High tides will test new stopbanks

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 4

High tides will test new stopbanks

Very high tides in the next few weeks will be a test of the new floodprotection works on the, lower reaches of the Heathcote and Avon rivers. The Christchurch Drainage Board has built low banks to hold the Heathcote River’s waters off Richardson Terrace and Clarendon Terrace.

Most of the stopbank proposals for the Avon River have also been finished. Some lengths have not been built in Bexley. The board’s deputy de-sign-and-planning engineer, Mr lan Hunter, said that there were temporary gaps in the banks which might mean some

water penetration. American experts have predicted that an alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth will cause very high tides, but Mr Hunter said the Drainage Board was not expecting any special problems.

The high tides might cause problems if they were associated with storms or low air pressures.

“There is a good chance they will pass by hardly noticed, depending on the weather,” Mr Hunter said.

The board would keep a watch during the holiday period, and issue a warning if problems seemed likejy.