The Waingawa River.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 8, 4 October 1907, Page 4

The Waingawa River.

THREATENS THE OPEN COUNTRY. Somo time ago, the Wairarapa and Masterton County Councils discovered that, owing to a change in tho formation of the river-bed of the "Waingawa River, situated between Carterton and Masterton, the stream was running in a diagonal lino for the open country. The position was serious owing to the fact that the river was damaging one end of the-bridge on the main road connecting the two towns. If the' stream was allowed to roam at will, thero would bo tho cost of lengthening the structure, and in addition the river in creating a new bed would lay waste thousands of acres of land. Tho authorities thereupon erected a huge stone embankment on tho threatened side of tho river, and dug an artificial channel to divert tho water back to the centre of tho bed. This channel worked splendidly for fully four months, and the river was becoming deeper and deeper at this particular part, when a flood came down on Thursday and filled the channel right up. The water was then thrown towards tho stone embankment at a more acuto angle, and flooded tho immediate road to a depth of four feet, making traffic impossible. The river is now running deep beneath the threatened end of tho bridge. The County Councils have spent about £200 in ail effort to stay tho stone embankment and the end of the work will have to be gone over again. The job, however, is an almost impossible one, and tho proper course appears to be to further strengthen tho stone embankment and the end or the bridge.