The Government is urgently reviewing the flood response, including the regional council’s management of the Wairoa River mouth and bar.
It came just over a year after Cyclone Gabrielle inundated the North Clyde area of Wairoa, prompting the Hawke’s Bay Independent Flood Review.
Di Roadley is a Hawke’s Bay regional councillor in Wairoa
OPINION
After much anticipation, the Hawke’s Bay Independent Flood Review commissioned by the regional council has finally seen the light of day, its release led by the renowned Dr Phil Mitchell.
A dedicated three-member panel undertook an in-depth evaluation of Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s (HBRC) flood management systems and infrastructure.
HBRC councillors deliberately sought this review because we know our communities deserved answers and also to help guide our absolute focus on solutions.
This report focuses exclusively on the destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and the recommendations pinpoint areas where HBRC can influence and drive improvements.
However, our communities faced a range of consequences and issues beyond this scope.
Our commitment to supporting our region’s Territorial Authorities, Civil Defence, and emergency responders remains unwavering.
While the report contains 47 recommendations (22 of which are already being actioned), a clear message underpins them all: we need to think differently and strategically about minimising flooding impacts.
Cyclone Gabrielle is the largest recorded flood event in New Zealand’s history. The report states, “unsurprisingly, flood systems were overwhelmed”.
What we as a community must now come to terms with is the reality that no matter how advanced our designs and systems are, we cannot achieve complete safety or guarantee that future flooding will be entirely prevented.
We simply cannot build our way out of this issue. The challenge is how we incorporate planned alternatives for when nature exceeds the limitations of our infrastructure.
As a community, we have inherited this problem. It is a legacy that we must navigate with courage and focus moving forward.
I see this report as a high-level roadmap; we must work together to address these issues.
As a region, we cannot do this alone, but neither can communities sit back and leave it to the regional council.
We need strong, functional partnerships with the Government and within our communities because there is a long, challenging journey ahead.
When Cyclone Gabrielle hit Wairoa, the town was completely cut off by road. Photo / RNZ
Let’s explore what’s happening in my heartland, Wairoa.
Since the devastating North Clyde flooding in February last year, this regional council has embarked on a visionary project that may offer a solution to how we address this issue.
The North Clyde project is a targeted area initiative, with more complex design challenges than anywhere else in the country.
The Tripartite Leadership Group (HBRC, Wairoa District Council, and PSG Tatau Tatau o te Wairoa) developed a plan to establish a community steering group representative of those most affected by Cyclone Gabrielle flooding.
This steering group was tasked with working with engineers and experts to ground truth and test possible infrastructure options against their needs and values.
This voluntary stakeholder group has dedicated countless hours to understanding and evaluating the 18-plus hydrologically feasible options.
It has been a difficult and often confronting task, but the group have remained committed, challenging experts, leadership, and one another.
We are forever indebted to this stakeholder group. The Government has now stepped up to provide additional support, ensuring we can continue to move forward and build momentum at pace — there is too much aroha for our Wairoa community to consider any lesser alternative.
This will not be another “post-Bola shelving”.
For those whānau still not living in their homes, this project must feel like it is moving at a glacial pace.
However, by national and international standards, we are making rapid progress.
In only six months, the project has worked towards narrowing the possible options down to a preferred option for recommendation, Crown funding has been committed, and a technical peer review has been established.
The next step involves extensive community engagement about the options, to provide support (or not) and direction to the regional council for developing the business case to present to the Crown Treasury, which will enable the infrastructure build.
