FLOODED MANAWATU

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 37, 12 August 1930, Page 11

FLOODED MANAWATU

NO SERIOUS TEOUBLE

GROYNES WELL TESTED

(By Telecjraph.) . ! CSpeaial to "The Evening Post.") j TALMEItSTON A\, This Day. The low-lying areas of the" Manawatu (appear for the present to havo escaped tho flood menace, although by tho narrowest of margins, for by midday yesterday the river had reached the 12ft level at the Jfitzherbert Bridge gauge. Fortunately from that time on it began to fall and by midnight had receded to 91't Oin. It remained at that level for two hours, and then'began again to show a very gradual fal). At noon yesterday water commenced to trickle through the new bank erected by Moutoa settlers near the sito of tho old Shannon bridge. At this portion of the bank a certain amount of undermining has occurred owing to extensive burrowing by rats. The settlers wore busily trying to strengthen the banks, and at .5 o'clock last evening no more water .was.coming through. : ..--.- As far as the other banks around Moutoa were concerned it was then considered that there was a fair margin of safety. Further down the river at Whirokino tho spring tide had the effect of backing up the water which, during the afternoon, was running across the main road.near the site of the new drainage ramp. At 3 o'clock yesterday the water was one foot deep and was across tho road on tho south side of the Whirokino bridge. Luckily, the wind at .Foxton was a light easterly, and when tho tide turned, the water began to pour out of the river month at a great rate. ■ A drop of about two feet six inches was noticed at the Foxton Wharf at 5 p.m. yesterday. But by midnight with the incoming tide it was higher than it had been all day. As was expected last evening, the main Foxton-Levin highway was well eoverod at Whirokino about 9,30 o'clock, and all traffic will be Obliged to proceed to and from Foxton via Shannon. It was reported from the Moutoa area last evening that some Maoris, with 30 head of cows, wore caught by tho water in tho vicinity of the.school. All the afternoon tho Maoris were using a flattie to reach the cattle, which they roped and towed to safety. If nobody else is pleased with tho flood in the Manawatu River, the Palniorston North River Board's engineer (Mr. E. Fisher) certainly is. He points out that a flood was wanted to test the new system of groynes erected to divert the river into tho channel which had been cut for it at the Fitzroy bend on the north-eastern corner of tho borough boundary, where for many- years great damage was caused by erosion. ''Everything is going on very satisfactorily,'' he said. The Fitzroy cut was developing on sound lines, while ti\e old bend held little more than sluggish waters. At M'Rao's bend, which had always been a danger point, there was little or no erosion. The flood would help a great deal to develop the new course which ho had mapped out for the river.