LAKE WAIRARAPA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 801, 26 April 1910, Page 4

LAKE WAIRARAPA.

""action of recent storms. extensive inundations.' (By Trieeraph.—EDecial OorreBDonaoBl.) Carterton, April 25. The Wairarapa Lake, which : waa ~' opened some weeks ago, was almost im-: mediately closed up again" as the result of combined southerly weather, and is now higher than it-has been for li . years.: The inundation is now over the Rohutara Eoad, and is one foot: deep for.-> over a mile, while the water is lappingwithin six inches of the Pigeon' Bush Hoad, and fully ten thousand acres of the foreshore, are covered by the'flood. - Various stop-banks in the neighbourhood have been damaged. ; A Lower Valley farmer states that' the "' surface of the lake was about eight feet higher than the sea water in Falliser Gay while the sand bar, dividing' sea : and lake, was another five or six feetV higher than the latter. When the mouth of the lake was opened recently it remained so for only a few minutes. Huge sens swept over, and immediately filled np the aperture. As instancing the tremendous strength of the waters in Palliser Bay, he mentions that, in sweeping ; ap the^ wecked Addenda from its sand ' waves in a few'minutes performed a work which an engineer estimated would take 20 big iron scoops three months to accomplish. .. The sea then finished its job by breaking the ves- . serin, two pieces on the sand. It is somewhat curious that, notwi&L standing the_ fact that soma ten thousand acres of the foreshore are now covered with water, the area : itself ' : is slowly, but gradually rising, and' the lake is just as gradually filling np through •the action of the silt. An old resident states that the foreshore has risen -two feet in. 25 years, white the' lake itself is very shallow. For miles it is only kneei■-'-deep, .-and there is probably- not.'mora" than, a,depth of twelve feet in any one - part.; 'It is thought that -the lake will lremain ■ close dtill the next spell of fino weather, and that when it is opened; the surplus water will empty" itself in 39 hours. . ' '