A Waitotara farmer who lost more than a quarter of his land during last month's floods wants help to prevent further land loss.
Ray, who wished only to be known by his first name, ran free-range pigs on 5.5 hectares immediately next to the Waitotara township, bordering the Waitotara River.
Now 1.5ha of his land has disappeared into the river - and the land is still slipping - and much of his stock was drowned during the June 20-21 floods.
Ray estimates he lost $60,000 during the floods, excluding the land.
The land he does have left is contaminated with sewage and buried under layers of mud.
He claims the South Taranaki District Council is not interested in helping him.
"They say it is private property, so it's your problem. But when they send out the rates bill, they'll still expect you to pay the full amount, even though I've lost all this land."
Ray moved to Waitotara from Auckland in 2012, wanting to retire. The land was just starting to make a profit when the floods came through.
"We do have insurance, but that doesn't cover the land or the stock - it just covers what we lost in the house and yard."
Ray said he'd like to see the council pro-actively help small landowners such as himself. "They should come to us and say, how can we get this fixed up so we can get the land working again? But they don't want to - they say it's not their responsibility."
Ray said the council should build stopbanks along the river to help prevent further land loss.
Brent Manning, manager of engineering services at the South Taranaki District Council, said since the floods of 2004 and 2006 the council and the Taranaki Regional Council had been working on making the banks more secure.
"The councils have already spent a considerable amount of money on river clearance work to successfully open up the channel and reduce the impact of floods," Mr Manning said.
"We know that the Waitotara River area is prone to flooding and I think that most people who live or own land beside the Waitotara River understand the risks and expect there will be occasions of flooding and erosion."
He said Ray could make a request to the council for a revaluation, which should show how much the rateable value of his property has diminished.
"The rateable value is what we calculate the rates on, as rates in South Taranaki are based on the capital value of your property. However, legally we cannot apply the new valuation and any change in rates until the new financial year, which begins in July 2016."
Mr Manning said Ray might also be eligible for other forms of financial assistance such as the Taranaki Disaster Relief Fund.