MRS. PARTINGTON

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 133, 7 June 1937, Page 10

MRS. PARTINGTON

ATTACK ON A RIVER

THE WAIMAKARIRI PROBLEM

ELEVATED BED

' Some rivers carry so much solid matter that they build up their beds till they are higher than the surrounding country. Commonly this results in a breaking of the banks so that the stream takes a new course, and the process is repeated. Thus the Canterbury Plains have been built out of I gravel shed by the mountains to the westward. Among the Canterbury rivers one stands out for its undue elevation above the neighbouring coun-try-r-the Waimakariri—and from the earliest days of colonisation the possibility of a disastrous breakaway has been dreaded. It is a live topic still, and though the menace of the river is not feared so strongly as it was a lifetime ago, it is frequently under discussion. On Friday a conference of representatives of local bodies and the Waimakariri River Trust was held at the river to discuss a plan to reduce the i height of the river bed and lessen the danger of floods, which frequently cause trouble in the region about the lower part of the river. Nineteen local bodies, from city and rural areas, were invited to send delegates, reports che "Press," and the many present inspected the shingle dei posits in the river, discussing a suggestion from the trust that the local bodies might combine to erect a plant I to remove the shingle,-thereby making the river safer and providing cheap shingle for local body work. It was stated that the riverbed was rising each year and private contractors, with small plant, cou'.d remove only a very small part of the shingle. A LITTLE MISSISSIPPI. A comparison between the recent flooding of the Mississippi River, che banks M which were higher than tha surrounding countryside, and the state of the Waimakariri if the banks nad again to be raised to cope with the rising bed was made during the discussion. No decision was reached ori the action to be taken, and the delegates, who inspected the river near che new bridge on the Main North Ro3d, will report on the position to the next meetings of their councils. "The lower we keep the riverbed, the safer is the whole countryside," said Mr. J. H. Blackwell, chairman of the trust, explaining the position to the delegates. About 100,000 tons of shingle a year was being deposited in the river, he said, and in the last, five years the bed had risen in height by two feot three inches. The rate of increase was about five inches a year, and under present conditions, with. . little, of the shingle being used, that rate, was likely to continue. It was .the trusfs concern to keep the bed at as.low a, level ss possible, and the conference was called so that local body members might sea for themselves the possibility of reducing flood, danger end' at the same time ensuring a chaep supply of good shingle, sufficient to meet all local borty needs. A BIG SHINGLE SUPPLY. Private ■ contractors now taking shingle from the river with small plant were able to make a profit. If a big plant were in use and facilities provided for grading the shingle on the spot, it. could be taken from, the river much more cheaply. Local bodies ' hich adopted the.plan .would benefit both directly and indirectly—because they, could get cheap rhingle supplies and at tin same time makP the river safer. ■ "1 | | The trust's engineer, Mr. H. W. Harris, also spoke in support', of the plan. The river was ideally situated as a supply depot, connected as it was with the railway service and arterial roads. After several questions had been asked and answered, Mr. .Blackwell said that the trust would give every facility to local bodies combining to take shingle. Previously a small royalty had been charged for the privilege of taking away the shingle, but that was now to be abolished. A delegate: Will the trust consider giving us a premium to take it away? (Laughter.) Mr. Blackwell (smiling): We. will look into that very carefully. Praise for the plan, and thanks tn the trust for the opportunity of seeing the position for themselves, were expressed on behalf of all the delegates by Mr. T. Newnham, chairman of the Waimairi County Council. The shingle available at the river under a scheme such as that proposed gave local bodies a chance of making a great saving, he continued, and he would report favourably on the plan at the next meeting of his council. A similar plan to take shingle on such a scale had been rejected some years ago, and that rejection must have cost his council thousands of pounds. Mr. Blackwell. after thanking the delegates for their attendance and interest, said that the higher the bed of the river became, the higher its banks must be, and the present state of the Mississippi was an example of what could happen to a river in flood time if its banks were higher than the surrounding country. The trust's concern was to get as much of the shingle as possible out of the river. If the bed continued to grow, there would be more risk of danger from an abnormal flood.