Wary look at $3M cut

Press, 2 February 1982, Page 6

Wary look at $3M cut

. North Canterbury Catchment Board members are looking at' the Woolston Cut warily. The Christchurch Drainage Board has asked the Catchment Board to comment on its $3 million channel proposal, which is the first stage of a flood relief scheme for the lower; Heathcote catchment area.

Uncertainty about the scheme report led the Catchment Board’s rivers control and drainage committee to ask yesterday for a site inspection meeting of the two boards and their staff. Catchment Board members plan to meet again and discuss the Woolston Cut after the inspection, which has been scheduled tentatively for February 12. One board member, Mr T. N. D. Anderson, said that the Drainage Board report was technically inadequate, with missing data on river-flow levels. Catchment Board staff should not have to fill in the gaps, he said. The board secretary, Mr E. R. Wood, said that the board’s role was limited to technial comment but approval given to a scheme which was later proven technically unsound could mean trouble for the board because of damage claims. The board chairman, Mr M. J. 0. Dixon, said that the board was not overplaying its hand. The Woolston Cut was the biggest drainage board project which had come before the Catchment Board and board members had to “move carefully.” The committee also recommended approving another Drainage Board scheme to stopbank, the lower Avon River. The deputy chief engineer, Mr B. P. Dwyer, said that the intermittent banks would be high enough to contain a 50-year flood or high tides which flooded adjacent properties. Emergency ramp Emergency access will probably be added to Woodford Glen Speedway at the suggestion of the Ministry of Transport. The rivers committee recommended board approval

for a ramp to be built over a stopbank to give emergency vehicles quick access to the speedway. The speedway promotion manager, Mr D. C. Smith, said yesterday that the ramp was a precautionary measure. The access road to the speedway was being widened, but an ambulance or fire engine would have trouble getting through the usual traffic jam at the main entrance. Tree plight Ailing trees have apparently become a widespread problem on North Canterbury farms in the last year. Board staff told the soil conservation committee that poor quality tree stock and bad planting techniques were causing many trees to topple or die several years after they had been planted for windbreaks or to control gullies. The committee asked for a staff report on the feasibility of inspecting nurseries before each planting season to ensure that farmers were buying stock which was "up to scratch.”