KAWA DRAINAGE BOARD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 130, 11 February 1909, Page 3

KAWA DRAINAGE BOARD.

The monthly mooting of thy nbovc ; Hoard was held at Tc Awamutu on ! Saturday last. There were present: Mcsars Geo. Kay, Chairman, J. Walah, J. B. Teasdale, D. Ross and A. J. Bertram. - -Drainage Works- - The Board's engineer, Mr Chambers, of Auckland, in compliance with instructions, submitted his report as follows:—"I have examined the Mangawhero stream between the points indicated by you with a view to the drainage of the Kawa Swamp, and beg to submit the following report on my inspection and rnquiries. To permit of an cv«?n How of water along the bed of the Mangawhero Stream above the rocky fall at the Native track to which vou refer, an rxcavation 20 feet wid«* for about 17-' f#»rt i'.r.f-. totalling about ! 40;; rubic yard- of ?oft sti tn\ would be ! r« «juir. d to start nbt.-ul Bft f»*rt below | the tr;'rl;. wUrrr thin- is a roddm | «lrop of fiv•» f« rt i-.vA to run ».ut it:lr. the bed ' f the ytr-.'ani ni <ut 90 Oct | above the trac!;. From this point up- ; wards the stream is more or less varying in depth and sluggish in flow, i owing to the accumulation of obstruct tions consisting of logs, overhanging banks, and beds of grass and weeds. If these were removed to a uniform width of say 20 feet and the spoil and rubbish placed out of reach of floods, the resultant lowering of the water ! level would reveal the more serious bars of rocks occurring in several places, which could be removed as required. About six chains below the new bridge across the Mangawhero, on hte Ouruwhfio Road, a cutting 20 feet i wide for two chains long, totalling say about 800 cubic yards would shorten the length of the stream by about fifteen chains and render its course so much the mr-re direct. There are indications of flocd water having taken this direction, and the denudation that has occurred shows an absence of rocky bars or anything difficult of removal, i; The drain 'lO feet wide at bottom f with side slopes of not less than i to 1, las referred to by you to be taken through Mr Walsh's leasehold to avoid interference with the eel weir within | section 8, of 12 acres, will requrie an | excavation of about 2SOO cubic yards of earth, and will afford a fall of about 12 feet to the mile; but I cannot recommend it for adoption, as it will fail to relieve the esensivc swamp to the north east. On general principles too, it is unwise to leave the natural watercourse —the small advantages sometimes gained by so doing being frequently overwheimingly discounted by the setting up of difficulties that operate against the successful negotiation of the larger questions at isI sue. In this connection I would refer | to the argument a Ivanced on the occasion of your rccnt visit to this spot with Messrs Teasdale, Walsh and Ross, | when it was agreed that diverting the t water from the eel weir was to the lay mind ss injurious to the Native injl terests as the destruction of the weir £ itself, which would result in clearing f out the Managwhero stream through ! the weir into the lagoon, which I \ strongly advocated. At the same j. time, as some doubt existed on the | subject, it was suggested that before \ proceeding with any drainage work of ! ! magnitude in this locality, legal advice should be sought as to the powers and position of the Board. Assuming that f action may proceed in any way best ; calculated to ensure a complete and ji permanent system of drainage of the | entire Kawa Swamp, I beg to summarise what I consider the best preliminary course to pursue asunder: - a. Excavate at the falls near the Native track a channel as described in this report, b. Reduce the length of the Mangawhero Stream by the cutting adverted to. c. Straigten and clear out the stream to a uniform width of 20 feet throughout from the falls near the Native track to the lagoon on the cast of the eel weir. d. Remove from time to time the bars across the stream j that may become exposed by the lower- | ing of the water consequent upon the clearing out and straightening of the rtream as proposed." After some little discussion it was resolved that the engineer's report be received. -Native Ecl-weirs - The Board's power with reference to the removal and destruction of the Native's eel-weirs was mentioned, and will be further dealt with as soon as the Board is in a position to commence the drainage operations. The Natives hold that the eel-weirs are protected by the Treaty of Waitangi, and that the Europeans cannot destroy them, as they form a means of obtaining a food supply. —Classification of Lands — The matter of classification of lands within the drainage area, which has for the past three months been discussed without arriving at any final issue, was again brought forward. Mr Bertram proposed that all swamp land be classed "A," and dry lands classed "B." This was supported by Messrs Walsh, Ross, and the Chairman. Mr Teasdale objected to his swamp land being classed along with the others, as he bad expended a large sum of money in already draining his property. He moved as an amendment that this property be classed either in the third or non-rateable column. Mr Bertram drew the Board's attention to the fact that Mr Teasdale bad received the full benefit of his own draining, and could not expect to be treated differently from the rest of the ratepayers. This disputing in classification was the j cause of serious delay, and must be dealt with. The motion moved by Mr Teasdale was not an amendment, aa it only interested Mr Teasdale himself, and therefore could not be treated seriously. Any objections to the classification must be dealt with by the Assessment Court to follow. The Board supported Mr Bertram's contention, and the Chairman was authorised to have the classification lint prepared without further delay, the valuations to be taken from the revision roll as issued by the Valuation Department. Mr Teasdale stated thai lie would appeal at the Court.