TAIERI BANK BREACH

Evening Star, Issue 23699, 5 October 1940, Page 20

TAIERI BANK BREACH

RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPAIR GOVERNMENT OR RESIDENTS' LIABILITY ? POTENTIAL HINDRANCE TO PRODUCTION Whose responsibility is the repair of the gap in the east bank of the Taieri River, some 300yds below Riverside railway bridge, which threatens some 5,000 acres of land with inundation if the river rises sft in the future? Is it the obligation of the residents of that district, or the Government? Years ago a River Trust was formed to administer the work of flood protection along the Taieri. Residents of the east side, not being prepared to pay a rate of as much as £1 an acre for the privilege, decided to withhold from the scheme. The west bank holders formed the trust board themselves, but their neighbours across the river erected their own stop-banks. Opinions were expressed by engineers at the time that the stop-banks were erected too close to the river bank to withstand the pressure of an abnormally high rise in the narrow channel through which the river flowed, the ‘ Star ’ is informed. Now that the break has been made, tho question is what action the Government will take in the matter of its repair. As the Hon. F. Jones has inspected the damage, tho question of assistance at the moment remains sub judice, but it will be interesting to watch future developments. Certainly the matter is a grave one for the East Taieri residents, since if the river rises again they face disastrous scouring of their laud by flood waters. Viewed in the light of the demand for increased production for war purposes, the urgency of the repair cannot be too much stressed, whether the responsibility lies with the Government or the farmers themselves.