CRIES OF PROTEST

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 58, Issue 4167, 1 August 1949, Page 9

CRIES OF PROTEST

CATCHMENT BOARD WORK ON WAIHOU RIVER WILLOW CLEARING OPPOSED The opinion that the clearing of the Waihou river, from Te Aroha to Mangaiti, was a work that should be regarded as urgent as almost any other in this district, expressed by Mr G. Davies, the chief engineer to the Hauraki Catchment Board, in his report to the May meeting of the board, was met by cries of protest from some members of the board. His views on the matter, as contained in his report, were as follow “From my knowledge of the district I know of no work more urgent apart from one major scheme, than the clearing of the Waihou river between Te Aroha and Mangaiti. “ We have recently cut off by stopbanking two ponding areas and requests for the construction of further such stopbanks have been made to us. We know the views of the staff of the Ministry of Works on these matters and I have assured Mr Thornton that no further requests will be passed on to him until he is satisfied from a thorough investigation that the river will not cause greater havoc downstream by stopbanking more ponding areas.

“ The request that I would like to make through the board is that we be permitted by the Ministry of Works to prepare a scheme to clear the river of offending willows and to control the serious erosion that is now taking place there.

Not Necessary to Paeroa

“ This work could be done under Section 11 of the Act, for the settlers involved are very concerned with the present state of the river. The Waihou and Ohinemuri River Improvement Scheme was practically completed in 1920 and there was considerable navigation along the river to Te Aroha as late as 1940. The condition of the river must have deteriorated progressively since the inauguration of that scheme. It would be unreasonable to assume that the design factors of the improvement scheme included for such deterioration as being a necessary safeguard for Paeroa. “ The present state of the river threatens the inundation of large tracts of land and to nullify the protective work on the same lands and on which we are now spending money. “ The erosion which is taking away well established stopbanks should be controlled and the willows which are lying across the river should be removed to improve the freeboard at flood time.” Mr H. R. Thorp stated that it might perhaps not be wise to clear the willows referred to entirely, straight away. It was essential, he added, that a lot of investigation should be carried out before any work was done. “ The suggestions that have been made by the engineer are very disturbing to my mind,” said Mr D. G. McMillan. He asked whether the board’s engineers were going to consider the Waihou in conjunction with the Piako river in the report that was to be prepared for the whole of the district. The Waihou should not be considered piece-meal, he said.

The suggestion might be a very serious one if it was carried out, Mr McMillan continued. The board should be very canny of any improvements that would affect any settlers further down the river. “ I want the assurance that the Waihou river is going to be investigated on the same plane as the Piako,” Mr McMillan ended. Chairman’s Views “ I have endeavoured to make the anticipated works as clear to the board as I can,” said the chairman, Mr H. M. Corbett. u I have discussed the question with the engineer and the secretary. I have stressed that the Piako should be given priority to a point, but I have not overlooked the demands of the Waihou. ** The engineer wants to begin on the Piako and then give attention to the Waihou so that he can make recommendations for carrying out work on the same lines as the Piako. Until the board knows what the cost of the works is going to be it is not in a position to be able to say what will be done. a I too, am very concerned about the settlers lower down the Waihou,” Mr Corbett continued. “ The deterioration of the river between Te Aroha and Tirohia has been rapid and in my opinion its condition should be restored to what

it was 10 to 15 years ago. That would tide the board over a difficult period but if it is left alone and the deterioration is allowed to continue it would soon be in a worse condition than it is today.” Duty of the Board Mr E. G. Clark: We would not be doing our job if we did not prevent the deterioration of the river. Mr O. G. Thornton considered that the chairman’s suggestion of restoring the river to its condition of about 15 or even 20 years ago would be satisfactory. He reminded the board that the Waihou river was not as fast flowing as its tributary the Ohinemuri, and that the flood waters of the Ohinemuri must have passed by the time the Waihi high waters reached the confluence. The board had to be careful that any work done on the Waihou did not bring the peak of the flood sooner than it should occur. Mr L. E. Cooke pointed out that the engineer only asked the board to sanction his investigation of the matter and preparation of a scheme for carrying’ out the work. The engineer's report was adopted.