Marlborough District Councillors will await the outcome of geotechnical investigations to decide whether the Waitaria Bay jetty in Kenepuru Sound can be safely rebuilt on the same site.

The jetty was damaged during the August 2022 storm as it sits within a landslide which lifted the section closest to land and shunted the seaward portion of the jetty forward.

Marlborough Roads Transport Recovery Manager Steve Murrin told councillors at Tuesday’s Assets and Services Committee meeting that it was important to get a report from WSP before making any further decisions to ensure the site and a replacement jetty was resilient for the future.

“WSP have already carried out a detailed structural inspection of the existing jetty, this has determined the jetty is unsafe in its current state and it has been closed. Before a replacement jetty can be constructed, further work needs to be done to ensure a jetty can be built at this site that is resilient to further land movement,” Mr Murrin said.

“There are also some concerns around siltation in the bay as at low tide it’s a struggle to get boats into the jetty. WSP are undertaking a seabed survey to determine the length of a new jetty. If it needs to be longer than the existing one, additional funding will be needed,” he said.

The replacement cost for a “like for like” jetty is estimated at around $650,000. “With the insurance settlement for the damage and carry overs in Council’s total Jetties Maintenance budget we can progress a replacement,” Mr Murrin said.

An option was put to the committee to do some temporary repairs to the jetty to allow it to be reopened to the public at a cost of $40,000. “Council’s total Jetties Maintenance budget currently sits at $57,500, so it won’t leave a lot in our budget for damage or repairs to any other jetties,” Mr Murrin said.

Councillors opted to wait for the outcome of the WSP report before committing to any funding as the existing jetty will need to be demolished prior to construction of any new one.

A resource consent is already underway for a replacement with submissions currently being worked through. Once the geotechnical investigations have been completed a decision will be made on the jetty location and a programme for the replacement will be confirmed.

The Waitaria Bay jetty was closed to the public on 16 January after a routine inspection found some of the structural components in the jetty had deteriorated significantly since its last inspection in mid-2023. At the time the damage occurred, some emergency maintenance was undertaken to reopen it, with a load restriction of five people at a time on the jetty imposed.

The closest jetty recommended for residents and visitors to use is at Fish Bay, around 3.5km or a 10-minute drive away.

© Scoop Media