HELP SOUGHT

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 87, 9 October 1935, Page 12

HELP SOUGHT

WHIROKINO PROJECT

DAMAGE BY FLOODS

REQUEST TO MINISTER

Declaring that the undertaking was o£ national importance, an influential deputation representing Manawalu local bodies urged upon the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. J.j Bitchener) today the necessity of constructing a cut and spillway at Whirokino to relieve the flood danger and conserve the interests of the settlers in that portion of the district. The Minister undertook, to investigate the request with his engineers and to place the matter before the Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates). The deputation, which numbered 15, was to nave waited on the Minister of Finance, but pressure of work forced Mr..Coates to divert it to the Minister of Public Works. It was accompanied by Mr. J. Linklater (Government, Manawatu), who introduced it, and Mr. J. A. Nash (Government, Palmerston North). ) Mr. Linklater said that when Mr. Coates was Minister "of Public Works there were many deputations on this subject, but the proposition put forward then was different from that submitted now. The present scheme was to construct a spillway to carry the water when the river was in flood. Every flood covered a tremendous area in the Moutoa district, and caused a great deal of distress. LOCAL BODIES IN FAVOUR. Mr. A. A. Mitchell, chairman of the Manawatu-Oroua River Board, explained that theyhai to deal with the drainage, of an area of 1,600,000 acres, apart altogether from the area occupied by the ratepayers. He stressed the fact that the undertaking was one of national importance, and not one for the local bodies of .the district. It had been said that- some objection would be raised to this scheme because the fairway of the river would.be interfered with by.it, but he said that it was not intended to interfere with that at all; it was only the overflow that concerned them. The local i bodies interested in the matter were all in favour of the Whirokino cut. . The drawback up to the present had been that they had been unable to agree on any one scheme. The Highways Board was vitally interested in anything that might be done. Mr. R. Law, a member of the- board, explained the scheme with the aid of a map and diagrams. He said that there were five different drainage districts in the area, and the trouble had been accentuated by the work carried out by these authorities, such as banks and drains. In normal times the river was sufficient to take the water, but in flood times it was difficult for the water to get away. The proposed spillway would be about a mile across, and it was the only scheme that would free the water without affecting someone else. At present the river route was more than six miles long at this point. The Minister: You say that everyone has been protecting himself without having any comprehensive plan of relief in view? Mr. Law: That is so. He contended that the deviation would assist the Foxton port facilities also. The project presented no great engineering difficulties.' The Main Highways Board was interested to the extent that the No. 1 main highway was under water for three months in the year. Mr. W. S. Carter, another member of the board, said that local bodies had reached unanimity on this scheme. There had been a lot of work done by individual boards in the area, but there was a great watershed that could not be controlled by local bodies in the district. They had carried out drainage and stop-bank schemes but there was no outlet for the water. Recently there had been some bad floods and some bank work had been done, and this had accentuated the trouble. Unless there were some help from the Department the local bodies would continue to struggle along, doing no good for themselves and no good for the country There was much very fine land in the area affected. The local^ bodies' had helped themselves, but they were taking a load from an area over which they had no control. It was a pity that their drainage systems should be neutralised for the sake of a mile'cut. • ■ • Mr. M. Perreau, Mayor of Foxton, said that the Borough Council believed that this work was necessary, though the height of the proposed weir was' a matter that would have to be considered carefully from their point of view. Mr. F. Woods, representing the Moutoa Drainage Board, said that his district, contained something like 12 000 acres. Before the bank scheme came ,into operation it never received the water, but since then the flow of water had been increased. The result was that settlers were flooded out—last year he had to take his cows off for four months. The cut would relieve the lower land to a considerable extent. Mr. T. D. Lynch, representing the Makerua Drainage Board and the Kairanga County Council, said it was realised that the water had been forced down by the erection .of protective works—where the water could not flow into the Manawatu it was pumped in. The result was 'that the people at the lower end were being injured. While the spillway would not benefit his district, it would assist those on the lowerlevels, but he could not promise any financial assistance in the matter in view of the heavy rates. A DISSENTIENT VOICE. The only dissentient voice was raised by Mr. W. Ross, a member of the Foxton Borough Council, who made it clear from the outset that he was opposed to the scheme. He said that he had many years' experience in the behaviour of the river and the bar, and at present was part-owner of the river shipping service. He claimed that a cut would bring down too much sand and would obstruct the channel at Rush Flat, and he considered also that it would be difficult to confine the water to the spillway. There hsfd been four floods recently, and that had been exceptional and during flood, time the river was navigable. The fulfilment of the scheme would, he declared, be a waste of public money. It would help only a *f W n<? <° Wnei' S at the 3ower end. The Minister: Does the chairman of the Harbour Board agree with what Mr. Linklater said that as far as the Harbour Board was concerned it raised no objection to the scheme so long as it did. not interfere with the fairway of the river. Mr. W. E. Barber, chairman of the Manawatu County Council, said he had seen the building of banks grow to such an extent that the lower end suffered. If they had a flood like the one in 1902. when the water was 18in over the Foxton wharf, they would know all about it.

Mr. Nash said the deputation must be regarded as a very important one Something should be done to overcome the menace and difficulties that had existed in this area for years A

previous deputation on this matter to the Ward Government had received a promise that the work would be subsidised to the extent of £500,000, but it was decided later not to go on with it, and then came the depression. He hoped that an investigation would be made by the Government immediately as the scheme would bring relief to the long-suffering settlers.

The Minister expressed his regret that the deputation had not been able to meet the Minister of Finance, who was the busiest man in New Zealand. He had listened with considerable interest to what had been said, and he was in sympathy with the request. It was an engineering matter, and he had with him two of the best engineers in the Dominion, Messrs. McKenzie and Woods He would go into the matter with them and get their opinion as to what should be done. The whole thing would be placed before the Minister of Finance, and if he provided the money his Department would be quite capable of spending it.