THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1922. FLOOD PROTECTION WORKS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4384, 1 March 1922, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1922. FLOOD PROTECTION WORKS.

Residents of long standing in the district appear to be mously of the oP’ n K lon * stop-banks erected by the PublKWorks Department, while they have had the effect of protecting some areas, have caused other localities to suffer worse from floods than they did/previously. This is only to be expected, seeing that the surplus waters are confined to narrower spaces; nr. fact, the condition of affairs now existing lias for- the most part been foreseen/ by the engineers. The' assumption is that the unprotected lands must suffer moie severely until the whole of the stop-banking is completed, taking this state of affairs for granted, and passing' on to contemplate what'may happen when the work is finished, reflections are somewhat disquieting. Experience all over the wojld teaches us that it .is extremely dangerous to try and bottle up swift-run-ning rivers into their normal channels during flood times ; the inevitable result is that; a break through occurs, making the last state worse than the first., Take, for example, what is known as Pereniki’s bend. For the past two days the flood-waters were pouring across approximately on the route of the proposed cut. It is stated that the Department intends to stop-bank the bend completely, fearing that a cut would carry the silt down across the Avzaiti-Netherton area, and so merely change the location of the damage instead of removing it and its cause. Furthermore, it would be a bold engineer who would say definitely how the river would ultimately behave under such diversion. To the lay mind at anyrate, it seems highly probable that if the bend were fully stop-banked the flood would break through, and that the impetus thus given would carry the current across through the next stop-bank and so down across the Haubaki Plains. Thoughtful people are of the opihion that, instead of making the minority suffer for the benefit of the majority, or of attempting the impossible by endeavouring rigidly to confine the flood to the river channel, the Government should definitely declare certain localities to be “ponding areas” for all time. This would involve the purchase of the land, recommended by the recent Royal Commission. The land could then be leased for what it was worth, flooding risks included. It would be a grave mistake to re-sell such land, as it would inevitably fall into the hands of strangers, and in another generation there would be a fresh clamour for protection. The matter is one of vit?.l and immediate importance, and should be taken in hand with a firm grasp and dealt with once and for, all time,