THE RECENT RAINFALL

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4850, 8 July 1925, Page 4

THE RECENT RAINFALL

HA.URAKI PLAINS UNAFFECTED. DEPARTMENT’S WORK ADEQUATE. While so many other districts are experiencing heavy floods at the present time the Hauraki Plains has come through the recent period or abnormal rain with practically no ill effects. .. The floods of the previous two winters were caused by incomplete stop-banks; but this winter, though the upper - reaches of the Waihou and Piako watersheds are as badly flooded as at former times the stopbanking in the lower reaches has kept the water confined to the river bed and no flooding has resulted. The completion of the Waihou stop-bank-ing has prevented water from that river crossing to the Piako basin, as it did last, year with such disastrous results, while the weaknesses in the Piako stop-banking discovered last year have been repaired.

The Lands Drainage Department’s scheme to. impound flood-water on a ponding area above Ngarua and only permit to escape an amount, that the river can cope with is working as intended, and although the river is ing steadily there is little chance of the . stop-banks being topped unless further execeptionally heavy rain is experienced. Departmental officials have the matter under observation, and doubtlees will take active steps should this be likely to happen. At the approach of the flood a temporary stop-bank was erected ahead of where the dredge is working on the NgateaNgarua road and near where the bank was topped last winter.

The abnormal rainfall has imposed a severe tax on internal drains, but this summer these received a thor-. ough cleaning and only in a few places have they overflowed on to farm land. Although the river is now very high there is a fair tidal action and drains are discharging rapidly. When the up-country water has passed out to sea they will quickly empty, and then,'' should the next week or twb be fine, the storm-water will disappear and the country will be little the worse for its saturation.

More drainage work, both in construction and maintenance, is obviously required, and in many cases has been authorised, but the experience bf the past few weeks, after that of last winter, adequately proves that the scheme is on the right lines and that when it is completed the district will have.no more to fear'from flooding than those districts which only experience a flood once in a decade.