NEW GROYNE IN RIVER

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21320, 13 November 1934, Page 12

NEW GROYNE IN RIVER

JCOUTTS ISLAND EROSION STOPPED WORK OF CONSTRUCTION GANG PRAISED High praise for the work under difficult and hazardous conditions of the ganger and' the 20 men engaged m the construction of the new groyne designed to stop erosion at Coutts Island was expressed by the engineer (Mr H. W. Harris) in his report yesterday to the commissioners of the Waimakariri River Trust. Members of the trust also expressed appreciation of the manner an which MrHairis had carried through the emerge"TheWeorSioii at Coutts Island has been stopped, and the construction of the new groyne is well under way and has reached the stage when it should withstand a small flood, stated the engineer's report. "Every effort is being made to hasten this work in order to prevent further erosion should any large floods be e^ enced in the near future. _ A double shift is being worked on this job. The work is made more difficult through no shingle or boulders being available in the vicinity on the south side. An aerial ropeway with a three-quar-ter cubic yard bucket has had to be rigged to overcome this, and material is being obtained principally from the shingle spit on the opposite side. "A considerable alteration has taken place in the stream flow through the placing of the groyne, and the river is now eroding and making a new channel through the shingle on the north side. "A depth of 30 feet and a surface velocity of 14 feet a second made the preliminary work on the groyne extremely hazardous and difficult, and one cannot pass over it without a word of praise to the ganger in charge (B. Holmes) and the men under him. They worked long hours and exceedingly hard under what were probably the worst conditions we have yet had to face." "The spirit of the ganger and the men cannot be too highly commended." remarked the chairman (Mr J. H. Blackwell). He said that the men had worked splendidly. Several times he had thought that the groyne would be lest, but the gang had saved it.

Tangible Recognition

Mr Harris said that the men were so wrapped up in their job that they were prepared to work all night. Some had not even expected to be paid overtime. A member said that their work was being recognised tangibly. Mr H. Holland, MP., said that the matter of erosion had been brought up at a meeting of the trust some time ago, and an assurance had been given that there was no danger. At the annual visit of inspection of the works this assurance was repeated. Now it appeared that the position was serious, and that there was danger of its getting worse. The abnormal number of floods since then had made the erosion more severe than was expected, said the Chairman. Mr Holland: It could not have been foreseen, I suppose. The chairman expressed appreciation of the way in which Mr Harris had carried through the work. "He had a great responsibility, and was on the job night and day. lam afraid he has not seen much of his home for the last three weeks," said Mr Blackwell. Replying to Mr F. W. Freeman, Mr Harris said that about two months' work would be involved in bringing the stop bank to the required level. There was no provision for the work in the estimates, as it was not expected that it would be required this year.