UPKEEP OF DRAINS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23715, 13 August 1942, Page 3

UPKEEP OF DRAINS

RESPONSIBILITY DISCLAIMED “Our responsibility is land drainage, not road drainage,” said Mr H. J. Macartney (chairman) at yesterday’s meeting of the Ellesmere Land Drainage Board, when two requests concerning maintenance of road drains were considered. A letter was received from Mr C. Coakley asking the board to attend to the clearance of a road drain leading from his house and another letter was received from the secretary (Mr R. Ballantyne) of the Halswell County Council, asking the board to attend to the Birdlings drain adjacent to the main highway at Halswell. The letter stated, “The drain is backing up and is likely to cause damage to the highway.” “The Public Works Department raised the road, and I suggest that the responsibility of keeping the drains beside it in order so that they will not damage the highway should be shared by the department and the County Council,” said Mr J. H. Meyer.

“Well, let them do the work.” said Mr F. Miller. “Have we any responsibility in such matters?” At this stage Mr Macartney said that the duties of the board were with land drains and not those alongside roads and highways. The secretary (Mr L. F. Foote) explained that till recently the Halswell County Council had maintained' the two drains under discussion. “It is not worth quibbling about these small portions of drain except that if we once accept responsibility a precedent will be set.” he said.

The chairman: In many cases the county council has cleaned drains that it has really had no obligation to clean. Naturally, when the council draws in its horns and refuses to take the responsibility any longer the people rightly concerned with the drains will try to push it on to {he board.

It was decided to write to the writers of the letters pointing out that the board had never cleaned the drains concerned and did not look on it as its* responsibility to do so.