Better prepared for wet winter

Regional councillor Monty Knight and contractor Tim Garton check progress on Awanui River scheme works.

Hundreds of metres of the Awanui River's banks, including stopbanks, near Awanui's Gill and West roads have been improved to offer better flood protection over winter, as part of $350,000 of the Northland Regional Council's annual flood scheme maintenance programme.

Councillor Monty Knight (Te Hiku) said the work, which had been done over several months, had seen stopbanks improved, banks reshaped and corners straightened to prevent erosion, scouring and flooding.

"These measures will enable more floodwater to pass more quickly through the Awanui River system, and in doing so help reduce the flood risk," he said.

It would improve the town's "flood resilience", although it was part of the long-term flood prevention plan for the whole Awanui catchment, including Kaitaia.

More work was planned once the weather improved during spring and summer, including a $700,000 project to modify the Whangatane spillway entrance, further reducing the flood risk for parts of Kaitaia and helping floodwater drain more quickly from Lake Tangonge.

That was important, he said, because the longer paddocks sat under water the greater the risk that pasture would die. Aside from the obvious cost to farmers, that also adversely affected water quality as vegetation rotted.

Work had also been done on the Tarawhataroa Stream through Kaitaia.