DRAINAGE SCHEME FOR ELLESMERE

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26813, 19 August 1952, Page 8

DRAINAGE SCHEME FOR ELLESMERE

SURVEY WORK DELAYED

CATCHMENT BOARD’S LACK OF STAFF

In November last year the North Canterbury Catchment Board told ratepayers that it hoped to have an engineering survey for a comprehensive drainage scheme for an area including the Ellesmere land drainage district completed by this month. Last evening the chairman .of the board (Mr H. B. Anderson) said at a meeting of ratepayers at Tai Tapu that it had not been possible to carry out this survey, and he could give no promise as to when it-would be done. Ail the board's survey staff were now undertaking a complete re-

investigation of the Selwyn river, he said, and it would probably be a year before staff would be available for this work.

The chief engineer to the board <Mr H. M. Reid) said he was a little more hopeful about the starting time for the Ellesmere project. He said that ratepayers could be assured that the survey would be started in 12 months and the work would then be carried on until the scheme had been drawn up. An aerial survey had already been made from the lake to the top of the watershed. The hold-up with the survey had been due to lack of staff, said Mr Reid. In the meantime, Mr Anderson said, the board would maintain the highest possible standard of maintenance of drains, and it even noped to improve the maintenance of main waterways. Hand in hand with this investigation would go the reclassification of the area, continued Mr Anderson. It had been pointed out that rating on capital valuation in the Halswell area had been “hitting” some ratepayers. Short of complete reclassification of the area, it would not be possible to give any relief to these people. Mr Reid said that the best was being done to secure as much mechanical equipment as possible to replace labour on drain cleaning. With a new weed cutter and a drain cleaner the area engineer (Mr C. Davidson) said it was hoped to get round the work much faster and give a better standard of maintenance. Instead of taking six to eight months to ; clean by hand, Mr Reid said it was hoped to take only two to three months to do the cleaning. Mr Reid said that a £2 for £1 Government subsidy might be obtained on the new scheme, but he did not think that anything better could be expected.