Hungahunga Drainage Board.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43087, 2 May 1907, Page 3

Hungahunga Drainage Board.

tenders for pirantti to be V CALLED.

A meeting of the Hungahunga Drainage Bonid was held at Te Aroha on Tuesday, having been adjourned from the previous day 80 that the engineer might attend. Present : Messrs T. Hanna (chairman), T. Stanley, H. Magi 11, D. ‘Waghom, W. Lockyer, and C. Otway the engineer. Mr Otway reported that he had interviewed the Chief Surveyor in Auckland, and that official had said that his Department was willing to assist the Board as much as possible. Tracings of the drains must be submitted to the Department. The members present expressed satisfaction at this statement.

i rj The engineer’s report was then read, and jfltated that about thirty miles of levelling had already been done. A long discussioa then took place upon the engineer’s scheme for turning the upper part of the Waihekau drain into the proposed road drain which would extend along the Diagonalroad from the Waihekau drain to the Piranui drain. The engineer proposed to continue the lower part of the Waihekau drain in line with the upper portion, but leaving a gap of two chains uncut on the north side of the road, then continuing right across the swamp to the stream. The water from the portion south of the Diagonal-road would then turn along the road drain for sixty-four chains, until meeting the Piranui drain intersecting the road, into which it would discharge. At present the fall in this length of sixty-four chains is 272 feet.

Mr Lockyer said he had seen this land years ago, before there was any draining at all, and he was sure it was unsuitable for the construction of such a road drain.

Mr Stanley contended that it would simply be spending money on this part of the swamp that should be spent further up, where the settlers would have to pay just as much rates as those lower down. He did not think that a drain could be made so true that it would act with such a slight fall. The engineer contended that when some of the water was got away, the swamp at the Piranui drain would settle four or five feet md thus increase the fall. The Chairman said there was far more room in the Piranui for the large quantity of vater that was to be brought down the top jortion of the Waihekau drain, and therefore he Piranui appeared to be the proper outlet, [■he only objection he had to the engineer’s cheme was the sudden turn where the upper ortion of the Waihekau meets the road rain.

The engineer pointed out that the advance of a better fall would be obtained by tilising the Piranui outlet, and where it rosses the Waiorongomai-Kereone-road it is ine feet lower than ihe Waihekau, where it

•osses the same road. Mr Stanley thought the drain to be cat on 'iagonal-road would have a clay bottom and ould scour badly. Whenever a flood tcurrei, the water would cover the land round the junction of the Piranui and road lain.

The engineer stated that only 15 chains at .e Waihekau end of the road drain would Ij I clay, and the remaining 49 chains would solid peat.

Mr Waghorn thought the County Council [ould now make this portion of the Diagonal-

In reply to the engineer’s question, Mr bnley admitted that an abnormal flow of liter would flood the banks of the Waihekau po special provision were made to prevent

Mr Lockyer maintained that the people on ) Piranui would object as much as those on 5 Waihekau, for by this scheme a lot of iter would he brought from its natural

arse. Mr Magill sa ; d the Piranui was defined by Ills 20 feet high down past Mr Thornes Blamy’s. |l‘he engineer said that the banks of the ranui were betier defined than the banks of b Waihekau, but that some of the water

Itn above Diagonal-road might be let into I Waihekau. blr Stanley suggested that the County luncirshould he asked to cut the road drain I enough to take part of the water, and to I the Waihekau right through the road the engineer would not agree to this, and jised the letting of the contract for cutting I Piranui drain from Diagonal-road to the limencement of the creek, leaving the porI of the creek from there to Cochrane’s Ito he cleared out in the summer This tract would extend 125 chains with a fall ■ine feet, nine feet bottom f o drain, with ■average depth cf five and a-half feet. Iders could be called later for the upper lion of the Piranui and for the drain to | the Alexandra-road water into the

[nui, near Diagonal-road, tr Lockyer was in favour of the upper : of the Piranui being let at the same time, k meant a saving of £IOO to each of his robours if the water could he kept off their Is by the present drain being deepened at

le Chairman thought this could not he as it would throw more water onto the ractors working further 'down. He 3d that tenders he let for cutting the aui drain as specified, up to Diagonal- , and that tenders be also called for cutiihe Waihekau drain, both returnable on prday, May 11th. This was carried limously.

ie Waiharakeke drain was then discussed, ;he engineer stated that there was now r seven feet of water in the creek, which : d necessitate working from a punt or off ;rs. Ninety chains of it needed drag- , and Mr Orr had hoped the Boar 1 would , but the engineer did not give him much of it being done, but if it could be done ie amount mentioned in his report, he

it might as well be done now. This is six feet wide and four feet deep. It I be useless to do anything at the ey-road end at this season, the Chairman’s motion it was resolved I Anders be called for dragging, and that ngineer get the work under way. e engineer stated that the top end of the ip was at present too wet, and he was, fore, not able to take any more levels

spring. When he was up Alexandrarecently, near Mr Lockyer’s, he found chains of the road under water. The j r should be put before the County Coun- , hich would see that it was its duty to 1 9 this man. 1 Lockyer proposed that the Alexandra- j drain should be run into Coleman’s '

: if contractors understood that this would not be turned into the Piranui j übt they would tender lower for that j ! engineer agreed with this, and said it

be done by deepening two feet, about . chains of the lower end of Alexandra - drain, and about seventeen chains in an’s creek, leaving the water to do the Magill was opposed to the Board doing ork. j engineer pointed out that the Alex- ' •road drain was really helping the drain- 1 ea, or at least would do so when the 1 n at the end was deepened. Lockyer said that if the Board deepened >wer end there was nothing to prevent Purity from bringing in more water at latamata end and putting them in no position than at present, ras thought by some members that the i the deepening would be saved by the tage to toe Piranui contractors in not g this water. Magill was in'favour of assisting the :il in the deeping, but it was decided to it as it. is, in. view of the cross-drain rill be cut from Alexandra-road to the > engineer stated that in one mile of au’s oreek, from Alexandra-road to

Hughes’ drain end, there was a fall of twenty feet.

Discussion then reverted to the Waihekau and Piranui drains.

Mr Magill asked why some members wanted to continue the Waihekau drain right through the road, when it had so much more water from above, which they would put into a five feet six inches drain, whilst the Piranui, with much less water from above the road, was a nine feet drain.

The engineer said the Board had done an unwise thing in reducing the size of the Waihekau drain, as it was now impossible to put a big volume of water down it. If the members were all against the Piranui as an outfall, there was no need to make it a 9-ft. drain, but make the Waihekau the largest drain instead.

Mr Stanley said he was willing to agree to assist the County to take part of the water down Diagonal-road drain ; every turn in a drain, he said, makes a big difference to the man who lives near it.

'Mr Waghom maintained that when the County Council made the road, the greater part of the water would go down to the Piranui and could not be prevented. The engineer said that a cross drain like this one was a very good feature in a drainage scheme. The Board must look over the scheme and send a tracing of plan and copy of report to the Chief Surveyor for approval. The Chief Surveyor wanted to be in a position to be able to tell the people on the Rangiatea settlement that there would not be as much water put into the Waihekau as they expect. The Chairman said it would cost £2,000 to deal with the drainage to the north of the Waiorongomai-road. The engineer suggested referring the road drain question to the County Council. Mr Stanley said the Board had had enough of the Council as far as settling anything went.

The engineer asked if the Board was prepared to spend anything on Diagonal-road between the Waihekau and Piranui drains.

The Chairman said he was strongly in favour of assisting the County Council to bring the road along. It was decided to call the tenders as already resolved, and the meeting was then closed.