Source: Northland Regional Council
News the government will fund more than half of a $2.5 million project to remove a weak point from the Awanui flood scheme has been welcomed by the Northland Regional Council (NRC).
Council Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Gibbard said Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced recently (subs: Thurs 16 Oct) an application for $1.5M Crown funding via the Regional Infrastructure Fund had been successful. Mr Gibbard says the council will fund the remaining $1M through existing rates.
He says the area involved is a weak spot in the long-running, multimillion dollar Awanui flood scheme on the Lower Whangatane Spillway at Kumi Rd near Awanui township. Floodbanks had overtopped there in July 2020, flooding several houses and causing stock losses.
The project – which the council hopes will begin over summer – would take about two years to complete over two construction seasons and would see about two kilometres of stopbanks set back by as much as 250 metres in places, effectively creating more room in the river channel for floodwaters.
“Our modelling indicates that this will reduce the flood level there by about half a metre which may not seem like a lot but could be the difference between the floodwaters overtopping the stopbanks or not.”
Mr Gibbard says ‘making room for the river’ is seen as world-wide best practice in flood risk reduction and the council is grateful for the latest funding which as well as improving the scheme, substantially reduces the cost of the project for ratepayers.
He says last week’s ‘Tranche 2’ funding was among almost $92M for 32 projects nationally announced by the government. These build on the momentum of 42 national ‘Before the Deluge Tranche 1 projects’ also made possible through co-investment from the Regional Infrastructure Fund.
Mr Gibbard says the NRC had earlier received about $1.5M in Tranche 1 funding for a project to remove a flooding pinch point, again on the Awanui scheme, at Quarry Rd near Kaitaia’s airport.
He says since Covid (and including last week’s funding), central government had now funded almost $20.7M in flood-related regional council projects across Northland, including the Awanui scheme,work at Panguru, Otiria-Moerewa and Kaeo and to reduce flood-risks at Northland’s most flood-prone marae.
The central government funding means Northland ratepayers would have collectively had to foot just under $10M of the total $30.6M spent on those projects.
Mr Gibbard says regional councils play a critical role in flood risk management.
“Our council and the local communities we represent have invested heavily in several flood management schemes across Northland to reduce risks to people, property and infrastructure.”
