Minister To Inspect Flooded Plains

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29841, 6 June 1962, Page 14

Minister To Inspect Flooded Plains

(A’.Z. Press Association) WHAKATANE, June 5. The Minister of Works (Mr Goosman) will make, an inspection of the flooded Rangitaiki plains tomorrow morning. The chairman of the recently-formed Eastern Bay of Plenty Catchment Commission, Mr D. C. Butler, told todays meeting of the commission that the situation had now reached the proportions of a national emergency.

Mr Goosman will be accompanied by members of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council and Mr P. B. Allen, member of Parliament for the district.

Tne party, travelling by R.N.Z.A.F. planes, will land at Tauranga about 10.15 a m. and after motoring to Matata will meet up with members of the commission for a tour of the area.

Mr C. W. J. Parsons. District Commissioner of Works from Hamilton has been on the scene since early today and will remain until the plan of campaign for repairing the breaches in the Tarawera and Rangitaiki river stopbanks has been decided.

He said the stopbapk of the Tarawera river had collapsed because the level of the Tarawera itself was now 2ft higher than ever before

The force of the water rushing down the Rangitaiki river when it was at peak level was something like 20.000 cusecs, he said. A commission of inquiry which had examined the Rangitaiki river stopbanks in 1952 had reported that it would not guarantee the safety of the Reynolds block, where the break occurred, if the force exceeded 15.000 cusecs.

Water is now draining off some areas but much is likely to remain for a considerable period, especially that near the Tarawera breach.

Pasture land amounted to 8600 acres of the 10,000 to 12.000 acres that were covered at the height of the flood, said Mr S. R. Hewitt, Department of .Agriculture farm advisory officer. No Water Supply Dargaville’s water supply failed at midday today when flood damage blocked the catchment intakes at Kaihu. about 12 miles north of Dargaville. The supply was expected to have been restored by 4 o'clock this afternoon but at that hour the borough was still without water. Emergency supplies for the Dargaville Hospital were drawn during the afternoon from the Northern Walroa Dairy Company. Ltd.’s factory ' at Mangawhare. Tankers carried 2000 gallons from the factory's reserve storage to the hospital. The Mayor (Mr S. S. Green) said this evening that the Borough Council staff had made temporary repairs at the intake, and it was hoped that the water supply would be restored tomorrow.