River deepening not practical

A suggestion to lower the riverbed of the Waiohine River instead of creating stopbanks has been deemed impractical by Greater Wellington Regional Council.

The council is in the process of creating its Waiohine River Flood Management Plan (FMP) which includes building stop banks.

Greytown's Graeme Eaton said the beds of the Waiohine and Tauherenikau Rivers could be lowered instead.

He suggests the processed material could be used for another project, and excess floodwater from the Waiohine could be channelled into the Tauherenikau River.

Mr Eaton said he had spoken with other residents who shared his concerns and thought it was a "sensible" option.

He wrote to council chairwoman Fran Wilde with his concerns in 2011.

Flood protection manager Graeme Campbell said there are three phases to the preparation of the plan: identify what the flood problems are; look at which solutions best benefit the community; and implement the changes.

The council is currently in phase two of the plan.

"We've looked at a whole broad range and we've narrowed it down to pretty much two options," said Mr Campbell.

These are running varying standards of stop banks parallel to the river or a lower standard of stop bank along the whole river with a major one back from the river protecting Greytown.

The second option allows for a "more hands off" approach to the management of the river whereas the first option protects more land.

"The key issue the community is considering at the moment however is how each of the two options redistribute the flood flows and who is affected by that," he said.

"They're considering what combination of those is best for the community."

Mr Campbell said making the river deeper wasn't a viable option.

"Basically it's impracticable to deepen the river for the size of flood we're talking about."

There is a $5.5 million allocation for the works in Greater Wellington Regional Council's Long Term Plan and Mr Campbell hoped work would be able to start soon after a decision had been made about the best option.

He said members of the public are able to give feedback on the options. "We're trying to make people understand what the flood problem is and get them involved in selecting the best methods of managing those floods."