RECLAMATION OF SWAMP LANDS.

Shannon News, 22 February 1929, Page 4

RECLAMATION OF SWAMP LANDS.

DEPUTATION TO APPROACH GOVERNMENT.

The River Board wrote asking that the Council appoint representatives to join the deputation to the Government requesting the £1 for £1 subsidy towards the cost of the modified scheme of flood control of the Manawatu and Oroua Rivers. Also forwarding copy of a resolution moved (but not voted upon) at the recent conference and advising that the Board has definitely resolved that local bodies will not be asked to contribute towards the cost of the scheme, as it is considered that local bodies’ contributions would be .fully covered by the £1 for £1 subsidy asked for from the Government. TUB SCHEME OUTLINED. Mr Law said he represented the Koputaroa sub-division of the Mana-watu-Oroua RiVer Board, which was now submitting a modified scheme of flood control in . the Manawatu. Some time age the Council was asked to send a delegate to a conference to discuss approaching Government to ask for £1 for £1 .subsidy. Unfortunately the Levin Borough Council was not represented. The River Board had therefore appointed the speaker to wait on the Council and explain the modified scheme, and had, since the Conference, decided to approach the Minister for a subsidy. His main object was to ask the Council for its support and the appointment of a representative on the delegation to the Government. He explained that the Manawatu River drain■ed a huge watershed on the eastern side of the ranges, and whenever there were any rains there, it was pretty certain there would be a flood on this side,. Very large areas of good land on this side were thus spoilt out of production every year. A 14 or 15-foot flood could pass the railway bridge at Longburn alright, but lower down the channel could only carry 60 per cent, of the water and lower still at -Moutoa, it could not take more than 42 per cent. The surplus must go somewhere and it spilt over the flat land in the vicinity.

Mr Law: Yes,

BANKING SCHEMES IMPERILLED.

iVarious boards had during the past few years earried out piecemeal banking schemes with good results. At Moutoa the banks had been in existence for some years and the country thus protected had prospered. The Makerua Board had carried out a huge banking system, but the banks on the eastern side had had the effect of destroying -the banks on the western side, with the result that Moutoa and Koputaroa'was now threatened. By confining the river they had also accelerated erosion, and even the Makerua wofks were beginning to suffer and would need protective works as their 'banks were not safe. The ManawatuOrotla River Board had engaged the 'best engineering talent in New Zealand and had spent some £7OOO in preliminary work with a view to formulating some bold comprehensive scheme that would cope with the problem. They brought down a scheme, but did not get far with it because it was all a question of finance and the cost could not be faced. Now, however, they had formulated a modified scheme which he proceeded to explain.

} A DOUBLE OUTLET. | The idea really was to make a spillway .through Rush Flat in the lower reaches of.the river, which would give a direct channel ten miles long across a loop of the liver that was |43 miles round its present tortuous course. Thus they would give the river a double, i . outlet. Various smaller cuts would be made higher up with a view of straigh- “ tening the course and he explained t tli'ese in detail. The idea was to give S' ' the most protection for the least amount of money. a' v , iCr. Hutchings asked what effect this wduld have on the Fox toil-Levin main rosf. " y _ , Mr Law said of a flood

... ! Effect of River Board’s Scheme on Levin. ' .. . \ Thousands of Acres Awaiting Development Borough Council Takes Favourable View.

The probable effect of the Manawatu-Oroua River Board’s modified £230,000 scheme for the protection of lower Manawatu lands from flooding was put in rather a new light at Monday night’s meeting of the Borough Council by Mr Ronald Law, who pointed out thai Levin’s only avenue of development was through the bringing into production of several thousands of acres of swamp lands in the vicinity of Koputaroa. He said this land was capable of marvellous results if it was secured against the periodical inundations to) which it was now subject and the inevitable result must be to increase the prosperity and importance of the Borough. The Council Was cautious in its Attitude, but decided to recommend the scheme to the favourable consideration of the Government. A feature of the new scheme is that the dost will be borne by the lands affected and the Government, the local bodies not being asked to contribute. Mr Law. said the spending of the loan money would absorb a great ; amount of labour, and after that would come the permanent prosperity as a result of the settlement of country that now only carried a few families.

taking a fortnight to clear, it wbuld get away in three or four days. ■Cr. Hutchings: The road would still fc-e blocked for a time when there were floods.

To Cr. Bishop, Mr Law said a low level bridge would be constructed there, and the cost of‘ the modified scheme was estimated at. £230,000. They were asking for £1 for £1 subsidy from the Government and the balance would be found by the land-owners in the River Board district. The local bodies would be asked for nothing. The original scheme called for contributions from certain local bodies, but this was not now sought.

SEVENTY THOUSAND ACRES. The Mayor: You will levy a rate on the properties in your district. iMr Law: Yes, He stated there were 70,000 acres of what was probably the finest swamp land in New Zealand there*. Some of it was producing and producing exceptionally well. In the northern end, where protection was given by banks, they were taking off annually 250 lbs of butter-fat per acre, worth at 1/6 £lB 15s per year. There were 7000 acres on this side of the river, and hundreds of acres of it were not producing 3d acre. Cr. Parker: What is the estimated value of the improvement, that will result?

Mr Law: About a million over the whole.

Cr. Parker: Is it considered that the land will eventually be able 'to " carry the burden of the rating?

Cr.; Bishop: Will it do away with floods\ntirely? Mr Law: Our Engineer thinks so. Cr. Falloon: What about the present stop banks? Will they be utilised? Mr Law: Some of them will be incorporated in the scheme. To Cr. Parker, Mr Law said the spillway would only be used in flood times, and to Cr. Goldsmith he said the spill way would occupy about 2000 acres of land, but this would not be thrown out. of production entirely. It would not be under water all the time.

Cu. Roe suggested that the river might take a new course through the spillway. Cr. Mortensen: It might be a good job if it did.

AT LEVIN’S BACK DOOR. Mr Law pointed out that north of Auckland swamp land was being reclaimed that had no access by roa4 or rail and the pumice land was in the same position. Yet these lands were being opened up for production. Here at Levin’s back door there was land, at present unproductive, that would give room for a large number of people. The job of making the land safe had got to come, if not this year, then next year, or some other year. This large area could not be kept out of production. Cr. Parker: Is the lower portion of the land going to have actually better drainage than it has at present —round Koputaroa, that is? Mr Law: It should do if the outlet is improved. There is a little patch that would perhaps be difficult tc deal with.

Cr. Hutchings: You contend that this land that is at present undeveloped because of the periodic flooding, can be made productive.

MARVELLOUS RESULTS POSSIBLE Mr Law said land that was not fully developed was carrying five ewes to the acre. The development in the upper part of the River Board’s district was simply marvellous. Cr. Goldsmith: Will the Makerua people vote for your loan? Mr Law said the Board considered that 90 per cent, of the people were favourable to the scheme. The Makerta people had not got the security they should have. Cr. Mortensen: How many horae-

steads are there now on the large area that is subject to flooding.

Mr Law said there were a dozen or fifteen —very few. If it was put under production there would be many more. .

iMr Law asked the Council to support this scheme in the same way as they had supported the hydro-electric project. Cr. Parker: Or the Massey College. (Laughter),. Mr Law said Levin was very favourably situated in relation to this area that would benefit. Levin would be its gateway to Wellington. Looking ahead, how did they think they were going to develop with the hills on one side and the sea on the otheiv The only possible development was in the direction of Koputaroa, and when this large area of land was brought into full production it" must react advantageously upon the prosperity of Levin. Cr. Parker: Is £IIO,OOO a fair price for the settlers to pay for the betterment of their land? Mr Law: .They think so. NO LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.

The Mayor said that when the big scheme was brought down the Com-, mission only assessed Levin’s interest at £SOO. How were. they going to benefit more than thi3 under a modified scheme? ' *

Mr Law said he was quite sure Levin ’s benefit was not assessed high enough-by the Commission. He wished the Council to understand definitely that’ the Borough was not asked to pay anything towards it. The River Board considered that the local bodies would make their contribution through the £1 for £1 subsidy that the Government was being asked to give. Cr. Mortensen: Are you satisfied that a Commission will not be appointed to bring us in? Mr Law: I can give you my assurance that the River Board will not ask for a Commission. I think if we had done without the Commission in the first instance, we would have been well on with the job by now. He said a tremendous amount of labour would be absorbed or. the scheme.

Cr. Goldsmith said they were indebted to Mr Law for the very explicit way in which he had put the matter before the Council. They recognised that the scheme was in the interests of the whole district as well as his own portion of it. The Mayor also thanked Mr Law for waiting on the Council. The proposal was a new one and the Council might take a conservative view of it, but if the expectations came true it would be a good thing for the whole district.

DISCUSSED BY COUNCIL. Cr. Parker said it could do no harm for the Council to recommend the scheme for the favourable consideration of the Government. That would mean an investigation of the cost and of the probable success of the scheme.If the Government was to pay £li 5,000 they would certainly make the fullest enquiry and independent engineers would decide whether it was practice able and whether the suggested cost was If the betterment of the land was anything near that suggested by the deputation, then the scheme would be of national benefit. He moved: —

That the Council ask for favourable consideration of the drainage scheme by the Government.

Cr. Bishop said that as the Council was not in any way committed to a financial obligation, they could send a delegate to the Government, He knew something of the district and felt sure that Levin would be benefited by the work owing to the area affected in proximity to the town. He knew something also of drainage schemes elsewhere and of the benefit of having a spillway. The effect must be to lower the drainage for the whole district Straightening the course would get the water away quicker than by the present tortuous course.

Cr. Falloon said he was acquainted with the quality of the land and there was nothing better in New Zealand. Whether the modified scheme would be a success must be left to the engineers. If it was possible to drain this land at a cost of £230,000 it Would be a sound financial proposition and of national value.

Cr. Goldsmith said the Council’s safeguard was that the Government was not going to find the large amount of money required* unless the River Board had a' really good case. The development of that particular part of the country was a fairly big engineering problem and sometimes even the best plans went a little awry. Undoubtedly the development of that area would be of great advantage to the whole district in which Levin would share.

■Cr. Mortensen stated he was. not going to throw cold water on the scheme. It was a very difficult prob-. lem and he had his own opinion about its success. It was quite true that by creating an additional waterway, they could carry away more water, but they could not forget that the outlet was governed by the tide level and by the spring tide level. By giving their moral support to the scheme the tendency Would be to get Government support and so to influence Ifhe ratepayers in the district who would have to bear the burden. It was easy to support something that was not costing them anything. Nevertheless, he was in favour of- sending a delegate with the deputation to the Government.

Cr. Hutchings said that, from Levin’s point of view, they could not igO wrong in sending a delegate. There was very little doubt that land at present unproductive by reason of its liability to flood, would if protected be more closely settled and its production increased, and that was what the Government and all thinking people

*»> ■ * weie asking for to-day. If they could get this land brought under production, it was so fertile that the result could not but be of national value. Swamp land in the north had been improved and had turned out remarkably well and this would give similar results. Cr. Parker’s motion was carried. The Mayor: Now, are you going to support it by sending a delegate? Cr. Mortcnsen: That is the only way you can support it. •Cr. Parker considered the resolution, if sent forward to the proper quarter, would be sufficient. If a delegate was sent, they might be drawn into a contribution. The Mayor: The leader of the deputation could read our resolution The discussion then concluded.