Steve Fabish appointed senior manager of Wairoa’s flood protection project

The senior project manager for the $70 million flood mitigation works to protect Wairoa has been appointed.

By RNZ

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has appointed a senior project manager to oversee Wairoa’s $70 million flood protection work.

Steve Fabish will take on the role and has been working at Wairoa District Council to help the area recover after Cyclone Gabrielle.

“It’s great to be able to reconnect with the people of Wairoa and work hard towards a successful outcome for what I know will be a challenging but beneficial project for the community,” Fabish said.

It has been a challenging two years for the area:

• In 2023 during Cyclone Gabrielle, the river burst its banks and flooded hundreds of homes, particularly in North Clyde;
• Then last June 26, about 400 properties were flooded when the Wairoa River couldn’t flow to sea because the river mouth was blocked;
• The regional council is now facing legal action over its failure to act sooner;
• Two different reviews into the flooding are under way, one by the regional council, and a government inquiry;
• Previous reports after Cyclone Bola (1988) had recommended stopbank protection for the town, but that was never built.

Fabish will work alongside former mayor Lawrence Yule, who is the newly appointed Crown manager in charge of settling the relationship between Wairoa District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

The Wairoa project is the largest in the region’s Flood Resilience Programme and is funded by central government. It aims to move category 2C properties into category 1, where they can then be repaired or rebuilt.

- RNZ