No Need for Alarm

Hutt News, Volume XXII, Issue 3, 30 June 1948, Page 5

No Need for Alarm

»*♦ — —.. FLOODS IN HUTT RIVER

REPLY TO CRITICISM Regret at the publication in a Wellington paper of what, he termed alarmist statements regarding the danger of floods in the Hutt River was expressed by the chairman, Mr. H. S. Dudding, at a recent meeting of the Hutt River Board. “The Board’s engineer, Mr. H. Sladden,” said Mr. Dudding, “is considered one of.the foremost authorities on river control in the country. Also we have as our foreman Mr. J. Searle, who has made a lifetime Btudy of the river, and under him a loyal staff of men experienced in river control work.

“The work accomplished by the Board over the years is something of which to be proud. The work done in the area between the stopbanks has so improved and deepened the channel that today its carrying capacity is approximately double what it was when the stop-banks were built. Today the Board is preparing plans for raising the stopbanks which will make for still greater security. The upper reaches of the river are fast coming under complete control, and it will not be many years before the small washouts, such as occurred in the recent flood, will be a thing of the past. The public can rest assured that there is no necessity for alarm, and that the policy of the Board is a sound and prudent one, supported by the best advice.”

Reduced Flood Risk

The engineer, Mr. Sladden, said that levels were taken of the flood marks immediately after the floods on May 23, and the volume was computed at 46,800 cubic feet per second. This was a somewhat greater volume than that of the flood of 1015, which reached the greatest height, measured at the Hutt bridge, of any flood during the last 48 years. The flood of May 23 was lower in level by some feet. This was a demonstration of the tremendous improvement in the discharging capacity of the river channel in the lower reaches since 1915 and of the corresponding reduced flood risk.

“It is also a striking commentary upon the alarmist statements recently published,” said Mr. Sladden,