FLOOD PROTECTION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20539, 14 February 1935, Page 15

FLOOD PROTECTION.

Completed Coutts Island Groyne Works Well. Reporting- to the Waimakariri River Trust yesterday, the engineer, Mr H. W. Harris, said that the groyne at Coutts Island had been completed on December 28. Three small floods had been experienced sinee that date and the groyne was acting exceeding well. The exceptionally dry weather had made the fire risk to reserves and plantations a very real one. To date three fires had occurred, one at Plyreton and two on the M’Arthur Reserve, near Miner’s Road. All the patrol men had been instructed to order off any person found lighting fires, but it was impossible to cover the whole of the areas. The fires on the reserve occuri ed on successive Sundays, and trespass notices were being erected. The young pine trees in the plantations were being very adversely affected by the weather. A number of them, up to as old as four years, had died and some 50 per cent of last year’s planting had also gone out. It had been necessary to water the seedlings in the nursery. and every effort was being made to save them, but should the dry weather continue heavy losses would undoubtedly occur. At the present time 420 relief workers were engaged under the No. 5 scheme and sixty-one on the five-day scheme. The new scales of pay were not operating as far as the trust was concerned and in consequence a number of men who could obtain more money elsewhere had obtained transfers. Repair work at the Eyreton groynes was still in progress and matters had been considerably assisted by the continued low flow of the river.