LAKE ELLESMERE OUTLET

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22801, 29 August 1939, Page 8

LAKE ELLESMERE OUTLET

BREAKWATER AT TAUMUTU DRAINAGE BOARD PROPOSAL UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF RATEPAYERS A proposal put forward by the Ellesmere Lands Drainage Board and the Public Works Department for the establishment of a permanent outlet channel from Lake Ellesmere to the sea by means of a breakwater erected at Taumutu, at an estimated cost of £116,305, the board to find £ 15,000, met with the unanimous approval of a meeting of ratepayers held in the Motukarara Hall lasSt night. The chairman of the board (M- H. J. Macartney) presided, and there were about 50 settlers present. It was stated that recently the level of the lake had reached its highest mark for more than 40 years. Last week it reached a level of four feet 11 inches, the previous record depth being greater than five feet. Large tracts of land had been-flooded for some time, causing considerable hardship to the settlers, who had experienced difficulty in finding accommodation for their stock. One farmer in particular had 1100 acres of land and less than an acre of it available for stock. The district engineer of the Public Works Department (Mr F. Langbein) was present at the meeting to give details of the scheme, and with him was Mr P. R. Climie, secretary of the Canterbury Progress League. Construction of Breakwater The substantial cost of the scheme arises from the necessary massiveness of a breakwater buil.t out from a Steeply-shelving beach. The breakwater, it is proposed, should be 14* chains long, 30ft below the mean sea level at its furthest point, and triangular in section. The structure would taper from 180 feet in . at the bottom to 12 feet in width at the top, which would be 18 feet above mean sea level. The outlet channel would be cut through the shingle bank on the north of the breakwater, which would then trap the shingle carried along the spit by the current which runs from north to south. The breakwater would be constructed of large rock, which could be quarried near the Birdling’s Flat railway station, and carried to the site or the breakwater by means of a temporary tram-line. No less than 110,630) cubic yards of metal would be required for the work, and the estimated cost was given at £116,305. The Government has agreed to meet the entire cost of the scheme with the exception of a sum of £15,000 which must be found by the Ellesmere Lands Drainage Board before the work is begun, and also to be responsible for maintenance. Particulars of negotiations with the Government over a long period were given by •Mr F. Coop, who said that originally a scheme was introduced by Mr Langbein which made provision for extensive reclamation in addition to the drainage of the lake, and estimated to cost £250,000. This figure, however, was out of the question for the ratepayers, and the present modified scheme was drawn up. In his opinion the present scheme and the agreement reached with the Government were very satisfactory. The financial side of the proposal was discussed by the chairman who said that the board’s present loans for the drainage work on the lake expired in 1942, 1943, and 1952 respectively, and if the new scheme was adopted the board would lose about £1230. The rates on these loans were 27-32 d, 16-32 d, and 8-32 d, but with the general increase in operating costs and maintenance on machinery the board could not hope to continue at that rate. If the new scheme was rejected the rate was most certain to increase. he said. , _ . “The loan for the new scheme is tor a term of 30 years and the rate we think will cover it will be Id in the Class A area, 17-32 d in Class B, and 8-32 d in Class C,” said Mr Macartney, “so the rate is not going to increase very much. The Class C rate, which is for those least affected by the scheme, is estimated to be exactly the same.”

“No Anxiety About Success” "I feel that the scheme is one which, as the Government stands by. it, should relieve us of any anxiety about its success,” said Mr Climie. “It is, to put it briefly, a gift. It is true that the ratepayers have to subscribe £15,000 towards the cost, but that is a comparatively small amount. It is a great opportunity and I sincerely commend the scheme to you.” Mr H. J. Miller, a member of the board, traced the history of the work done in draining the lake from, 1903, outlining the many; difficulties that had been encountered with the culverts. “If the scheme is rejected it will cost considerably more to continue with the present method,” said Mr Miller. “When there are high seas running it is impossible to let the lake water out. and any scouring force is lost. It is for the meeting to decide whether we go ahead, or whether the ratepayers put up with the present unsatisfactory method.” The following resolution, moved by Mr T. E. Streeter and seconded by Mr W. O. Rennie, was carried unanimously:— “That this meeting appro\es the proposal put forward by the Ellesmere Lands Drainage Board for the raising of a loan for a permanent outlet from the lake.”

During the evening tributes were paid to Messrs Climie, Coop, and Langbein for the work they had done in the development of the scheme.