The work was originally scheduled for mid-May but had to be pushed back due to the heavy rain which fell on the region on May 20-21. Over 24 hours, more than 50mm of rain fell over Whanganui City.
“There was quite a bit of rainfall around and we got diverted to other work, particularly in the Matarawa area where we had some damage to one of our flood protection schemes there,” Roygard said.
The installation of the gate will be the last of four pieces of work carried out by Horizons to upgrade areas in Kowhai Park, where temporary flood measures were once needed, with permanent solutions.
“We don’t have to go the extra step of going out and organising and putting in the flood barriers, the protection’s already there.”
Work was expected to take about two weeks, requiring the footpath to be closed throughout.
“We apologise for the disruption to people who use the footpath; we are doing what we can to minimise the impact of works and hope the community recognises the value the gate will add.”
Minor follow-up work, such as re-establishing grass in the area around the gate, would follow but would be weather dependent.
Once the Kowhai Park work was concluded, the council would look to include flood protections for other Whanganui areas in its long-term plan (LTP), Roygard said.
“We’ll be thinking about areas like Pūtiki, Te Pūwaha down at the port and areas like the Matarawa [Stream] and Turoa Rd as part of the LTP but council will make those decisions through that process,” he said.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
