MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER BOARD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 5001, 7 October 1938, Page 3

MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Mari aAvatu- Oroua River Board was, held in Palmerston N. yesterday. IConcern was expressed at the neglect of certain property owners along the Oroua River, to clear land between the stop'bank and the river course of gorse, lupin and willows. They are 'to be advised (halt unless the growth is cut immediately, the Board will do the work at the expense of the owners. The chairman (Mr J. Callesen) was asked .to get in touch with own. ers at Tiakitahuna where rabbits and stock were damaging the stop hank along the Manawatu River. A deputation consisting of Messrs R.. White, Ri. E. Dixon and R. Saunders waited on the Board in respect of proposed banking along the Oroua River at Holden’s, Harper’s and Davis’s. It was stated that the line of the banking was going to form a bottle neck and force those lower down ,to raise their banks to meet the new situation. What -was needed was an improved outlet. Mr Whyte, speaking for the deputation, said washouts were more to be feared than any spill-over. The chairman said the scheme was only a proposal so far as settlers likely to be affected were witn - in their rights in objecting. (Much of the trouble in the past had been that the banks had been placed too close to the river. Mr. Whyte: Banks further back need only to be half the height to meet the same volume of water. Mr. Lynch thought the Board should not do anything that would injure some of the settlers while helping others. What was wanted was co-operation. The chairman suggested a conference on the spot before coming to a decision. There was no suggestion of making the proposed bank any higher than the others. Mr. Law commented that the more one saw and heard of the attempts to prevent land-flooding, the more one was convinced of the need for a comprehensive scheme covering the whole of the Manawatu. The chairman emphasised the need for the hoard to get the ideas of the Power Board engineers who bad inspected the river, on what was most needed and when he was in Wellington he had urged that on the Minister. Mr. Law produced survey figures to show the soundness and simpleness of.the proposal to put- a cut in F.t Whirokino to facilitate flood discharge. He urged that the hoard should press on with the idea as soon as the election is over.