Big Plans To Reduce Kaeo Flood Risk

Several million dollars worth of works – including new and improved stopbanks, channel-widening and raising homes, school and commercial buildings – are being proposed in a bid to reduce the risks to flood-prone Kaeo properties.

The Northland Regional Council is proposing staged, ratepayer and Government-funded works of its own worth about $1.8 million over the next 12 months but concedes progress on all work is dependent on the availability of funding.

Council Land Operations Manager Bob Cathcart also estimates at least that much money will also need to be spent by the community itself to repair houses, driveways and public and private infrastructure damaged in two major floods earlier this year.

Mr Cathcart says the Regional Council is keen to reduce the immediate flooding risk to Kaeo’s homes, commercial buildings and two schools, hopefully through a mix of yet-to-be-confirmed ratepayer and Central Government funding.

“The first stage involves remedial work to repair and upgrade previous work on the river. Serious streambank erosion in Green Lane and opposite the Kaeo School and Whangaroa College sports fields will be controlled and an overflow built across the river loop upstream of the schools to reduce the risk of the stopbank overtopping.”

Mr Cathcart says low spots in the stopbank adjoining the schools will be raised and discussions are underway with the Ministry of Education about raising some school buildings.

About 800-metres of new stopbank is proposed linking the end of the school stopbank to Pohui, either directly or across to State Highway 10 and then alongside the highway to the Police Station. “This will reduce the risk of floodwaters from the river flowing across and along the highway into Kaeo.”

New stopbanks are also planned to reduce the risks from large flows coming down the river or backing up against the tide and spilling into the town between Waikara Creek and the Fire Station.

“Where there is not enough room to build a stopbank, timber walls could be used and there are also plans to realign and widen the currently undersized Waikara Creek channel.”

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Mr Cathcart says the Council also plans to remove gravel from the river from upstream of Janet’s Diner through to Whangaroa Harbour.

“The Council already has resource consent to do this work to 300 metres downstream of the SH10 bridge, but will need to apply for a new consent to take gravel downstream of that point.”

However, he says the existing consent limits extraction to between 1 January and 1 April each year to prevent contaminating the harbour when shellfish are being harvested. “It would be both illegal and irresponsible to dig gravel from the river while oysters are being harvested.”

The Council is currently designing stopbanks for the Kaeo River and channel works on Waikara Stream and hopes to start some of this work under its existing resource consent as soon as ground conditions permit.

“In the meantime, we will apply for a resource consent for work on the lower Kaeo River between SH10 Bridge and the Whangaroa Harbour, for stopbanking upstream of the town, and if necessary, for extra work on Waikara Creek.”

Mr Cathcart says the Council was also considering installing new rain gauging equipment in the hill country between Kaeo and Matauri Bay to enable more accurate flood warnings to be issued to Kaeo, Whangaroa, Matangirau, Tauranga Bay, Mahinepua, Wainui and Te Ngaire.

Meanwhile, he says the Regional Council has already commenced work on the second stage of the project, longer-term investigations into catchment management options.

These investigations include a survey of land use within the catchment to determine what measures may be required to reduce the rate of sediment runoff.

“While the finger has been pointed at both exotic forestry and pastoral farming within the catchment, these two land uses together occupy less than 40 percent of the total land area. Almost 60% of the catchment is in native bush and scrub, which is a higher proportion than in most Northland river catchments.”

Mr Cathcart says the Council is also reviewing the effect the SH10 Bridge and the Whangaroa Road embankment and stopbanking in the lower river basin are having on flood levels.

“We will also be measuring sediment build up in the harbour and the rate at which sediment is building up on the floodplain through Kaeo.”

ENDS

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