FLOOD IN LONGBURN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 137, 12 May 1941, Page 8

FLOOD IN LONGBURN

REASONS EXAMINED. LOCAL BODIES’ INTEREST. Organised by the Manawatu-Oroua River Board’s chairman (Mr J. Callesen), an inspection of the water courses by which the Manawatu River flood waters reached the township of Longburn was carried out on Saturday afternoon, and the broad principles lor preventing such a fecurrence were discussed. In addition to Mr Callesen there were present: Messrs G. Parsons (a member of the board), H. It- Farquhar (engineer to the board), M. W. Voss, D. Collis. and N. P. Nielsen (members of the Kairanga County Council) and a number of representative settlers and residents of Longburn. The Manawatu-Oroua River Board cannot attack the problem of preventing such a recurrence because the seat of the trouble lies beyond its district and, while the l>oard has certain powers in regard to removing obstructions, it cannot undertake the erection of stopbanks beyond its area. On the other hand, tiie Kairanga County Council governs the area affected and the subject is to be brought forward for consideration at a meeting of the council to-morrow. SERIOUS EROSION.

From the end of Walker’s Road the party walked upstream along the bank of the Manawatu River and saw that serious erosion has been taking place in Mr H. Wilton's property. Here the river has eaten away a long strip of land several yards in width in the last flood, lifted fences out bodily and laid them elsewhere. The river has now encroached to within a few ieet of a telephone post and is steadily nearing a steel tower carrying electric lines which cross the river. About half a mile from the road the river entered one of its former watercourses, a wide, relatively shallow depression, ran back along this in the general direction of Awapuni, and then curved toward the main road to take a sweep through Mr A. H- L lot-; cher’s property, cross Walkers Road and course past the New Zealand Missionary College and Mr K. G. Junes s farm (on the opposite side of the depression), skirt Air D. Prouse’s land, and swing in toward Longburn to run through Air E. 11. Zurcher s property. It then joined the former bed of the Mangaone Stream, behind Longburn, and poured into the township itself, this being the water that caused a general evacuation from the lower side to the hotel and homes on the higher land. The course generally agreed on as being the best for the prevention ot a similar visitation in Longburn is the building of a stopbank across the old course of the river (well back from the present bank) on Air Wiltons property. This would then prevent the water entering at that point. In the meantime, the river is steadily eroding its banks hero, farming land being swept awav. One opinion advanced is that, instead of building groynes to prevent this, the river should be guided into a former watercourse—which it cannot now reach because of a large beach of gravel and shingleand which lies further out on the riverbed. This new course would then it is stated, send the river straight to the Longburn railway bridge, thus obviating the construction oi groynes to prevent it eating away one of the approaches to the bridge.