TAIERI DRAINAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 33

TAIERI DRAINAGE.

THE COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. EXISTING CLASSIFICATION TOO SEVERE. SOME VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. Following is the text of the report submitted to the Government by Messrs H. Lundius and W. B. Buckhurst, who were appointed to submit a new classification of all the lands included in the Taieri drainage di-strict, together with a report on the present classification and causes of discontent : — The existing classification is, in our opinion, too severe on those lands which form the fringe of the district. Some of these lands are already naturally drained ; some will only receive a modicum of benefit in comparison to those situated at a lower level, requiring extensive and expensive systems of drainage to permit of them being utilsed to their full economic value; other portions, consisting of islands at the mouth of the Waipori River and lands on the eastern bank of the Taieri River south of Allanton township, which cannot, from their position, receive much benefit from drainage works, have been placed in class A. These last, in our opinion, should be placed in the " D " class until such time as a possible scheme from which they would receive benefit is formulated. This severity of classification, together with the uncertainty of the extent of liability the cost of necessary extensive works will involve them, and the indefinite amount of taxation which under existing law may be levied on all classes except the "D " class are the primary reasons for so many ratepayers' agitation for an alteration in the area and the classification. There are two other lesser reasons which have contributed to the unrest — viz., the non-recognition of a petition sent to Parliament by those owners who objected to their lands bsing included within the then proposed drainage district, and the boundaries of some of the subdivisions being made apparently without sufficient consideration of the communit3 r of interests. We are cognisant that, without the aid of complete contour plans, showing natural watercourses, levels, and undulations, and the absence of any knowledge of the proposed scheme of drainage, any attempt at classification must be open to an amount of error and criticism ; still, it is possible to arrive at an approximate just classification sufficient for the preliminary work of the Drainage Board, carefully avoiding reasons for friction between the ratepayers and the board during its inchoate state — the board having the power at any time under section 8 to order a reelassineation, and to remedy an 3' error of judgment or omission on the part of the classifiers. The classification which we have made has been arrived at after careful inspection of the whole area, and with the help of a plan drawn by Mr A. Johnson in 1870, showing the highest flood level (a rough tracing of this plan is attached), and on the following basis : — Those lands which in our opinion are most affected by floods and accumulation of water from higher lands and — must therefore receive the greatest benefit from drainage, and become of more value as the drainage work proceeds — we have placed in the "A " class. Those lands which are o.ily partially subject to flood v ater, and will be in part relieved by drains and other works constructed by and under the control of the board, we have placed in the "B " class. Those lands <vhieh receive an " indirect benefit " (a term of wide and difficult interpietation) — i.e., lands which drain into already-constructed channels (not including original streams), the said channels requiring occasional labour and attention from the board to '/recent erosion of the sides and removal of accumulations of detritus and vegetable matter, which, in the absence of sucli control, would lead to litigation between the owners of the land contiguous to each other — we have placed in the _''C" class. The lands which in our opinion cannot be affected or improved by any fi-a&ible schemes, and thohc which, owing to their position and contour, cannot receive any benefit from drainage works, we have placed in class '" D." No doubt some of these lands became included in the drainage district through the adopj tion of straight lines of roads as the boundaries. With regard to this last-mentioned class, that, in order to protect the board j from unreasonable demands, we suggest a I new section be added to the Taieri Drainage Act providing thai, so long as any lands within tho drainage district are classed in the '• I) " class, the owners of theso lands shall ha\e no claim whatever on the Drainage Boaid for any drainage or other work which .Tia\ be required, or thought to bs requned, in connection with the said lands. A considerable amount of e\idence was voluntarily tendoied to us dealing with the past and present condition', of drainage of the plains. We al-o made outsplvps acquainted wiHi a= !■ uch written e\ idence a* was available. We receixed in a conversational form f 1 out Mr EH; o t, engineer to ♦ lie board, an idoa as, to tho piobablo direction and fo!f o! m th" drainage scheires contemplated would take; and ;ifi.er due consideration of all lhe points of di'iiuto raised we resbor< fully make tho following suggestions, trj.-'ng- thorn i<i tho older ahoac'v 'lat' .l : — 1 t'lK-oi rainty of amount of 'i.'b-My for taxation unrip.- nre.- «,it la-. : At pre^rjr land in tho ' IV and '• C " cle-ses can, at the option of the Loa,d, be U'\o-I within ' a fraction cS the maximum amount of " A " . class, and thr lai^- can he mar'» and levied for a \o-r, rv n<-i\ period le=s than a \"nr (vide '"The Rarm» Act, 1903"). This dcviat'on from th-" 1 common rule crovpining I taxation can. wr- think, he remedied b\ ;>n ! amendment to section 8 of the Taioii j Drainage Act as follows, in lieu of the I present section :—": — " The board m.iV, for tho I purposes of f his a<n, if»v\ ori all the l/inr's within the district a general late The

maximum general rate that may be made and levied in any year shall be 4s per acre on lands classed in the 'A ' class, 2s per acre on lands classed in the 'B ' class, and 8d per acre on lands classed in the 'C ' class ; and when any general rate of less amount than the maximum shall be made to accord with this ratio. When special rates are made for the purpose of paying interest on loans and establishing sinking funds for repayment of the loans, they shall be levied in the manner provided in the making and levying a general rate." 2. As to the ",vant of community of interest between portions of the subdivisions and the objections of certain ratepayers in the Silverstream and Owhiro subdivisions to their lands being included in the drainage area : On the east bank of the Taieri River there is a strip of land between and including the townships of Allanton and Waihola which is cut into three pieces by being included in the boundaries of the lakes, Lee Creek, and Momona subdivisions. The ratepayers whose lands comprise this strip have no interests in common with the ratepayers owning the bulk of the lands of the aforesaid subdivisions (which are on the west side of the Taieri River), and are piaclically enisled; and the boundary line between the Silverstream and Owhiro subdivisions should (to allow common interests to work together) have been exactly at a right angle to its present direction — viz., east and west, instead of north and eourh, the Silverstream being the chief drain in one subdivision y,nd the Owhiro Creek in the other, as it is now all the low-lying land is in the Owhiro subdivision, whilst the land in the Silverstream is already drained and requires very little work or expenditure. Three ideas for improving the present unsatisfactory position have occurred to us. The first was suggesting the alteration of th© boundary of the Silverstream and Owhiro subdivisions from its present position to a line runnLnsr east and west along the road called Centre road, so that all lands drained by the Silversfcroam and its tributaries should form one subdivision, arm.l all lands drained by the Owhiro, together with the lands on the east of the Taieri River between Allanton and Henley should form the Owhiro subdivision, and confining the proportion of loans raised for works and the cost of maintenance of such works solely for the benefit of each proposed new subdivision to themselves, the cost to be paid for out of rates levied on the !?nds of these new subdivisions in the fame manner as is set forth in section 16 of the Taieri Drainage Act. respecting East and AVest Taieri. (Lithograph coloured, eliowing this suggested alteration of boundary attached.) The second was to recommend that the Silverstream ?übdivieion be excluded from the Taieri Drainage District. Thp third, that all lands lying east of the Taieri River now included within the district be severed from same. After giving the qu*3Stion every consideration, we deoided to suggest that tht Hon. the Minister for Lands be advised to recommend to his Excellency the Governor the exclusion of all lands past of the Taieri River from the drainage, district, for the following reasons — (a) By far the larger portion of the East Taieri will receive lktle or no benefit from the proposed or contemplated drainageworks. (b)VMany of the ratepayers whose lands are situated in the- lower portions next to the river are doubtful of receiving any benefits, and have expressed themselves as desirous of having their lands excluded from the district, and even some of those whom it. is thought would receive The greatest benefit from c drainage scheano have stated that if the dry lands are excluded they would like to be excluded aleo. (c) The cost of the proposed work on the eastern side and other works contemplated, together with the maintenance cf the same, will be more the area of la.nd to which drainage is necessary can reason ?,bly afford without contributions from the owners of lands already provided with drainage, and ifc appears to us unfai'- to expect owners of the drained lands to consent to be taxed for the benefit of owners of 'and requiring drainage. (d) We see no indication of any such drainage schemes as Proposed oy "Vlpssis Bell, Higgiuson, and Blair in report E. 6, 1880. Mr Carruthers. D.5.8., 1871. or Mr J. T. Thompson, I. 2 8., 1877, being adopte.d. (c) Lntil something is done to m°(>l the signatories to the petition for exclusion of their lands from the drainage area dissati faction and agitation for severance will continue, and it is. in our opinion, that it is bp-.t to deal with tho question a.t a& early a date as po=^ibl», «> that finality can bo secured before any further loans or expen<xs aie- incurred by tho board. If the exclusion of the E-i-t Taieri lands from tho dr-trict us decided upon, their snare of the 'labilities and expenses slroasiv incurred by the present Drainage Board oan be a-iiusted, as provided by subnotion 2 of section 16 of "The Taio'ri Dramas Act." So as to confine the power of levying rates to thr-se mo*t interested in the expenditure of the same, ,ye su<?g«;t that in compiling rho ratepayers' roll no person's name shall appoar on tho l'Vt of ratcpa\v»rs whose right of occupation of any land consists of a tenancy, rhe term of which is less tfian three years. Wo aro 'nduco<l to nako this suggestion bocauj-o many of the' lea=pho!dei-j ha\p only :n lease, and po^ibly cii<"um = t,ir'ce« may arii=o by which the ounors of land*- may bc'onip liable without their w \<- ho= be:ng consulted or thfir int^»rc-,t- con-idorcd Di-^>atisfact:oii >\as o\ id^iit arnotijr-t tho ratepayer.-, at tho eon-tit u f ion of th" Court of Appoal to hear objection- to t'no cW^ification^; this we think lii.lv Ix" .n\o'rlod in the future by the aiij omitr-^nt by th^ Go\ernr»ic»t of two n^,*-;- wji* m <-it w-rh and a?>I»-i t'ns ma^.-traT-^ v. n- n heanntf apn-°alis from ralep'ijo,-- at^jjn t th"ir c!ns.sificati'>n. Sumnrir-^inir our Hio\ ni-" ■— (1) Adoption by the DiamaL"" Eoaid of tho no.v cla (2) Amendments to T*u"i: Di'.in-i^o A'-r. (a) To 1 lovido pioUri'on to i l^ Dram-c-je Boird fivi" cLmi 1a arj o«n"r of land <n cl."-.c 1 ."-.- '" 1) " . (h) To pro\id-> for a"'l hunt if." v^"X'num) abount of i.-M'-fi in each tla.-.s 'i.iblo to bo Id\fl, (C) To liCP.'l'i ft.!' TVO ji^PWj "5 to bi f •.vir!i the >i>i- ~->-ai: m Appeal Court. (ct) To -safeguard ovtoi- of land from lia.bi'it> to taxation wnhciit thoir consent. (3) Tho Rifi-ant" of t! o whole of t/;o-e Itind-s ea^t of the Taicu Hiv&r (now in-

cluded) from the Taieri Drainage District. In concluding, we wish to express our thanks to the officers of the Lands and Survey Office, Dunedin. for plans supplied ; to Mr M. Elliot, the engineer to the board, for information given us; to Mr M'Lean, clerk to the board, and jMr Logan, clerk to the Taieri County Council, for their readiness at all times to afford us information, and to all for their kind courteousnese.