DIVERSION WALL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16209, 6 December 1926, Page 7

DIVERSION WALL

DAMAGE LOCALISED HEAVY SEAS WITHSTOOD The Waikanae beach wears a new aspect since the diversion cut was dredged to- high water mark. To-day the level , of the sand is from 6ft. to Bft. lower on the beach in the vicinity of the cut, and a wide dip shows where the seas have swept in and out of the cut. A portion of the diversion wall lies on its face, as a result of the storm's assault, and the papa bottom has been stripped near the eastern wall of the cut. The *hol© character of the foreshore at this point has been changed, and the present ■ cattditioQ of affairs, present an excellent | example of what may happen when mankind wrestles .with' the elements B, An inspectidn of > the diversion en "trance made this morning indicated that * during'the night the seas had been dashing into the cut and breaking over the western wall for some distance up, towards the railway sheds. In places the wash of the seas, had taken the sand out from behind the wall, but no damage was done apart from that reported in the Herald on Saturday. For 40 or SOft. the wall has been flattened out, fetti, iket protective work started on Sat urday prevented an extension of the demolition. Sandbags, fascines, and lastly heavy loads of stone were arranged to take the force .of the waves (arid prevent the erosion behind the wall, |rhich had been the prime cause of the firsidamage, and these measures proved successful. The seas which hammered ihe»face of the wall throughout the Week-end, failed U affect it in any way. BIG SAND DEPOSIT. One result of the storm is to be seen in.: the change of position on the .part of the dredge Korua. A fortnight ago the Korua had just carried the dredging programme as far as high water mark; and was held up pending the construction of the protective wall, through the surf. The dredge was moored almost at highwater mark, during the survey and.overhaul of her deck gear which the halt iri dredging allowed, but to-day she is preparing to re-commence the dredging- at a point about a third of the way' back over which she had come. The storm carried a considerable quantity of sand into the mouth of the cut, and in order to ensure her own notation, . Korua will have to remove this sand. It' is impossible to estimate the full extent of the filling until the storm dies down, but it is satisfactory to know that the removal will he effected in short order. The Korua already has lifted the papa from the bed of the diversion 1 , and one aspect of the matter pat to a pressman by the; harbor engineer, Mr. Campbell, this morning, suggests that the storm may prove to have been a blessing. in disguise. , \ The, engineer pointed out that the work of the Korua was held up owing to the difficulty of working in the surf without protection, and that while the protective wall was being run out the dredge was perforce out of commission. The sand which the sea has carried into the cut would have had to be removed ».a any case, and deposited where it is now, "it can be operated on by the dredge as soon as the barges are able to pnt'to sea with the spoil. Later, the dredge ..(rill be able to tackle the papa directly, and possibly the barges may be trorked through the channel cut hv ,the storm. -Mr. Campbell stated this liorhing that there waf. dotation for the barges in this channel at half-tide.