SPOIL MAY BUILD UP BANKS OF AVON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18406, 7 March 1928, Page 11

SPOIL MAY BUILD UP BANKS OF AVON.

COMMITTEE TO DECIDE ON VALUE OF SCHEME

To ascertain if the bank of silt in front of the river sweeper can be lifted on to the banks at a reasonable cost, members of the River Improvement Committee of the Drainage Board will make an inspection shortly. The sweeper is at a point below the mile peg, where it is considered that lifting of the silt bank would probably help in the better formation of the banks, and also allow the dredge to work more rapidly. “It was impossible to lift the silt when the sweeper was working near the city, as the spoil would not have been an advantage to the banks,” said the chairman of the River Improvement Committee (Mr H. G. Livingstone) , yesterday. “I believe that, if the silt could be taken from the river now it would improve the banks of the river towards the mouth of Dudley Creek. Removal of the bank of spoil would permit of much faster work by the sweeper. “Implements at hand for the carrying out of the work are 1 expensive in their manipulation. They would have to be stood on the bank and worked from one side at a time. This would make a hole along the sides of the silt bank, and would probably not touch the spit in the middle. The best proposal. to my mind, is to use the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s grab dredge on a pontoon. Whether this will be used depends on the cost, which point the committee will decide upon on an inspection in the near future.” The spoil was light, added Mr Livingstone, and much of it, contrary to the expectations of some people, was floating a good distance down the river. The tides, instead of impeding the silt, as was commonly supposed, actually helped its progress towards the sea. On an incoming tide the river water, and to some extent the silt, was banked up; but the ebb of the tide caused the water to run faster over the top of the silt bank, and to carry away the surface silt at a greater rate.