HUTT RIVER CONTROL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 125, 28 May 1915, Page 11

HUTT RIVER CONTROL.

what tm aoAjge haj mm MORE WQfiS NBOSBBAHY, Talk to aa old settler abeut early ■feim«6 in the Hufcfc Valley, aad the chance* are that the eouversatlea iyill turn to the rivo?. He will tell yeu ui= teresting and cad stories about the river 3 how it had swept its angry w&ieta fa? and wide over the valley, devswfc&tieg prosperous farms and sweeping away happy homes; how the uettlere fought, often hopelessly, Against the ravages of their greatest natural enemy. A later generation ha« eeen a vast change effected. Herein lies an interesting etoi'y i of modern progress and development. I THE BEGINNING. When man first conceived a method of i controlling the river he saw a stupendous task before him. Early settlement meant cutting away great quantities of native bush in order to provide land for tilling and for homesteads. In consequence, the land along the banke'of the river became unstable, and the result was that the river encroached aad carried large tracts away. Floods were not infrequent in those days, and altogether the lot of the settler was not a happy one. It was many years before anything of lasting benefit was done to control the waters of the river, the method at first being primitive, and in the main, temporary. The periodical floods hampered settlement, and in the year 1898 the Petone Borough Council undertook the construction t of a stop_bank, at a cost of about £1500. This has since proved the salvation of Wellington's now most populous suburb. Some years later, the Hutt Biver Board also constructed stop-banke on each side of the river, and these have proved yery effective in the case of floods. METHOD OF PROTECTION. It would be a mistake to say that damage by floods has been made impossible by modern engineering. Floods, of course, still occur, and cause some damage, but their effect has been minimised to a great extent. It is only on rare occasions that the river rises very much above normal, and the board being prepared for such contingencies, -the damage doiie is seldom of a. very serious nature. It is during the last few years that most of the protective wOTk has been carried out. With the exception of the necessary maintenance and protecting the weaker points along the bank from erosion, the work has been almost eolely in the nature of constructing boom groynes. At first stone groynes were tried, but these proved absolutely useless. To construct a stone groyne it ie imperative that the foundation should be solid. Stone groynes have been econred oat by the river, and the expenditure of hundreds of pounds nullified. Hence the advent of boom groynes. EFFICACY OF PRESENT SYSTEM. The present system of boom groynes was adopted on the recommendation of Mr. _ G. Laing-Meason, the board's consulting engineer, and excellent results have been obtained during the past six years. A boom groyne, which costs on the average about £50, is a very simple construction. Commencing at the river bank/ five piles are driven, running straight out into the stream, and across these piles the booms are placed horizontally and at different heights. The whole forms a sort of barricade, which 'naturally diverts the waters, thus preventing the full force of the current from getting at the land least able to 6tand the strain. Groynefi have been constructed at various points along the rivpr between the mouth and the Silverstream Bridge — the portion of the river under the jurisdiction of the board. Tho total number of groynes is now fifty-one, most of which are made of iron-bark piles and turpentine booms. In addition to putting down groynes, the board also pays attention to the banks, which ar« strengthened by the planting of willows. THE EATEPAYERS' POSITION. Atthe present time the board is badly handicapped owing to shortage of funds. Up to last year there were loan moneys to work on, but these have now all been used up, and there is a large amount of urgent work to be done. There is a good deal of erosion taking place at) different points between Alicetown and Taita, and particularly at Mason's Gardens, which, owing to the river continually trying to get back into its old course, k one of the worst points at the present time. Some time ago the consulting engineer advised the board to put in a number of new groynes, and a proposal to borrow the sum of £5000 for the improvement of the protective works generally was placed' before rateE avers. Unfortunately, lack of interest illed the proposal, which was defeated. In epite of this, some of the groynes recommended have been constructed, but there are yet about fifteen required in order to make the river perfectly safe. The board's annual income from rates is about £2500, and of this sum £2000 has to be devoted to the payment of interest on loans. It wilL be seen, therefore, that the 4 amount available for works is very limited. It is absolutely necessary that the work should be done somehow, and unless ratepajws agree to sanction the raising of the money, it may mean further additions to the rates. Until the river is as safe as the hand of man can make it, the board will not relax its efforts. But, it is contended, the ratepayers should do their full share.