THE CAMBRIDGE TOWN DRAINAGE AND THE LAKE RESERVE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1804, 29 January 1884, Page 2

THE CAMBRIDGE TOWN DRAINAGE AND THE LAKE RESERVE.

A Fiv.v days ngo we drew attention to the condition into which a portion of the bank of the lake at Cimbndge had fallen through the failure of the, dunnage scheme earned out «ib nit twelve months ago to do the wink requited of it, and the consequent diaining of the storm water off the upper flat over theb ink, thei eby wa nngaway valuable propel ty and dung c msiderable damage to tho lake reserve. We are glad to notico that since then the lnenibei s of fie T) nnaiu and Town BoauU ha\e given tie in itter their attention. On imday evening List a joint meeting of both the^e bodies was held at the Town Bunl olfi^e for the purpose of c >iiiidjrm,' the best course to pursue to chock fie damige winch was- l>3ing done by t'io water, and also to better and more p -l in mently arrange the drainnsj'* of the upper poition of the town. There were pi i ■-.wit -Me-. -is W'lK J^in^on, Hewitt, Ri.-hardson, Clark, Campbell and Kirkwood. After rei-liny a iep>rt which was submitted by Mr Hoskmg (the same report has ah eady been published in th--,o columns) fc'io meeting adjoin ned t" fie lake t'> view tho sceno n' th<» proposed work and debate other mittois in conn -cti >n therewith. — Aftei thoioii'jrhly ex- miming the vicinity the ni'-jtiii^ was utianiiii.ni- th.it it was absolutely neces-ary something should immediately bo done. A large portion of valuable piopeity h..d been washed away, a id if no sfc' j ps weie fca'cen the damage v.'lnch nnolhtsi heavy rain would do would be vet y v ast indeed. Tho best means of cai tying out the work of saving tho bank woic t'mn discns->ed. — Mr Kirkwood stiougly objected to anv scheme which involved the taking of watei from the road over the banks of the lake, and suggested that an embankment should be made lound the lake so as to throw the water back on the road, "and that the town board should then de\ i-e some scheme by which the water would be carried to the river. This, it was shown, would be veiy oo-,tlv, and therefore impracticable, as ditches would have to be made some ten or twelve feet deep in older to rut through the liiyli giouiid lyiii-j: between, the lake reserve and the river. — Mr Knkwood was strongly of op;nion that any scheme that might ba pi o' L )(»ed fm- cirrying water into the lake would necessaiily cau>c the banks to bo washed mv.iy, mil much injury thereby occasioned to the upper poition of the town and to the Likei3 5 oivp.— Mr Richardson on the other hand thought that it was quite feasible to take all the water that collected, or might be bi ought in the vicinity of the chinch en nei, into the lake without doing injury to the bviks, but considered that the watei in the lake would bd polluted theieby. — Two schoniji wcie proposed, one (that of Mr HoAinof abne referred to) to sink a -haft ab >at 50ft. from the edge of the bank, the shatt being sunk to the level of the lake, and that fiom the bottom of the bank a di l ve should be put in to intercept the shaft, which drive it was estimated would be ab >ut 120ft. long. The shaft and drive Vv>th to be lined with brick and cemented, so as to pieventalldangei ofthegromul washing away from behind. This scheme it was estimated by the meeting would cost about £200. Another scheme was pioposed to com cy the water fiom the bank into the Lake by means of a galvanised iron shoot pi. iced on wooden tie-ties. The latter scheme was su<™e-ted, and stiongly advocated by Mi Ricbaidsau. As for the other membf.is of the boaul'.s present, they considered that it would be much less expensive than the other scheme proposed. They also thought, however, that it would neither be as effective nor pel inaneut, and that in all piobabihty a similar accident might occur to that which took place with the pipes which had been laid down the bank. The gcneial feeling of the meeting was stiongly in favour of the shaft and drive schema. After conversing at some length on the question, the meeting adjoin nod to tho board office. — Mr Wells took the chur.— Mr Campbell thought that considenng the damage which had alieady been done, and that which was likely to be done if immediate steps were not taken to prevent it, they .-. eie justified in going into the scheme submitted by Mr Hoskmg. The question was a \eiy important one. — Mr Claik said as the town boaid engineer had diawn up all the reports on the matter up to the piesoat, he could not see why tho domain board engineer should not let them have a repnit now. — Cr Wells read from a repoit which appeared in The Waikato Times in 1878. When the matter had been-fir-t mooted, he spoke to Mr Eirmgton, C Vj , le^artlmg it, and that gentleman, who might bo looked up m as a first-class authouty, suppoited in eveiy paiticular the shaft and drive scheme, as befoio the meeting, if 1 ; had had other long conveisations with piacticil men on the same subject, a id eveiytlung he had hoard in tho way ot an cxpre-sion of opinion had only seivedto conhim his own piivate conviction. On economical giounds they had tned the scheme of i mining the water down the bink nit) the lake by surface pipes, and they had all witnessed the faduie which had u--ulted. —Mi Campbell then proposed on behalf of the domain boaid, the following lesolution: — "That the Cambndge Town Boaid and Domain Ii.m-d jointly defray the cost of carrying out the proposed .scheme of sinking a shaft and making a dine near the lake leseive, the sum to be expended not to exceed €200, and that the town boaid bupciintend the earring out of the work, the same to bo under the supervision of a competent engineer, each bop id defraying one-half the cost." — Mr Johnson thought c s the engineer believed the woik could bo done for about £l.")0, the domain board which was in f untV*, and which xvouid benefit most materially by the scheme, should contiibute say £100, and the town boaid the remaining £'50. — Mr Clark seconded Mt Campbell s proposition. — Mr Richardson proposed as an amendment that the water be carried olf the lake reserve by a galvanised ii'on trough set on trestle work.— Seconded by Mr Johnson pro forma. — On the motion and amendment being put to the meeting, the motion was earned, Mr Richardson only dissenting. At the close of the joint meeting, a meeting of the Domain Board was held. Present— Messrs Wells (chairman), Campbell and Kirkwood. On the motion of Mr Campbell it was agreed "That this boaid join with the town board in the drainage .scheme agieed to be cairied out at a joint meeting of the two boards, and further to pay one-half of the cost of same, not exceeding £100 towards carrying out the said woik, such work to be completed by the town board under the supervision of a competent engineer. The above resolution being handed to the chairman of the town board, the members of that body held «i meeting immediately following, when it was proposed by Cr. Clark, "That this boaid accept the offer of the domain board as above stated, and proceed at once to carry out the work ; and that the domain board bo asked to advance the whole of the cash required for the completion of the work, the town board to refund half the amount in six months." On the motion of Cr. Johnson, seconded by Cr. Clark, it was resolved that Mr Hosking, C.E., be instructed to cairy out the work.— It was then agreed on the motion of Cr. Wells that a committee consisting of Cis. Hewitt, Richardson and Johnson be appointed tc cooperate with the engineer. On Saturday evening Messrs Johnson, Hewitt and Richard«on met Mr Hoskin" to acquaint him of the resolution which" had been passed by the joint meeting the previous day, and al&o to arrange with him ro the carrying out of the work. After some conversation it was decided on the motion of Mr Johnson " That Mr Hosking e empowered to prepare plans and specilcations and call for tenders, and superintend the carrying out of the work, tenders tp tw returnable for the monthly meeting of ttft board on. tiiQ 4ft f eb.ru, W y,