Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 11, 1902. The Flood Channel.

Manawatu Herald, 11 December 1902, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 11, 1902. The Flood Channel.

The meeting held at Shannon some months ago resulted in the Government being asked to determine the practicability and cost of cutting a channel to the sea to relieve the flood waters in the Manawatu river. Using Mr John Stevens’ assistance the committee got a promise that Mr G. Robinson, of the Roads and Bridges Department, would be instructed to report. His report has now been made and endorses all that we have written upon the question, for he says he “ felt satisfied-that no definite conclusion could be arrived at without a comprehensive engineering survey.” There have been many vague statements made as to cost and the benefit to be derived, and we are glad to find an officer determined to do nothing rashly. Mr Robinson appears to have given most of hia attention to the flooding of the Oroua river, which is due, to our mind, chiefly by the backing up of the river by the Manawatu river, and if this is so Mr Robinson thinks an overflow channel at a point below the Oroua Bridge might be needed. Our contentiou has always been that the cost would be far greater than the advantage the flooded lands would gain, and if this should be shown so, there is no prospect of the settlers of these low lands taxing themselves to do the work. From what we learnt from the engineer of the Makerua swamp a proposal of this nature would ha of little service to him, and if such is the fact the acreage of rateable land would be considerably reduced. These suggestions and statements only show how necessary a plan and levels are, and it remains to be seen whether the settlers are interested sufficiently to get the Government to do the work.

The Borough Council have an important duty to attend to in this scheme, to protest againso any such channel and to warn the authority undertaking the work of the responsibility they lay under if such overflow might damage the port, and also to direct the Minister of Marine’s attention to any suggested tampering with, what might result, in altering the course of the river, as Mr Robinson suggests many probable dangers—l. Most of the land through which the channel should be cut is of a sandy nature, and were the surface cut into and not quickly secured by sand grasses or otherwise, the drift sand would tend to fill up the channel. 2. To be of any service, the channel would need to be at least two chains wide by the necessary depth, involving the removal of a large amount of spoil, and it would not do to depend upon the channel being widened by flood-waters, as the latter could not be controlled, and might cut in the wrong direction. 3. The channel would need fencing in on both sides to keep out stock, which would otherwise damage the slopes of banks. 4. The intake of the water would need to be strongly pcotQQlisd bj Kheit-jpUiagi driven

down deeply along the bank of the Manawatu river and for some distance to prevent scouring at the intake; otherwise the whole of the waters of the Manawatu might cut through the channel and destroy a large extent of country. 5. The floor of the intake should be at a height to commence taking water when the Manawatu river would be in about halfflood.