Rainstorm in Town.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7847, 26 May 1904, Page 5

Rainstorm in Town.

.Yesterday was: the first occasion since Mr Jickell, the Borough iS ££n ° + °k T Ms aPPointmentTn Palmorston, that there has | >W ai an exceptional downpour of rain H " therefore, took advantage of the occasion to .visit the whole of the mtT^' rfudi^ th* Hoko,vhitu! iitzherbert-strcet, Park and Coll.-e----greets Ferguson-street, Short and Cuba-streets and Terrace End, and £Lw un-T aPProacli at the Fitzherbert bridge. The river was then (3.30) In half flood, and there was 3 ™dication that the new v.erk would escape scathless, particularly tl nC°' « | S t th, e Engineer points cut to a _ Standard " .vepresentaave on returmng from hfe survey, that the nver had been widened at that part by the extent of the new span recently constructed. I n the town the ■luiginecr found there was aY a< •simulation of storm water m praeikally all- quarters, some", of .-ourse worse than others. At the corner' near the Club Hotel, the water was ilowing over the crossings the cul verts being tbo suiaU fjDr the pre«s of water. Opposite Mr Park's shop the water completely covered the road, and was on a level wMh the path. At the corner of Mr Cole's shop'< it was flowing in'a stream fchree or four feet wide, across the path necessitating a water jumn for every hapless pedestrian 'that chanced to come that way \t the corner no^r the Bank of Australasia the water had also proved too much for the culverts, and it spread over the paths. -'Wait till xhe new dramage works are completed in Main-street „.about two week's time and then all this water trouble m +he Square will disappear," -.aid the Bapiecr. At present all the surplus vater from the Square floors dov.n I through Georg-e-street alono- Cufcastreet and floods tho corner of i'-hort and Cuba-streets, where propcriv- ■ owners have a pretty bad rime. \\hen the new work is finished lilainstreet, east and west, and ail the Square from the -Post Oln-.e ri«ht round, will immeo-iately be benefited by the work. ■I n the noLrviiitu Kualnnc-strect was the only iocplitv sho\ying the effects of fhe 1.-avy downfall a lot of watfer showing on the low-lying sections, but no damare had been done up to tho time the. JuigHiecr was in the locality. Otherwise the Hokowhrtvr was dty. The . lagoons have been low for "a long time past, and they were barely showing the- effects of the rain. The watercourses were all comparatively empty.

At Terrace End there was no water lying about, but the streets had bten well washed.

The Borough workmen wore engaged during the afternoon attending to several overflows of water but very Jittl.e coultf bt done, the inconvenience being caused not by any blocks m the culverts but by the quantity of water that had /.-Men During the latter part of yesterday the .Manawatu continued io rise rapidly, and last night the river Uaa almost bonk high. Settlers nil alone the river front took the precaution to raovo their stock from lo.v-Ivino-p.ortion* of their property, and up to the time of writing no damage or loss has been reported. Heavy tain fell almost without in-termission-all night and up uir an early hour this morning. Later the weather cleared, and with the cessation of rain, and under i^ie influence of a brisk westerly breeze, • the' roads dried up wonderfully, and practically all the storm ,vatw ivina about disappeared. '.' . s The^town supply o f water is still dependent on the behaviour of tht Tiritea stream and the strength o l the work passing through iTs bed. At the present time the j.2-inch mam, upon which depends the whole of the. town supply, is carried through the bed. of the stream. The old 7-inch main, which continues from the end of the 12-inch main to the reservoir, also passes through the Tiritea in three places, but the new 7-inch main, completed a few days ago, is carried over the sti earn on suspension bridges, consequently so long as the 12-inch main lasts the town supply is all right, even if the old 7-inch main does carry away at either of its three plunges into the Tiritea.

After an inspection of the Hokowhitu, Mr Jickell, the Borough ]<'.n----gineer, is of opinion that all the low-lying portions of the Hokowhitu can be effectively drained, and at -a comparatively small cost. His first stipulation is that the banks of the river at Terrace End should J.-e protected. Then, by following the natural lay of the country and utilising the existing lagoons from Scandia-street to To Awe Avvc street as drains, the storm water ccuJd be conveyed to the. lagoon "at rhe back of Mr J. Strang's property and thence into. the river, which, quoting from a report presented by Air j. P. Armstrong in 1889, had a surface fall of 11 feet ml 1$ miles from the bridge to the Borough obundary. Mr Jickcll has not, of course, devoted any time to the matter, but he considers the work could1 be done as suggested.

At eleven o'clock this morning the river was running very full, uut Mas still several feet below previous high water marks, and no where approaching* the last big flood.; Very little timber, comparatively,' was being brought down, and .'t is ovident the river has not .reached former levels higher up the country. With a rising glass and ihe river emptying itself rapidly there does not appear any likelihood of any serious flood at preseut.

Travellers by the W'oo'dvillo train to Palmerston to-day report, that the Manawatu river, pont within its narrow walls in the Gorge, 'vas a somewhat awe-inspiring sight. An immense volume of, water was rushing through, the Gorge at ■ express speed, and the roar" of the rushing, foaming torrent could be heard distinctly above the noise of the train, the wind, and still falling- rain.