The Hutt News THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEM.

Hutt News, Volume 1, Issue 13, 23 August 1928, Page 4

The Hutt News THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEM.

Not for many years past has our district been subjected to so severe a storm as that which last week caused havoc and confusion in all directions. Residents of long standing were unanimous in their opinion that seldom if ever before had they seen so much

water in the fields and gardens, while the devastation caused to the railway line speaks for itself. The very severity of the storm is, however, a blessing in disguise, • for it has enabled the local authorities to see the weaknesses in their drainage systems, weaknesses that would possibly have remained long undetected, or long ignored if this sudden strain had not made them clearly evident. In all parts of the borough, drains were blocked, creeks and streams overflowed, water lay deep in places that hitherto had been comparatively dry even in winter. Residents generally took ftieir inconveni-

ence in a most philosophical manner, but this fact does not blind us to the necessity for a very careful survey of the local drainage system. When the new lands were opened for settlement, it was understood that the contours of the districts under sale were accurately surveyed for drainage purposes. There were not wanting persons who declared that what is now Moera was totally unsuitable for settlement until it was scientifically drained. The public was informed that steps would be taken to see that an adequate system of storm water drainage was installed, and, among the plans of the district that were made public, there appeared one in which these drains were shown. "We believe that an engineer should be competent to calculate* the" .size of the drains required to carry away the normal volume of water, and we would suggest that in practice allowance should be made for an added volume in particularly heavy weather. A careful inspection of our district -under heavy weather conditions reveals what appear to be defects in our system of storm-water drainage, and, even when consideration is given to the somewhat abnormal strain which was placed on the system, it does not seem capable of dealing with the amount of water that wet weather brings. Any wellplanned town will include ample provision for unusual conditions; any wellplanned drainage system will likewise be able to cope with an unusually large supply of water. An impossible position would be created if,, when heavy weather came, the houses in certain districts were to be regularly flooded out. Yet so far we have no evidence that such will not be the case, in fact, the recent storm would lead us to believe that, unless the present drainage system is enlarged, each winter wiJl see conditions that .approximate to flooding throughout the whole of the new area. It might be pertinent to tho matter to ask whether the system at present installed is the best" one for the district, or whether it is capable of improvement as well as enlargement. In other words, is the trouble due to the fact that the pipes are too small, or should there direction be changed. To what extent the flooding is due to a faujty system it is impossible for the moment to say, while only a qtiali"ed engineer can assess the amount of water that the pipes should be capable of taking away in order that floods maybe avoided. But it seems clear that, in the light of our recent experience, the matter of adequate drainage shoull be gone into once again. Speaking generally, and taking into consideration the peculiar difficulties under which the authorities have- to labour, the main portion of the district is adequately drained, and, apart from the apparently inevitable blocking of sumps, gave fewer evidences of bad drainage. The most striking exception to this was provided by the condition of parts of Wes-' I tern Hutt, especially Pharazyn Street which was under water for a considerable distance. That this flooding was due to the exceptionally heavy rain [ true only in <par,t, for this is not by any means the first time that the street ia | question has been under water. Though the actual damage to property on this occasion was slight, and though the inconvenience did not last for very long, the mere fact that the district is subject to flood is not likely to enhance its value in the eyes of prospective settlers. It would be wise to ask whether our citizens are not entitled to be better protected from floods than at present, and the answer turns to a large extent upon the abnormality or otherwise f

the contiiticns. Arc they likely to reoccur, or are they normal winter conditions in the district affected? So far as Western Hutt is concerned, tK.e flooding of Pharazyn Street is being taken more or less as a matter of course, and residents expect it each, winter. Why should they have to expect it when an adequate drainage system would do aAvay with it? Can we approve of the deterioration of property in this part of the borough or of the inconvenience? So far as the lands which have been recently opened for settlement are concerned, old residents have to a certain extent card for their own drainage problems. It appears, however, that the new system which was installed when the lands were cut up, has not succeeded in coping with the problem on' broad lines as effectively as the private systems coped with the individual problems in a smaller way. Is not this the time for our experts •to go very thoroughly into the whole question of drainage, so that, while giving due consideration to questions of economy in initial cost, they may inaugurate means by which floods are avoided. Possibly, as has boon suggested previously, the natural means of drainage have not been sufficiently studied; possibly the pipes are too small to cope with thy winter rains—whatever the cause, it cannot be denied that a remedy should be found for so unpleasant a state of affairs, and all the residents of the areas affected would welcome some assurance that their unhappy experience will not be repeated.