DRAINAGE AFFAIRS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 1197, 20 December 1924, Page 16

DRAINAGE AFFAIRS

MAKERUA BOARD MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Makerua Drainage Board was held on Thursday, Mr J. Liggins presiding, the others present being Messrs IT. Akers, A. Seifert, 11. J. T. Hume and R. Tinier. WORKS COMMITTEE’S REPORT. The chairman of the Works Committee (Mr A. Seifert) in his report stated fhat the work had progressed very satisfactorily during the past month and that the No. 1 dragline dredge had had a fair run. It built last month 30 chains of stop-bank, including the rarnp to grade up Seifert’s train line to the height of the trambridge. The total amount excavated was 24,865 yards. The dredge had to complete about another 56 chains to finish tho right bank of the Tokomaru stream. The dipper dredge had made such good progress that it would be able to do more work than originally estimated. It had excavated b2 chains of channel during the month, the total amount being 50,307 cubic yards. In connection with Mr Loughnan’s land at Makerua, Messrs Jickell and Gilmour had taken the levels of the various drains that took water from tho hill creeks. Mr Jickell and he had also inspected the site for the vegetation floodgate. A report on the method of protecting tho property would be brought down later. Mr Brown was now at work on the Okuku road bridge. Messrs Jickell. Brown and Seifert went carefully into the question of which style of piers was best and decided to order piles as follow6-30ft. 15in. at butt, ironbark; 12-24 ft. Isin. at butt, ironbark. The end piers would be concrete and tho others would be piles. Mr Brown would construct tho concrete piers, and then while he .was waiting for tho concrete to settle and for the piles and some gear to come to hand, he would.make a floodgate near the Okuku road on tho loft bank of the Tokomaru stream. As opportunity offered, the bridges over the intersecting channel and the Tokomnru-Linton main drain would be constructed. A great deal of work would have to be put through dining (he dry weather; The following jobs could be carried out best and cheapest while tho weather was dry:—Erecting floodgate for intersecting channel by Tokomar J stream ; floodgate for Loughnan’s vegetation drain ; the concrete piers for bridges over intersecting channel and the Tokomaru-Linton main drain. Madden’s gang was building floodgates on the left bank of the Tokomaru stream near the Makerua railway station. They had finished the concrete end piers for the bridges and -would shortly be able to construct the floodgate for Loughnan’s vegetation drain. New buckets had been put on both dredges. The outlet of the main drain was closed at. the boundary at Coley’s and Wall’s land which prevented tho water from draining away. The channel was being deepened from the intersecting channel to give an outlet that way. Tho work was costing about £2 5s per chain. The engineers were preparing plans to submit to {he Horowhenua County Council in reference to deepening the channel and erecting the flood protection banks for the north branch of the Kara Creek. This work could be carried out by the No. 1 dredge, dragline between the present time and April.—The report was adopted. OVERSEER’S REPORT.

The overseer (Mr -W. 11. Milos) reported that since the last meeting he had renewed the two ramps which had been cut out by the recent flood in Mrs Sullivan's property und had erected a fence of heavy willows on both sides of the ramps to prevent any further erosion. lie was at present raising the bank in Barber’s property along the Kara Creek. The protection bank which was erected by the board running through Williams’s property had cut off the road to a portion of his property and, being unable to cross the bank, the lessees had approached him to enquire as to whether the board would see its way clear to make a small crossing to enable them to take their machinery over. A small erosion had taken place in the main bank opposite the Whitanui flax mill and this matter would require attending to.— Received. GENERAL. It was decided that tho overseer be instructed to supervise the work at the outlet of tho main drain. In order to raise funds for carrying out maintenance works it was decided to give notice that it was tho intention of the board to make a supplomentary general rate of sixty-four hundredths of a penny in the pound, fortyeight hundredths of a penny in the pound and thirty-two hundredths of a penny in the pound on all the rateable properties classilied A, B, and C respectively.

Messrs Akers, Seifert and Hume were elected to the finance committee.

Accounts amounting to £2593 10s 5d were passed for payment.