SWAMP DRAINAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 87, 13 April 1927, Page 16

SWAMP DRAINAGE.

j A MINISTER'S PROMISE, j NETHERTON SETTLERS BENEFIT. : A BUSY DAY OX HAUKAKI TLAINS. i i/ly Telegraph —Special to " Star.") THAMES, this day. | Drainage problems so complex as to I ! l>e almost incomprehensible to the min i jof the lay visitor were discussed with j ! settlers ot' Awaiti and Netherton to-day, | | when the Minister of Lands and l'ub- : I lie Works passed through those dis- I | triets in the course of their motor tour iof Hauraki Plains. The w hole of the j morning was spent in looking at variou.* | sections of a cutting, full of sluggish j water, known to the men of the Plains as I "Drain if." The drain was made necessary by the Waihou River stop bank system. It serves an area of 30u0 acres and is about three miles long. Lunch was provided in the public hall at Netherton by the ratepayers of the district, and afterwards Mr. A. M. Samuel, M.P. for Ohineinmi, introduced a deputation representative of settlers affected by the drains which had been inspected. They sought protection from flood?. The Hon. K. S. Williams said he believed the time must soon come when the Government would have to withdraw and leave the settlers to carry on. Sooner or later the whole area would have to carry the general capital cost of I drainage. The Government would have to finish its capital expenditure, and ! ascertain what proportion of it could be borne by the settlers in each ['articular locality. Drain H. to be Continued. After inspecting Drain H., said Mr. Williams, he had gone into the matter with his departmental engineers, and had decided to put the drain into proper condition. (Applause.) A flood gate would be put in at Pukahu. When the capital expenditure was completed the settlers would have to take over the drain and do the maintenance. It was stated by Mr. W. G. Hill, a member of the deputation, that the settlers had paid 4/3 A per acre for drainage and from £12 to £ir> per acre for rent. When the rent and drainage was capitalised the value of the land was brought up to £20 an acre. However, if the drainage scheme was improved the speaker felt sure that Awaiti and the Netherton district would be able to produce in one year as much, and more than the whole of the rest of Hauraki Plains put together. "They tell us that this part of the country is the garden of the Hauraki Plains," said Mr. F. T. V. Johnston. "Well, I used to think so myself, but the Waihi Plains are beating us to-day, because, if the settlors there put in a crop they can be sure of reaping it. We are not in that happy position, because of the flooding." The Hon. A. D. McLeod said he had felt ever since he took over his department that the Lands Department and Public Works Department were getting hopelessly mixed up on the development scheme instead of operating individually. Referring to the allocation of charges on drained land, Mr. McLeod said he could see no fair method nn outsider made the allocation. Public \V„;ks officers said l -.ain II could carry the bulk of the water off the area, concerning which complaint had been made. If the engineers found later that Drain H would not do the job, then some other scheme would have to be attempted. A Settler: Too late then, sir, when we have been ruined. After further talk the inister of Public Works said that Drain H and the Netherton drain would both be p it into condition without cost to the ratepayers. The cost of the work would be added to the present capital cost of the scheme, for which the ratepayers were responsible. The Hon. K. S. Williams suggested that the settlers should lose no time in making arrangements for a central board to be set up. The scheme involves £7000. I A Subsidy Promised. The last roadside deputation of the day was receiced at 6 p.m. at Turua, where representatives of the Town Board were introduced by Mr. T. W. Rhodes, M.P. They asked assistance for the purchase of three acres of land adjoining the public hall, to bo used for recreational purposes. The cost is estimated at £300. The Minister of Lands gave a definite promise of a £ for £ subsidy. Messrs. W. E. G. Willy and F. Kneebone, of the Horahia Drainage Board, asked for the subsidising of a £1400 electrical drainage pumping scheme in their area. Mr. McLeod said he could not make a definite statement as yet in regard to the subsidising of such pumping schemes. A great deal of information concerning such matters had vet to be gathered.