The McKenna stopbank near Westport has just been completed and West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) Chief Engineer Peter Blackwood says it is already providing some protection to the town.

Construction work by Reefton-based Rosco Contractors Ltd has now wrapped up, although some additional site work may be required on this section in the future, pending final alignments and agreements with landowners of subsequent stages of the proposed flood scheme.

Work on the stopbank, which is over 700 metres-long and sits on farmland near Westport, began in December and was completed on time and on budget by 31 March.

Mr Blackwood says although the overall flood protection scheme is not complete, early works like McKennas and the smaller bund at Cat’s Creek are already improving the town’s flood resilience.

“They do provide protection immediately to the homes that might have previously been exposed to flooding risk in those areas,” says Peter Blackwood.

WCRC councillor for the Buller constituency, Mark McIntyre says this is very positive for the town and the residents of the houses that were flooded in those areas in the past.

“That many tens of houses might be getting protection already is encouraging and that the work already done has the potential to make a difference to people in Westport. It’s a positive early outcome for the town.”

The McKenna Road project is an earthen stopbank that will assist with preventing overflow from the Orowaiti River. It is part of the Upper Orowaiti stopbank and is part of the wider flood protection scheme for Westport which will have a total length of around 16km, under the Resilient Westport programme of work.

The stopbank is around 18 metres wide at the base and around 2.2 metres high on average.

© Scoop Media