Moutoa Drainage Board

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 160, 9 July 1938, Page 3

Moutoa Drainage Board

From Our Own Correspondent. Monthly Meeting. Mr F. S. Easton presided over tne monthly meeting of the Moutoa Drainage Board Also present were Trustees D. i* Doownes, E. 11. Robinson. \V. 11. Smith. A K E Wall (Wanganui), and the clerk and treasurer (Mr G. V. Fraser). The treasurer reported that the bank balance was at debit. £lsl 18s 9d. The balances of the main ledger accounts were as fellow: General account, debit. £lB5 6s Sd; interest account, credit £33 7s lid. The chairman reported that it had no. been possible to arrange an inspection ot the floodgates during tne post month, but this would bo carried out at tho earliest possible date. The Board was faced with a serious matter in the silting which was taking place at the Main drain gates. The foreman (Mr 7'. A. Robinson) reported that during tho past month n« . had been engaged in cleaning Dr. Avans 'outlet drain. The swangrass sections | were finished on Friday of last week. Both floodgates were found to be in good order. On Jure 29, however, it was noticed that there was more water in tne Alain drain than should be. and an examination disclosed that some person hat. tampered with the winding gear of the floodgates on the south side, the door having been wound up on the drums until the chains had jambed between the end of the drum and the framework. This was permitting a tremendous volume ot water to rush back up the drain during high tide. A start was made in cutting 2G chains of sand between tho properties of Messrs Wall and Shrystall, and heavy shovelling work was encountered. Further drain-cleaning work was carried out at the beginning of this month on Dr. Walls’ outlet drain.

The chairmai commented on the foreman's reference to tho diagonal floodgates and asked the clerk to supply to the next meeting a statement showing what this structure has cost tho Board in maintenance. “It appears.” ho said, “as if the diagonal floodgates are very expensive. I note that we have an account this evening in respect to these gates, the amount involved being £39 as 2d. I believe this is the third occasion these gates have had sums like this expended on them. However, by next meeting we will have the full figures before us.”

Dr. all: The gates were put in order only three years ago, were they not? The Chairman: Yes, but it was a very bad job. It is just as well for members to note all the money that has been spent on them. Tho work carried out three years ago was only "half-pie.” The old sills were left in when tho doors were done up. If they had been ripped out there would have been no trouble to-day except for silting. We will have to look into this matter.

The clerk explained that the greater part of (he £39 5s 2d nad ben for the removal of silt from the doors. It had not been all for filling work. The Chairman: Nevertheless the gates are costing the Board a good deal of money and if we can put a stop to it we must do so. We must carry out permanent jobs and put a stop to all this costly tinkering work.

Tho clerk said that when the old Board went into the matter of repairing the Diagonal floodgates about three years ago two proposals were submitted by the engineer. One provided for a complete new job and the other was merely a patchwork job which the engineer did not recommend. Tho Board, however, adopted this scheme on the grounds of economy. The Chairman: And it has been costing money ever since.

The foreman, in a supplementary report. advised that the net which had been placed in the Diagonal drain had been torn out by the last flood and much heavier posts would be necessary if tho net was to be re-erected.

The Chairman: We~ will inspect that, too. In my opinion the construction of a net across the drain stops the runout, and in the case of the Diagonal drain has been the chief cause of tho silting there. Never before has there been so much silting in the drain as at present. Trustee Smith: What is this net? Was it put in as an experiment? The Chairman: No. It was put in witl. the idea of preventing timber from lodging in the floodgate doors. The experiment was really carried out years ago and found unsuccessful but the last Board tried it again. It slows up the flow of the dram and causes silting which negatives any ffood it might do in catching timber. It was decided to inspect the netting when the gates were viewed. The chairman said that he did not think that anyone had teen tampering with the winding gear. It was quite possible that during the recent gale, the door being open, they had been swung up and the chain had got tangled over the winding gear.

The foreman submitted a report on the state of the various drains in the Board’s area, as requested at the previous meeting, which showed that the annual cleaning work in two of the drains was as yet uncompleted. Fifty-five chains of the Diagonal ancl 20 chains of the Main drains yet remained to be done..

Accompanying the report was a letter “*°m a contractor, asking to be relieved of his responsibility in reference to the cleaning, as he had done his best but had been hampered by bad weather and floods and it now appeared as if it would bo summer time before he would be able to finish the work.

The Chairman: It looks as if the drains will bo in a shocking condition in the spring. The cleaning work was left far too late. The main drains call for the Board’s most earnest consideration at any time. Keep them clean and you relieve everyone. The Main drain saps the whole of the Moutoa and here we find Main drain cleaning not completed, let? n wcre ***© dra * n cleaning contracts The Clerk: In March. £ The Chairman: Then there would be no payments made until after the end of the financial year. That, I suppose, was in order to make the position look rosy to the ratepayers.

The Clerk: It has ben the usual practice 2* the . ® oard . and would not affect the financial position. The Chairman: In my time on the Board the contracts were always let in FebruI Trustee Downes said that the present position was a result of drain cleaning left too late. He thought that tnl Board could hardly hold a contractor to 1 his agreement where he tried to complete his contract but had been unable to d ° s° through no fault of his own. The Chairman: This is a very serious ; position we find ourselves in. Admittec the hold-up was in no way the eontractor s fault but I think that he could do some good by cutting tho sides from the top of the banks even now.

Trusteo Wall: We simply cannot afford to leave twenty chains of tho Alain drain untouched.

The chairman thought that the contractor should do something on tlie lines indicated in the Main drain, and it was finally decided that the matter be left in the hands of Trustee Downes and Smith and the chairman to investigate.