Monday 10 April, 2017

Horizons pumps to assist Edgecumbe

Horizons Regional Council has sent $100,000 worth of portable pumps to assist with clearing floodwaters in Edgecumbe, Bay of Plenty.

Horizons group manager river management Ramon Strong says Bay of Plenty Regional Council put out a call to other regional councils for any available pumping equipment late last week.

“Some of our portable pumps were used following our rain event last week, however fortunately we didn’t have any serious flooding outside of our river channels and had a number spare,” says Mr Strong.

“Once we assessed that they were not required locally we put them on a truck and sent them north, along with two engineering staff to assist with set up and initial operation. The pumps can shift up to one cubic metre of water per second and are powered by tractors or generators.”

Mr Strong says the pumps arrived in Edgecumbe yesterday and will contribute to pumping floodwaters from the town.

“I understand that there is little chance of the water draining away without pumping so the more pumps the better. As a council who has been in the position of seeking help from others in the past, and considering that it could have been us last week had ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie taken a slightly different track, we’re glad that there is something we can do to help.

“This sentiment was also demonstrated by one of our lower Manawatu landowners who has experienced flooding and the benefits of pumping in the past. This landowner contributed their own pump to the consignment we sent.”

Mr Strong says regional councils are used to helping each other during flood events as each one knows it could happen to them at any time.

“Regional councils throughout the country are signatories to an assistance agreement that offers staff and resource should one get hit by a flood event. Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups (CDEMs) also discuss what resources are required during events to relieve fatigued staff closest to the action.

“To date the Manawatu-Wanganui CDEM Group has responded to a request for territorial authority infrastructure managers with engineering backgrounds. As a result, Blair King from Tararua District Council and Roger Coles from Ruapehu District Council deployed to the Bay of Plenty on Sunday 9 April 2017.”

Ends

© Scoop Media