WOODY DEBRIS RECOVERY ON TRACK

The woody debris recovery project along the Mahia to Napier coastline is on track to be completed by the end of the year.

The project is part of the Silt Recovery Taskforce and is focused on cleaning up silt and debris from beaches and river mouths left in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Since the February 2024 cyclone, approximately 175,000 m3 of woody debris has been collected from within the Wairoa district, with around 100,000 m3 since March 2024.

In total, across the region, over 2 million m3 of silt and debris, and 1.1 million m3 of woody debris, or 237,500 tonnes have been recovered.

The Wairoa June 2024 rain event moved some of the debris around, and additional work has been required to collect, stack the recovered debris, and then arrange the burning or shredding of the
material.

The coastline sections targeted over the past few months have included the Nuhaka River mouth through to the Iwitea lakes area, the Waikare River mouth to Ridgemount bluffs and back to the
Mohaka River mouth and the Aropaoanui Beach and river mouth estuary.

Reinstatement work on the Wairoa reserves has also been carried out to return these areas to preflood conditions.

The programme has also included collecting plastics/wire and man-made debris from higher profile coastline areas and conducting bird nesting surveys.

30 October 2024

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