Swampy City Farm Sets Drainage Problem

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29931, 19 September 1962, Page 17

Swampy City Farm Sets Drainage Problem

A complaint of smell coming from a farm in Travis road was passed on to the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening by the City Council; but the board found that improvement could only be achieved at substantial cost. The district health inspector had reported that a considerable amount of stagnant water lay on the northern part of the farm and the cows were up to their knees in mud, the council said. The condition of the land was such that it constituted a nuisance under the Health Act, and it was the council’s responsibility to serve notice on the owner to have improvements made. It was realised that the farm was in existence long

before adjacent land was subdivided and built on, and as the residential area was at no time a part of the farm it was not considered that the farmer had any duty to the residents concerned, the council said. Filling of the low-lying area was not considered a practicable solution because of the high cost and because the pasture would be ruined. The council asked if there was any possibility of obtaining drainage to existing stormwater drains. The land was low, wet, and marshy, and in addition to the board's drains was served by a number of private drains, the works committee reported. The drains appeared adequate to take run-off, but water lay for considerable periods because of the nature of the ground, the trampling of cattle and the high water table.

It appeared that improvements could be achieved only by isolating the farm drainage system, deepening drains where possible and installing pumping equipment in an effort to lower the ground water level. Substantial initial costs, some running and maintenance costs would be involved, and the improvement would be problematical, particularly during the wet months and at periods of high ground water level.