Joy, hope and a plea for more work as two Far North flood-mitigation schemes open

Chantez Connor-Kingi, NRC kai whiri iwituna – senior adviser for the rivers and land management teams, explains how the Ngapipito culvert will divert water overflowing from Ōtiria Stream across the valley into Waiharakeke Stream.

Celebration and hope resounded through the Far North communities of Kawakawa, Moerewa and Ōtiria as multi-million flood protection schemes opened to save all three from repeated devastating flooding.

But with the joy came a warning – the flood protection work is not finished and much more needs to be done, particularly around Ōtiria.

The two flood-mitigation schemes – the Kawakawa deflection bank and Ōtiria-Moerewa spillway, were formally opened on Saturday to the delight of the local communities who have suffered from years of devastating floods in heavy storms.

Ōtiria, Moerewa and Kawakawa were battered by floods in 2007, 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2020. They have been inundated with homes, businesses and marae all hit, causing widespread hurt and trauma for the residents.

But those days of worry, anxiety and trauma every time heavy rain is forecast should be over for many, with the schemes designed to prevent the waters flowing through the communities.

The Kawakawa deflection bank should divert floodwaters from Waiomio Stream away from the town centre, and its at risk-businesses, and Rob Gabel, chairman of the Ngāti Hine Health Trust was delighted at the work and what it would mean for the town.

“This is my playground, the area of my morning walk and its tremendous that we have got this bank to prevent our town from getting flooded. The Northland Regional Council, Far North District Council and everybody involved in this project deserve credit for this wonderful achievement,” Gabel said.

“It’s a very beautiful-looking area and looks so good, it’s almost the front part of town now.”

He hoped the scheme would do its job well.

Ngāti Hine Health Trust Chairman Rob Gabel is delighted the new Kawakawa deflection bank has been completed, that will drastically reduce the flooding risk of the small Far North town.

Representatives from Kawakawa’s businesses community and the Hundertwasser Park Trust and other locals expressed joy at the deflection bank finally opening, after the plan was first mooted more than a decade ago.

Ngāti Hine leader Pita Tipene said the day was a chance to remember all those people who had been involved in getting the work done over many years, with particularly mention to Noma Shepherd, whose tenacity pushed for this, and other projects for the town, and Johnson Davis.

Northland Regional Council [NRC] rivers manager Joe Camuso – who is now referred to as Uncle Joe by many from the area such was his input into getting the work done – said the $8 million spillway would not prevent flooding entirely, but floods that had been knee-deep should in future be ankle-deep. The Kawakawa deflection bank had a budget of $650,000 but had been completed for around $400,000.

More than half the funding came from the Provincial Growth Fund, now the Kānoa Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, with the rest from targeted rates, Far North District Council [FNDC] and the Northland Transportation Alliance.

Camuso said local knowledge provided the solution to the valley’s flooding woes and that understanding was invaluable to make the scheme successful.

When council staff started investigating the cause of the ongoing floods around 2017, kaumātua Murray Armstrong showed them how water used to flow down the valley – and how that had changed since roads, the railway and bridges were built. This was confirmed by computer modelling of how water would flow if those man-made barriers were removed.

Reverend Diana Tana and Bart Simeon lead the locals and dignitaries along the Kawakawa deflection bank, after the flood-protection work was formally opened on Saturday.

At Te Rito Marae, where the Ōtiria-Moerewa spillway, a 90m-long spillway – the Ngapipito culvert – which will divert water overflowing from Ōtiria Stream across the valley into Waiharakeke Stream, was formally opened, kaumātua Perry Hati said while the marae never flooded, it was saddening to stand on the marae deck and watch the surrounding land and homes flood.

It had been designed to handle a one-in-100-year event, plus an extra 20% to allow for climate change.

Hati said with two recent heavy rain events it was obvious that the scheme was already working as there was no flooding during those rains. He said it was pleasing that the authorities were finally listening to the locals, who had in depth knowledge of what was causing the flooding issues.

Hati paid credit to Minister for Regional Development and NZ First MP Shane Jones, who took the time to speak to the locals about what was needed then push for the spillway to be built with government funding. And all the locals were crossing their fingers hoping that the schemes fulfil their promise.

Nearby resident Kathy Wilcox said the spillway would keep her property safe from the floods, but more work was needed, particularly on the other side of Pokapu Rd to prevent more flooding there.

Her cousin Karin Brown lives across the road, and made a plea that the councils needed to clear the drains urgently on that side of the road, or their land would continue to flood.

“There’s more work that needs to be done here. This is not the end of it,” she said.

Floodwaters stream through the grounds of Ōtiria Marae on the outskirts of Moerewa in July 2020. The chance of devastating floods like this should be reduced by the new Ōtiria-Moerewa spillway, which was opened on Saturday.

Ōtiria Marae trustee and kaumātua Murray Armstrong said it was awesome that the marae would be better protected from the disheartening floods it had suffered in recent years.

NRC deputy chairwoman Tui Shortland paid credit to local landowners who allowed their land to be used for the spillway, saying it’s a great example of working with a community rather than confiscating land to carry out such infrastructure projects.

The three blocks of land where the bridge and spillway had been built were all Māori-owned, with two of them having multiple owners.

Shortland said the flagship project was an example of what could be achieved by working together.

Northland MP Grant McCallum said it was great to see the schemes finished and the Government was committed to more such flood mitigation projects. He said it had already started working on plans for Dargaville, which was particularly under threat.

Homes get inundated by floodwaters on Ōtiria Rd, near Moerewa, in heavy rain, but a new flood spillway should greatly reduce the flooding risk.