RIVER EROSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 11, 1 June 1914, Page 6

RIVER EROSION.

Tu tlii; Editor. Sir,—'The nhove mutter is a subject that should receive proper attention by the pusont generation— prompt ati should *vy. ;Mr. KM, the il.l'. fur Cliiislchurch, lias for years kept at the work i.f pointing tu the public the fate, of those countries that ncghct the matter in connection willi the preservntien ol l:u-h at the watershed, and along the banks of our river.-,, lie lias, also >.'io\vn v'Oiie'iiMvt iy the damage caused and the untold damage likely to lie caused through pa-st neglect oil the part el Xew Xeala nders. .Soir.'e of his arguments and applications so appealed to me that I could not help noting facts as applying to rivers in niir own district

j and I wo..id like to claim .-pace tu ohb- > orate sonic of the observations nude as : to the .-odious of several rivers in the i Inglewoud district, and which actions are . yearly becoming more disastrous; and as . time proceeds likely to become more so. I Now, in the rush and tear of early days ! the (|iiestioii of rainfall and conservation i of water-supply of our rivers were matters that did not appeal to the settlers, ■iml d'nvii came everything green along thi! hanks of rivers audi creeks, and we of to-day, if we but choose to study, can s.'e the beginning of the effect. It has often been stated by different people that, in digging wells it has. been found that there is a deposit of timber to be found at various depths, and various ■surmise; are made as to when anil how such received the overlay of earth, sand and boulders. Of course we are not all geologists, but I fancy we are. all to a '.vrlain decree intere-tod. in the science ae.,l when I state that there is | o ' be' seen,, on my section, .many instances of prehistoric happenings, and can say they have been laid IkUo by river erosion, and that, the river eroiion wn» mainly brcughl about by denuding the banks of its support and green roots it. should help the subject being taken in hand if not for the present, for future genera I ions. Now the Ngatoro- river, mining through my section, in crossing the dividing line 'between my neighbor and mysoh, foianod a big if (the I\M.' through the letter! being the fence line) and the river at tho lirst bend of the letter used to bump with sol much forc.3 at flood time that the 30 foot bank separating I lie lop portion of the river from the briltom (about 12 feet drop) was yearly becoming less, by large falls of earth, and it was as plain as a pikestaff that little time must elapse before the wafer broke through, more particularly b"eau-.c there was no holding power in the bank, being mainly sandy composition. It was as apparent to my neighbor and myself that it was considered useless to put up a fence, and the matter WW on"? that troubled both of us yearly until the) 6Uggest!oß mi HOS& that we excavate a channel through, put a "baiter" on the sidfs and thus erect a river-gate to keep stoeik in check. It seemed a. good solution of a difficulty, anil work was started straight away and in about .dx hours w." had a four-font channel and the water running through. Rain soiling in towards evening ended up uilh ,i tremendous downpour and resultant (loud. Tn the morning our W. channel was ever-half a chain wide, and the liv.r bad scoured for a distance of 15 chains from various depths, maybe an : average anywhere between 2ft to 12ft. If I say millions' of tons of gravel, earth and bmilders went that night T do not. think I exaggerate, and since then ea«'h Hood has k-'pl on cutting and scouring until now cm-.i be seen Hie earth and the slmi.p. tint ha.s laid under 15 feel of sandy er.volly earth for ftoi lis) untold ages. Cleat trees can be seen lving longitudinally in the bank, others sticking n'.it. and iMiderne.i'.lh them 11 layer of boulders from -Iff to Oft thick (round smooth boulder.-), and a'so about, the same !iiiekne-M of a. vari-eolored sand. One tree -ooured out turned out: to be (i totara about lSin. thick, from which we' -idit 20 splendid posts (after Ivinir buried perhaps 2(100 years, it was still useful I. The action of the river in scouring a.'on"' this laver of sand and boulder- results ill a big fall of the 15ft bank, ami no man can foretell where the eml i-i to be, but it is very plain that the ground and the trees of ages gone has met with, severe treatment You will find stump nffcor stump nil levelled off as

if out by hand and firmly fixed in the original soil, which, kmig of a soapy nature, resists the cutting force of the water, and in consequence the boulders in Hood time have a merry old time in getting to the lower levels, which are yearly depicted for the present day re(jiiii'cjnents of our roads. Many places the river has changed from one side to the other, and the tutu" is claiming a grip, and I notice that where thai* treehas been p emitted to mike good his grip, and provided the river bed is not interfered with lower down, the river does not have sireh a "cut." Now, if the original soil which, being of a soapy nature in the first instance, and also along the river banks, I maintain the river would have been to-day the same as it was 30 odd years ago. I hold the opinion that taking the stones from, the rivers for roads is only accentuating the trouble, and yearly bringing a - climax about, ami claim that the matter of river erosion should by the public bodies interested —i.e.,'the Waitara Harbor Board, Tarann.ki County Council, and Moa Road Board'—be a matter that by thorn should be brought before Parliament in order that an exhaustive report and- consideration be obtained. Now, talcing the other boulder.- river, the Maketawa—for a number o'f years the natural state, and it is only within tho land on the hanks has been left in its last three years that it has been interfered with, but evidence is not wanting that it is on thci shift at thei higher levels. Nature's laws no doubt are inscrutable, but man by close study can bring about a good result, and also man can through don c-carc-a-hang-about- tho future methods in defiance of Nature's •laws bring about for the: future; generations untold expense and what not. All I hope is that scans who read' may be drawn to action in the hope that geological experts are engaged to report on the matter in the interests of the country as a whole. Novices, like 'myself, who may be interested, are quite' welcome to come.and inspect what has been done in the short time of 12 years, and if thev do not think there is need for something to be done it will surprise me.—T am, etc., JOE. B. SIMPSON. Durham Road.