some repairs will be necessary. Mr. Evans, reporting in connection with works, stated that on Old Foxton Road there was .some damage to the tree protection work as a result of the bank subsiding. Maintenance work will be necessary. The Whitanui bend job was damaged slightly on the upstream; end and will -require maintenance ; work. Tlie R.B. 19 excavator. .has been engaged qn drain cleaning in the Makerua area, but . ha§ been immobilised by the soft' condltion of the ground. The recent "heavy rain and the jamming of the floodgate, which allowed the river to back up the drain, maae the swamp land very unstable for the heavy ma'chine. In connection with. . the river ■ gauging stations,- Mr. -Evans. said that advantage was taken of the flood in the . Manawata River and tributaries to obtain calibration velocities at the various gauges for high flowS'. As-a result the. rating curves have ..been considerably extended. Work- Has cqntinued on the lower Manawatu scheme with the plotting and checklng the cross sections and longitudihal Sections of the river survey from the mouth to the Oroua River. The scheme from Palmerston North to the Manawatu Gorge is nearing completion.