DRAINING MOUTOA.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3776, 17 October 1907, Page 2

DRAINING MOUTOA.

* Public Mooting. Drainage Board to be Formed. A meeting of Moutoa settlers, convened by Messrs Gower and F. S. Easton, was held in the Mayor’s room, Borough Council Chambers, on Tuesday night. There were present: Messrs B. G. Gower, O. and C. Robinson, John Stevens, M.H.R., F. S. Easton, W. E. Barber, J. Symons, T. Nye, D. Purcell, H. Hammond, Geo. Barber, A. Saunders, W. S. Carter. Mr Thos. Ward, civil engineer, was also in attendance. On the motion of Mr Stevens, Mr B. G. Gower was voted to the chair. The Chairman read the advertisement convening the meeting. He said that Mr Ward, who was present, had been over the district, had taken levels and drawn up an exhaustive report. Those present knew that the land effected by the swamp and flood waters was some of the richest in the dominion, Were they going to allow the land to continue to depreciate in value or take united, action to protect the banks and drain their properties. On the motion of Mr Stevens, ■_. Mr W. Bock was appointed secre- ■. tary pro tern, with a view of permanent appointment if a Drainage Board is formed. Carried unanimously. The Chairman then called upon Mr Ward to read his report. The report was as follows : ENGINEER’S REPORT. The object of the proposed work is to provide for a quick discharge of the flood waters of the Manawatu River, and so avoid, to a great extent, the loss incurred by their slow subsidence. Before dealing with this, I should like to draw your attention particularly to the fact, that obviously the best method to follow is one which prevents the water from coming Over the land at all, viz., by embanking them out. . . . . When in

the neighbourhood, I was much impressed bj r a statement then made to me, that the embankment along the river was not but that a gap of some 12 to 20r chains in length existed, through which the flood waters of the river overflowed the lands ; also that in addition to this one, there were some minor breaks in,the bank. I was also informed, whether rightly or otherwise, of course I am ignorant, that the reason why the main gap was not filled across, was the opposition of the owner of the land over which the bank would have to be constructed. It appears to me that this difficulty could be met, either by arrangement, or purchase, or by the land being acquired under the provisions of the Public Works Act, through the instrumentality of the local authority of the district, as it seems most unreasonable that large areas of country should be inundated, and the public put to serious inconvenience, if it can be avoided. .

. , . With reference to the removal of the flood waters from the land, it has been suggested by Mr Breakell (with whom, in connection with this part of my report, I have been in frequent consultation) that an overflow channel should be made from the Manawatu River in Section 53 across the land to khe Government drain inlet on i\he river many miles lower down. Such a channel to be 40ft in width from this drain to the diagonal drain, reduced to 30ft at the Karikari drain, and to 20ft at the inlet of the river; the object of this being to provide for the quick removal of the flood waters from the land, not of course to take all such waters as they come. In consequence, however, of the land owners between Karikari and the inlet from the river, not as yet agreeing to this, it is proposed to end this channel, for the present, at the Karikari drain. From the inlet at the river of the Government drain, and for about a mile and a-half along its course, the present drain runs through the properties of several and along the north side of a road. I presume, therefore, that the consent and active assistance of these owners must be first obtained proposed channel is taken 'fqis way. It is, however, possible to divert the flood .waters down thq diagonal drain, and I now purpose to compare these two routes to you in order to assist you in arriving at a conclusion regarding them. From the Karikari drain to the diagonal one the distance is 92 chains, and this portion is common to both routes, and presents no particular points of interest to you that I need refer to them in this report, except to state that the ground is very swampy and will be much improved by the proposed channel. THE DIAGONAL DRAIN. The length of this drain to the river is 180 chains or two miles and a-quarter; the width from bank to bank varies from 14 to 18ft and the depth from 4to Bft fron tie surface ; it has been well cv In a straight line to the river, *al* though the bottom is uneven ; in one or two places this is verj 7 pronounced ; its usefulness would be much improved by having these high places in the bottom taken away, which must retard the flow. Pegs have been inserted at intervals of four chains, and numbered consecutively, commencing at the sluice at the river, and extending up to where the drain leading to the Government drain is proposed to be cut; the numbered peg 180 is at this junction. Levels have been taken on the tops of these pegs, and the results carefully checked. lam thus enabled to say that the fall from the bottom of the drain at the river to that at

the above mentioned junction is at the rate of ift yin a mile. I purpose making the extra width upon the right hand side, going down towards the river, the bottom width 40ft;. the number of cubic yards of excavation in the iSochs is 56000. THE GOVERNMENT DRAIN ROUTE.

The distance from the diagonal drain to the end of the Government drain (at the top end) is 114 chains through ground that at the time of my visit was mostly under water, and which therefore would be much improved by the proposed new channel ; the length along the Government drain to the river is i6o>£chs, so that the total length from the diagonal drain to the river is ayachs or 3mls and 32chs. The width of the drain that is cut varies from yit to xyft, and the depth from the surface from aft 6in to Bft. Pegs are inserted at each 4chs, and the levels taken on them : the fall that can be given to this drain is at the rate of iff per mile ; the total amount of excavation of the smls and 3achs is 106,000 cubic yards, the width of the channel being 40ft. The extra width to be entirely on the right hand side going down the drain towards the river, so as not to encroach upon the present road. A deviation from the top end of the drain to peg 44 can be with advantage made, by which less excavation will be met with, and a distance of two and a-half chains saved. In the estimated earthwork I have quoted above, I have adopted this deviation.

COMPARISON OF THE TWO ROUTES.

That along the Government drain is xml and i2chs longer than by the diagonal, and the excavation is greater by 50,000 cubic yards, I nevertheless prefer the former, for the following reasons; First —The outfall is some 15 inches lower. Second!) 7 —lt is much better situated along the river, as it strikes the river where it is comparative!y free from bends, so that the flood waters can more easily and quickly get away than from the diagonal drain outfall. The chief reason / for this is that there is between the A, two outfalls a sharp bend in the ■ river, the effect of which must be to dam the waters back on to the diagonal drain, so raising them .higher than at the Government drain. As it is the flood waters that are proposed to be dealt with, this consideration is an important one- With a view of arriving at a comparison between the two places. I have had tide guages erected at both ends and carefully connected them with my system of levels. Thirdly—The proposed channel will go through land that will be much improved thereby, after the stagnant waters have been removed, that at the time of my visit were lying between the top end of the Government drain and the diagonal drain. Fourthly—The cutting of the new channel will afford two ways by which the flood waters can escape from the land, because the present diagonal drain will powerfully assist in so doing.

FLOOD GATES. The present ones, both at the diagonal and the Government drain, require to be altered ; those '/at the former place freely allow / the river water to enter, and those at the latter are quite tin uiitable for a wider opening. Besides these there are 4 other openings into the river, through which the tide waters enter. These openings should be entirely closed up, building in, however, at each place a 12 inch pipe (iron) with its river end covered with a proper flap to keep out the tide water. The form of flood gate is a bevelled edge shutting into a bevelled frame, and is suggested by Mr Breakell as suitable. I have made a drawing of it, and have added double hinges for the purpose of enabling it to open and shut freely. If the Government drain is adopted it will be necessary to place four of these on the diagonal drain, making the sizes to suit the present openings. The proposed gates are 7ft 6in wide and 3ft high in j the clear, and are proposed to be k made of two thisknesses of yellow / ; kauri laid diagonally. The method of construction and erection with the piling is abown on the drawing attached. Appended to this report is an estimate in detail of the various works mentioned in this report; likewise a plan showing your Company’s property, together with the existing drains shown in blue, and the position of the Manawatu river, showing the sharp bend alluded to by me as lying between the diagonal drain and the Government drain ; and likewise a drawing of the proposed form of flood gates.

Mr Easton asked what effect the dredge would have on timber. In reply Mr Ward said the dredge would assist in clearing the timber, MrT. Nye said the dredge would have to contend with plenty of logs. A discussion ensued as to labour required in working the dredge. The engineer explained the working capacity of the dredge. He recommended a size of bucket containing 40 cubic feet, which should be equivalent to a cubic yard of solid stuff, and allowing for delays should be easily equal to lifting and depositing at the sides of the proposed channel 160 cubic yards per day of 8 hours and allowing £z per day working expenses, the cost per yard would equal per cubic yard. It would work round all obstructions in the wav of timber, up end logs and expedite their removal. The Chairman said that tenders

could be called to carry out the work and provided the price exceeded the estimate, the Board, if formed, could carry out the work by day labour. Mr Stevens said the report was clear and definite. The question was what area should be included in the drainage district. In round numbers the area effected was 12,000 acres. He then reviewed the estimated cost of the work. If the tenders were too high they could fall back on the dredge. The approximate cost should be taken into consideration by the settlers, a loan for which would have to be raised, which if spread over 41 years would be infinitesimal to the settlers in comparison to the increased value it would create. The first step, however, would be to form a Drainage Board, to specif}' and spread the cost over the area, strike a rate and ascertain whether the proposed benefits would be a hundredfold greater than the rate to be struck to meet interest and sinking fund. If they could not get 10s worth of benefit for is worth of expenditure, then the scheme was not worth the candle. It was not a very serious matter to form a Drainage Board. It did not commit them to any cost. He thought the matter was worth going on with. His company was interested to the extent of 5000 acres and would be called upon to pa} r more than five times the amount of the largest holder in the district, provided the next largest holder owned 1000 acres. He discussed the matter with interested parties and it had been thought that the formation of a Drainage Board was the wisest course to persue. Mr George Barber referred to banking the river. The Chairman said the ratepayers interested in the area would have the right to ask the Board to carry out such work, Mr W. S. Carter said the people on the other side would object to banking the river on this side.

Mr Stevens said they must not be deterred by what others said or any resolution they may pass at a meeting. If they listened to what everyone said they would accomplish nothing. They held legal opinions as to what could be done in the matter of banking. Any private individual possessed the right to erect a bank to protect himself, and it was for the other side to state specific damage. The other side had a similar right to protect themselves. The Chairman then read two very lengthy legal opinions from Messrs Skerrett and Innes re stop banks.

Mr Saxtnders said the people on the Shannon side did not object to private individuals on this side erecting banks, but they would object to the work being done by a Board.

Mr Stevens referred to what the Manawatu County Council had done, and what the Oroua River Board had done and had contemplated doing. The question was, whether the settlers were to be deterred by threats and to run the risk of continued destruction of property, or whether they would take united action, and protect themselves. It was pointed out by Mr Barber that Mr Smith intended to erect his bank. Stop banks had been in existence for years. Mr Easton said the banks were of secondary importance —the question of drainage was of more vital interest.

Mr G. Barber would like to know whether the drainage would benefit all in the proposed Board area.

The Chairman said the dut} r of the Board would be to make and maintain drains in order to take the water off all properties, and to give everj r settler a sufficient drain.

Mr H. Hammond moved, and Mr A. Saunders seconded, That a Drainage Board be formed for the Moutoa district. The motion, on being put, was carried unanimously. The necessary petition to the Governor under the Land Drainage Act, 1893, praying that a Board be constituted was then drawn up and the signatures of those present appended thereto. A plan of the proposed area is also being prepared which will accompany the petition. The petition already contains the signatures of more than a majority of the settlers in the proposed area which is sufficient to have the Board constituted. The meeting rose at 10 p m.