Bay of Plenty Times WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1912. A DRAINAGE SCHEME.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XL, Issue 5801, 1 May 1912, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Times WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1912. A DRAINAGE SCHEME.

THANKS '■ to the cssi-tance rendered by the Public Works Department in surveying and reporting en the scheme to drain the Judea Swamp, the Drainage Board having control over that area has decided to call tenders ior straightening the course of the Kopurererua stream at various points. This work will mark the first step in the improvement ■-> hemf, arid is to be followed later on by contract! ot a similar nature until the whole loan granted by the State-guaranteed Ad-van-c Office ha-, been expended. It is anticipated that the loan will be sufficient to permit of the necessary improvements to the Kopu ererua river southward of the Tauranga-Wai-hi main road. Northward of that thoroughfare the Drainage Board has no'jurisdiction. Some improvement to tin stream flowing through the Waikareao flat is necessary if the drainage cherne is to be. thoroughly effective, and this is work that should come within the sphere of a Harbor Board if one were in existence. The Harbor Board Bill has already been drafted by the sub-committee appointed by the local bodies, and if it becomes law this year a Harbor Board would probably be able to lend assistance to the drainage scheme that is to be undertaken by the Judea Drainage Board because the straightening of the Kopurererua river would enter largely into the propo.al for reclaiming the Waikareao flat, and this latter area would in time become one of the most valuable asset*! of a Harbor Board. The operations of the Oudea Drainage Board, therefore, furnish another argument in favor of the early establishment of a Harbor Board. In connection with the scheme of the Judea Drainage Board it is considered that when the Kopurererua river is cleared,and strjightened.thata thousand acres of alluvial land will come into profitable use. The territory in question is very fertile, but at present little of'it is being utilised simply because it is too wet. If this area were thoroughly drained and treated in a husbandlike manner it i 3 no exaggeration to say it would become one of the. best dairying localities in the county and could be made to support a thousand milking cows, which would mean a welcome addition in the supply to the Tauranga dairy factory. The owners of the land are very anxious to have it drained, &o that they will be in- a position to get full benefit from its use. They have shown their bona fides in this respect by rating their holdingi to provide the interest and sinking fund on a loan. The Public Works Department has displayed its sympathy in a practical way by carrying out a survey and furnishing a report on the scheme. All that is now required to ensure the ultimate success of the scheme is a Harbor Board, which, if established, will be in a position to assist the settlers and create a public asset by putting in hand the reclamation of the Waikareao estuary. The members of the Judea Drainage Board are to be complimented on their progressive policy and it is to be hoped that in the near future a Harbor Board will be established, to second the efforts of the former body in bringing into profitable use a block of very fertile country in close proximity to the town.